Heritage's success rare among local schools.
By Emily Berg, Staff Writer/Daily PressVICTORVILLE - Parents volunteering in classrooms, attending parent conferences and participating in school meetings and field trips make Heritage School successful, said Principal John Garner.
The kindergarten though eighth grade school in Phelan scored the highest among High Desert schools on the state's report card for schools, the Academic Performance Index.
Heritage School scored 869 on a 200 to 1,000 scale and was the only school to rank in the top percentile when compared to schools statewide and to schools with similar characteristics, according to information from the California Department of Education.
The state released the revised 2004 API scores as well as school rankings of 1 through 10, on Tuesday. Throughout the High Desert, only 29 percent of the public schools scored at or above the state median score. Only 25 percent ranked in the top half in both comparisons - the statewide comparison and the similar schools comparison, according to information from the state.
The median API score for elementary schools in 2004 is 730, middle schools is 696 and high schools is 668, according to information from the state.
"That commitment from the parents is what I think makes the difference," Garner said.
Heritage is a parent choice school, which means students throughout the Snowline Joint Unified School District can attend there rather than just the students who live within its boundaries. It also means there is no bus service and parents must provide the transportation.
The school requires that parents volunteer at the school at least one hour a month, Garner said.
"When the parents are committed, it makes the children committed and it makes teaching easier for our staff," Garner said. Garner also praised the students' and staff's hard work and dedication for the school's academic performance.
The Academy for Academic Excellence, the charter school at the Lewis Center for Educational Research, scored the highest among local high schools - 752. It also received a 9 out of 10 when compared to schools with similar characteristics and a 10 when compared to schools statewide, according to information from the state.
Principal Gordon Soholt said the Academy's success is due to maintaining a small school. The school only admits 100 students per grade level in the seventh through 12th grades and 40 students in elementary grades. "By restricting the number of students in each grade level we are able to deal with students on an individual basis as needed," Soholt said. Although the charter school has students from kindergarten through 12th grade it is compared to high schools because that is its largest student population.
Throughout the High Desert six elementary schools scored above 800 the goal set by the state for all schools to reach. In Apple Valley, Rio Vista scored 859 and Desert Knolls scored 812. Wrightwood Elementary School scored 832. In Victorville, Discovery School of the Arts scored 800 and The Academy of Performing Arts and Foreign Language scored 823.
Used with permission by Daily Press, Freedom Communication, 2005