East Palo Alto High School: Charter school sends off its first class of graduates East Palo Alto High School: Charter school sends off its first class of graduates (June 15, 2005)

Many students have acceptance letters from colleges, but not all can afford to go

By David Boyce

Almanac Staff Writer

What a difference four years can make.

In 2001, when Sonia Jimenez started her freshman year at East Palo Alto High School -- a public charter school on the campus of the former Menlo Oaks School in the Willows neighborhood -- she says she was afraid to speak in public. She feared people would think less of her once they heard what she had to say.

In September, when she starts her freshman year at Smith College -- all four years paid for from scholarship money -- fear of public speaking is likely to be a fading memory. Sonia plans to study anthropology, and after school, teach in low-income neighborhoods.

Four years at East Palo Alto High "dramatically improved my communication skills," she says. During her successful oral presentation before a panel of several adults -- a required hurdle for every student every year -- Sonia says she came to recognize how much she had changed. After it was over, she cried.

"It was a really big deal for me," she says. 'That's definitely going to be a moment I'm going to remember. ... I think that coming to EPA High was one of the best decisions I ever made."

Of the 58 members of the class of 2005 -- the school's first graduating class -- some 22 have been accepted at four-year schools and almost all of the other students have done very well on placement tests for admission to community college, school officials say. Not all of those accepted at four-year schools, however, have been able to raise the funds needed to attend.

Teacher training ground

East Palo Alto High opened in 2001 with support from Stanford, sponsorship by the Ravenswood City School District, and management by Aspire Public Schools,. a nonprofit corporation that operates several charter schools in the Bay Area, including a K-8 school in East Palo Alto.

In July, the nonprofit Stanford School Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of the university, will assume management, with plans to gradually add grades K-8.

The Stanford School of Education plans to use the school to train K-12 teachers and offer it as a resource for the Ravenswood district. East Palo Alto lost its only high school in 1976.

In a School of Education report, Linda Darling-Hammond, a Stanford education professor and vice president of the corporation, described EPA High as a "teaching hospital" for education.

Along with East Palo Alto, the Ravenswood district serves students from the Belle Haven neighborhood in east Menlo Park. Demographically, the district's student body is 70 percent Latino, 19 percent African-American and 8 percent Pacific Islander. EPA High's student population echoes those percentages.

Within the Ravenswood district, the state considers 92 percent of the students to be socio-economically disadvantaged, meaning their parents either did not graduate from high school or their family incomes are low enough to qualify for federal lunch money, or both.

New approaches

Charter schools are public schools, but are not bound by the state's education code and can set their own rules. As with other public schools, the state monitors student performance annually through testing.

But the school takes a different approach to measuring student progress.

Students are graded according to their ability to approach, meet or exceed the school's five standards of "community habits": personal responsibility, social responsibility, critical and creative thinking, application of knowledge, and communication skills.

Student grades can be converted to the traditional letter format if needed for transcripts, school officials say.

Charter schools have built-in flexibility, but are often limited in the amenities they can offer, such as music classes and on-site gymnasiums. Such offerings add status, but they're not essential, says EPA High Principal Nicky Ramos-Beban. "What's really important is solid teaching," she says.

Ms. Ramos-Beban, like three-quarters of the staff, is a graduate of Stanford's School of Education. Since its beginnings, EPA High has been a professional development school associated with Stanford.

"It's been a good way of recruiting teachers," says Rebecca Padnos-Altamirano, 28, an English and humanities teacher at EPA High who has degrees from Wellesley and Stanford.

When asked about the youthful aspect of the staff, Ms. Padnos-Altamirano says that veteran teachers would be welcome, but the demands on time and energy make the vigor of youth almost a prerequisite there.

Learning styles respected

Differentiation -- the practice of tailoring instruction for the individual needs of students -- was described by former Menlo-Atherton High School principal Eric Hartwig as "the Holy Grail of teaching."

The five-community-habits evaluation system in use at EPA High takes aim at that elusive goal, providing teachers with a comprehensive look at the strengths and weaknesses of each student, says Ms. Padnos-Altamirano.

