I will establish a transitional high school Bridge Program for 6th, 7th and 8th graders at Ravenswood

By Marilu L. Serrano

The beginning of a child's education + preschool, K-3rd grades -- is as critical in a child's education as are the end of a student's education, middle school, 6th, 7th and 8th. A child must learn to read by 3rd grade and middle school is the last chance for an elementary school district to prepare its students to succeed in high school, the launching pad to college and a successful and fulfilling professional career of prestige and high earnings.

I have seen time and again, particularly in 2008, that the Ravenswood's superintendent has placed the worst principals to lead Ronald McNair Middle School (6-8) and as a consequence it has been the one of the worst performing middle schools: It's API for the 2011-2012 academic school year plummeted to an 590 API. Out 1,000 API points possible, 590 is an F grade. In May 2008, Ravenswood revoked the charter of Edison Ronald McNair Charter Academy which had been a charter school since 1999 and took it back as a Ravenswood school because the charter school's API had dropped to 621. Ravenswood is doing much worse than the charter school it replaced, 31 points worse.

If elected I will work to establish, open a transitional high school Bridge Program for Ravenswood's 6th, 7th and 8th graders that will give our students a head-ups about what to expect in high school, what high school is like, what to expect academically; and to teach them strategies to succeed in high school.

The transitional high school Bridge Program plan and idea is something that Mr. Leighton Lang, College & Career (and Financial Aid) Coordinator at Palo Alto Unified School District's Gunn High School shared with me recently. I give him credit and thank him for his input.

Mr. Lang, for many years, was a teacher at Ravenswood's Edison Ronald McNair Charter Academy (6-8) Middle School. In 2002, Mr. Lang approached the newly elected school board with the hope the school board would look at his suggestion seriously, that is to say, that they would see that Ravenswood desperately need a transition-to-high school Bridge Program. He knew that Ravenswood's 8th graders were leaving Ravenswood not being prepared to transition and navigate high school. He saw this as partly responsible for the astronomical 60% high school drop out rate of Ravenswood's 8th graders. Additionally, all Ravenswood students are either bussed or travel by public transportation to attend high school at either Carlmont, Woodside, Sequoia or Menlo Atherton.

Ravenswood has dismally failed in its and our students' last chance to educational prepare its 6th, 7th and 8th graders for high school.

Ravenswood in failing to academically and educational prepare 6th, 7th and 8th graders for high school as dramatically as the school district did in the academic year 2011 - 2012 -- and as it has in the past 30 years of its existence-- the school district heartlessly sabotaged the future of Ravenswood students; it betrayed and condemned these students to failure in high school, a future with a college education and to a future of barely subsistence employment. Why? Because for decades the Ravenswood City School District has snarled itself in political and click-in-fighting; polarizing the retention and hiring and firing of superintendents.

This is what awaits our Ravenswood's graduating 8th graders dismally academically ill qualified to handle high school courses. The Labor Department's earnings statistics show that a high school graduate will earn $230,000 in a lifetime, but a graduate from a 2 or 4 year college will earn over 1 Million dollars in a lifetime.

The 2012 STAR (Standardized Testing and Reporting) + the academic testing administered to all California students each year + showed a dismal downturn for our middle schools and a downward turn for Ravenswood as a school district. The data from the 2012 STAR API for Ravenswood is uncontrovertibly and can be verified at the website of the California Department of Education at http://www.cde.ca.gov/ta/ac/ar/.

Our students were tested in April 2012 as they are every year and the results came out October 11, 2012 at noon.

On a scale from 200 to 1000 points, (A) from 900 - 1000, (B) 800 -900, (C) 700-800, (D) 600-700, (F) 500-600. Ronald McNair, a 6-8 middle school dropped 41 points to 590. 590 is an F. Cesar Chavez, a 6-8 middle school dropped 41 points to 651. 651 is a D. Bellehaven, a K-8 school dropped 17 points to 675. 675 is a D.

The Ravenswood City School District, itself, dropped 2 points to 712. 712 is a C-.

Ravenswood is sending its 8th graders dismally and tragically unprepared for high school.

Ravenswood has never had or has an 6th, 7th and 8th grades transitional Bridge Program to high school to help our 8th graders succeed in high school.

Ravenswood City School District has revenues of $39,000,000 and a student body population of 3,500.

What are parents and the community gaining from its $39,000,000 investment in education at the Ravenswood City School District?

The situation has become so desperately critical that the Belle Haven neighborhood community where Belle Haven Elementary (K-8) is located in their frustration with Ravenswood has asked the Menlo Park City Council to help the community with legal advise and financial assistance find a way out of Ravenswood and into the Menlo Park School district.

At the September 18, 2012, Menlo Park City Council meeting that was held at the Onetta Harris Center in the Belle Haven neighborhood, multiple Belle Haven residents spoke and asked the Menlo Park City Council for help with legal counsel and financial assistance to begin the process of exiting from Ravenswood, and that would lead their (K-8) Belle Haven Elementary School to join the Menlo Park School District. As a current resident of Menlo Park's Belle Haven neighborhood I was present at this city council meeting.

In spite of the years of set backs, in spite of these educationally trying times for Ravenswood's students, I remain highly optimistic believing that with the right and with an enlightened school board leadership in place and the right and enlightened superintendent in place Ravenswood will make national headlines for its academic accomplishments! Mark my words!

If elected we must, we must, there is no other option, make the current STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) program a powerful tool to make Ravenswood's students masters of Science, Technology, Engineering and Math skills.

Ravenswood is surrounded by a near-by treasurer trove of academic institution, Stanford University, for one; high schools (Palo Alto and Gunn High Schools, Phoenix Academy, Eastside Preparatory, Stanford University New Schools East Palo Alto Academy High School, that would be a reach source of Math, Science, Engineering and English tutors that if elected I would ask as a school board and our new superintendent to reach out to.

I ask for your vote. Please elect me, Marilu L. Serrano, to the Board of Trustees of the Ravenswood City School District.