Banning High escapes 'failed' list

Banning High in Wilmington became the only California high school this year to shed the dreaded label of being among the worst of the worst.

But was this triumph something of a technicality?

Banning High played host to a celebration Thursday that was attended by L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and L.A. Unified Supt. David Brewer.

"I congratulate the entire learning community at Banning High School and commend everyone for their extraordinary achievement," Brewer said in a statement.

School board member Richard Vladovic, who represents that area, echoed the praise.
      
"This is a great moment for the entire Wilmington community," Vladovic said. "Banning High School students, families, support staff, teachers and administrative staff have set a great example for all of us. This is just the beginning of the positive changes at Banning."

District officials said that hundreds of students and their families attended festivities that included performances by the Banning High School marching band, cheerleading squad and drill team.

At one level, they had much to celebrate. No other high school in California did what Banning did. It escaped the hated "program improvement" designation, which means that a school has failed to meet all of its test-score targets under the federal No Child Left Behind law. Banning had been in program improvement for at least five years, which is as bad as it gets.

The designation applies to numerous other L.A. Unified schools. But Banning escaped by hitting its state-established targets two years in a row. Only 12 California middle and elementary schools accomplished a similar escape.

Lucky for Banning that it got out based on last year's tests. This year's standards are higher. If this year's standards had applied, Banning would have remained in program improvement. In fact, Banning will have to get considerably better or it's going to get the label back. Banning's test scores remain among the worst in the state, even though, to the school's credit, the scores have improved each of the last two years.

The X factor is whether rising standards will remain in force or whether federal policy will allow a relaxing of academic standards. L.A. Unified -- and most other school systems -- are looking for relief from federal goals that would require nearly every student to be academically proficient by 2014.

How close is Banning?

According to 2007 test results, 30.7 % of its students are proficient in English and 37% are proficient in math. Some of the subgroups are doing worse, notably English learners and low-income students in both subjects and African Americans in math.

--Howard Blume

Comments

[Debora Anderson]

I'm a mother of a 11 year old which this is her first year attending middle school i fear for her safety and her education. Parents don't care and teachers have no controll, I teach my child to be polite.And homework is a must. But all she seems to come home with are problems ,she says the teacher scream and yell,black kids are mean and hispanic kids dont like black.My fear is that this school will conrupt what i have instill in my daughter and im just going to move out of LA unified school district .Children are nothing but a dollar to them. They don't look at our children as our future.