"I might give 20 different work assignments just to meet the students' different needs," she says.

In a class with varying ability levels, differentiated instruction shows gains for everybody, says Ms. Ramos-Beban. "What you're doing is increasing the opportunity for all students to be successful," she says.

"It takes a highly trained teacher," she says. "They really have to want to be part of a collaborative and professional team. Not all teachers want to work in tandem and in such tight tandem."

The teaching staff meets for three hours each week to talk, whether about school-wide issues or individual students. Ninth- and tenth-grade planning teams collaborate on addressing student needs, says Ms. Padnos-Altamirano.

That's part of the picture. Teachers also serve as advisers, each responsible for about 15 students. Advisers are available during school hours and by phone after hours, and the plan is to continue the relationship after graduation.

"We're much more than teachers," says Ms. Padnos-Altamirano. "It's almost like you're a parent." She adds that she's always wanted to provide a high-quality education for low-income students.

Such attitudes have made a difference, students say.

"You know that you can count on (your adviser) for whatever you need, a strong friendship that will last a lifetime," says senior Sonia Jimenez, who is advised by Ms. Padnos-Altamirano.

"Rebecca has helped me so much. She always made sure my work was in on time," says senior Jakinda Davis, who was accepted at San Jose State.

"The teachers really love you and care for you," says senior Tito Torres. "Once I felt (the school's) moral support and emotional support behind me, I was able to thrive and become who I am now."

Tito has been accepted to the University of Colorado at Boulder. If he can raise the money to attend, he says, he will major in astronomy and minor in philosophy and economics.

Acceptance is not admittance

Over the summer, Tito says he will be hiking in the Rocky Mountains on an Outward Bound adventure. But if he hasn't arranged for $20,000 in student loans for his freshman year, he'll be back in California come September, says Ms. Padnos-Altamirano.

Fundraising will determine whether many EPA High students with acceptance letters to four-year schools actually attend those schools.

One student with family problems spent time in a homeless shelter. She was accepted to a local four-year college, but can't pay the bills.

"That's a heartbreaker," says Ms. Padnos-Altamirano, noting the long struggle the student endured to graduate. "I'm almost 100 percent sure that if she had gone to any other high school, she would have dropped out. She called me every day."

INFORMATION

The graduation ceremony for East Palo Alto High School is set for 5 p.m. Friday, June 17, at the Stanford University Memorial Auditorium. For many families, this occasion celebrates the first child graduating from high school. Many proud parents are said to be inviting 50 guests each to the ceremony.

East Palo Alto High School candidates for graduation:

A-D Patricia Alvarez-Mendoza, Rosa Ayala, Iris Barajas, Catrina Brown, Jesse Camper, Anthony Carpenter, Carlos Cervantes, Jakinda Davis, Daisy Del Hoyo, Maria Diaz, Branden Dinwiddie

E-L Jennifer Echols, Jonte Fuller, Vanessa Gonzalez, Miguel Hernandez, Veronica Hernandez, Zehna Hussain, Sonia Jimenez, Devonna Jones, Andrea Larreynaga

M-P Jose Macias, Octavio Magana, Alberto Maldonado, Ricardo Maldonado, Mariana Martinez, Ofelia Mata, Jamelle McDowell, James McDowell, Adilene Mendoza, Erik Monje, Krystal Monje, Alex Mora, David Morales, Sheryl Opeta, Lorena Perez, Maria Plaza

Q-T Florentino Jr. Rodriguez, David Ryan, Jessica Sanchez, Emanuel Sandoval, Natika Sephers, Cathy Silva, Luis Silva, Jerome Stanley, Moses Taufalele, Mervisha Thomas, Loa Toki, Eduardo Torres, Yesenia Toscano, Eduardo Transito Torres, Nicole Tuliau , James Turner.

U-Z Cynthia Valdivias, Sara Verduzco, Shamika Walker, Bernita Washington, LaPria Wilks.

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