Central Valley California School District Develops Education Success Formula; Graduates 94% of Hispanic Students; Spends 50% less than Madison per student

Gosia Wozniacka:

When Yadir Sanchez arrived in this San Joaquin Valley agricultural town at age 5, she joined a well-traveled path to academic failure that children of other Mexican farmworkers had been on for years.

Students like Sanchez - poor, Hispanic and barely bilingual - routinely fell through the cracks in the Sanger Unified School District, which had one of the worst records in the state. Lacking basic math and English skills, students were pushed into trades or allowed to drop out.

Sanchez appeared to be no different, speaking only Spanish in kindergarten and struggling with English until fifth grade.

But something remarkable happened that lifted the fortunes of Sanchez and so many like her. The district reinvented itself, making huge strides by shaking up the way teachers worked with students, parents and each other.

In 2012, the district graduated 94 percent of its Hispanic students, 20 percentage points higher than the state average and similar districts. Its Hispanic dropout rate was just 3 percent, compared to 18 percent statewide.

Sanger's success is still the exception across California. While Latinos are poised to become the state's largest ethnic group in 2014, they continue to score lower on standardized tests, graduate at lower rates and drop out more often than other students.

Gov. Jerry Brown recently signed legislation that will funnel more money to help poorer schools, but Sanger's success serves as a model for how a district made vast gains despite budget cuts.

Mark Arax

Take Sanger Unified, for one. Six years ago, the achievement gap between whites in Sanger and whites in Fresno stood at 57 points on the API test. Today, the gap has widened to 78 points. Whites in Sanger score 892 points on the API compared to 814 points for whites in Fresno. The gap between Latinos, by far the majority population in both districts, is even wider. Latinos in Sanger score 811 on the API compared to 708 for Latinos in Fresno. The most stunning gap -- a gulf really -- can be seen in the black community. Blacks in Sanger score 821 while blacks in Fresno score 665. That's a 156-point difference in two districts whose headquarters sit a few miles apart.

Sanger will spend $80,795,175 for 11,000 students during the 2013-2014 school year (PDF Budget document), or $7,345 per student. That is about half the amount Madison spends per student (!) and similar to the national average.

Sanger's "Academic Performance Index". Demographic comparison: Sanger | Madison.

Sanger high school offers 14 AP courses.

Madison's substantial per student spending continues, despite long term disastrous reading results.

Posted by Jim Zellmer at January 5, 2014 4:31 AM
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