California GEAR UP e-Newsletter

Dr. MacLean has been principal for eight years, currently at Helms Middle School since July 2001. She received an Ed.D. from St. Mary’s College, School of Education in May, 2005. In 2004 she was honored as the 2004 Middle School Principal of the Year by the Richmond Association of School Administrators, West Contra Costa Unified School District. She also has been an instructor at the Principals’ Leadership Institute, 2001-2003, University of California at Berkeley, Graduate School of Education.

Located in San Pablo in the East Bay area, Helms Middle School currently enrolls 950 students in grades 6-8. The students’ ethnicities include 70 % Latino, 14% African American and 9% Asian. Of the 53 % English Language Learners, 56 students speak Mien, a Chinese language of refugees from Laos and Thailand. Eighty-four per cent of the students are on Free or Reduced Price Lunch, and 46% of the parents have not graduated from high school.

Happy New Year! During this second grant cycle, California GEAR UP continues to provide quality services to middle schools through our school-based model. This model serves only schools with at least 51 percent of their students eligible for free-or reduced price lunch programs. We maintain our focus on developing an infrastructure of support for families and educators of all the students in GEAR UP schools across the state. As described by our vision statement, our commitment is to provide “Academic Excellence and Access to College for ALL Students”.

The leadership of the principal is crucial to the development and sustainability of a college-going
culture at the school site. In her words on this page, Principal Harriet MacLean acknowledges the transformation that occurred at Helms Middle School and we applaud their continued success.

Penny Fraumeni, principal of Fairgrove Academy in La Puente, was selected as California Elementary “Principal of the Year” for 2005 by the Association of California School Administrators (ACSA). Nominated by her staff, Fraumeni is a 21 year principal in the Hacienda La Puente Unified School District. After selecting the staff that shared her vision, she opened Fairgrove Academy in 1997 as a new K-8 school focused on the arts and technology. The school presently serves more than 900 Latino students from the greater La Puente area.

In 2004 Fairgrove Academy began participation in California GEAR UP. Their school vision says, “ALL Fairgrove students will be provided a college going culture through high quality academic programs, balanced and enhanced with specialized programs in the Visual and Performing Arts and Technology.” The principal and Leadership Team selected two areas of focus on their Professional Development Action Plan (PDAP). The first, High Quality Teaching, will involve the Language Arts and math teachers. They will attend the CLMS Conference and Mathematics Conference with the intended outcome of increasing academic knowledge. The second focus is using Family/ Neighborhood/School Support strategies. Parents’ college visitations are planned for the second semester. The expected outcomes are to increase parents’ academic rigor.

Regional Coordinator: Shirley A. Cunningham

Located in Whittier, Los Nietos has 301 students enrolled in grades 6, 7 and 8. It is the only middle school in the district with three feeder elementary schools. The students move on to three different high schools in another district. Student ethnicities include 95% Hispanic, 2% Caucasian, and 1% African-American; all are on the free and reduced price lunch program.

The School Leadership Team uses leadership by committee to move forward on their goals. Teachers voluntarily meet after school to work on the tasks, delegated by the committee, for the College/Career Week. Some of their events include visits to the local high schools, a College Fair with a questionnaire for students to complete, a College Poster Day featuring public and private colleges and universities in California and out of state, and a University of Southern California (USC) presentation.

Left to right: Jeanette Salinas, Site Contact; Rita Morales, Counselor; Desiree Chavez, Mathematics teacher; Christina Fontenot, Language Arts teacher

Coordinator: Shirley A. Cunningham

Located in Northridge in the San Fernando Valley, Holmes International Middle School currently enrolls 1450 students in grades 6-8 with 1050 in the traditional program and 400 in the Humanities magnet. Students come from a large geographic area of the northern San Fernando Valley, including parts of Panorama City. The predominant ethnicities are 60% Hispanic, 21% White, 7% African-American, 7% Filipino, and 5% Asian; 332 students are English Language Learners.

In 2002 the staff recognized a high achievement gap between white students and African-American and Hispanic students. They wanted to increase the academic rigor of the classes as well as increase parent and community involvement. After attending the GEAR UP Community Conference in March 2004, the assistant principal and counselor returned to the school “jazzed” from the presentations.

Once part of the California GEAR UP program, the School Leadership Team saw the need to involve all of the school staff in using the GEAR UP tools, especially the School Self Assessment Rubric (SSAR). With the help of facilitators, the team used the SSAR with the faculty to determine their priorities. This process helped to establish a common vision with participation from the whole school team.

Holmes MS, left to right: Valerie Turner, Principal; Kathryn Hack, Counselor; Susana DeLeon, English/ESL Teacher; Kevin Waitley, Math Teacher; Felicia Drew, Assistant Principal/Site Contact

Regional Coordinator: Joann Zgonc