Latest news with #ComptonUnified
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Some of the poorest students get the newest, fanciest public school around: Compton High
Students from among the poorest families in California are about to get the newest, most up-to-date public high school in the state as the rebuilt Compton High prepares to open. The brand-new $225-million, 31-acre campus is strikingly innovative — even experimental in some ways: The library has no books; it's all digital. Classrooms feature an expanse of windows and sliding glass doors. Security measures are high-tech and largely invisible. Traditional components of a high school are meant to be top-in-class. Each station in the weight room is outfitted with an iPad so athletes can design and monitor workout plans. Athletic facilities include two baseball fields, a football stadium, a soccer field, multiple basketball and tennis courts, a swimming pool and a large gymnasium. And for musicians, dancers and drama kids, the performing arts center got a $10-million donation from Compton native Andre "Dr. Dre" Young — commemorated with a massive mural of his face on the building. The new campus was showcased to the public Thursday and, in the fall, will welcome students — who have been roughing it for six years in temporary quarters at a nearby, worn, surplus campus that was formerly a middle school. The campus was paid for with school-construction bonds approved by voters who live within the boundaries of Compton Unified. The new campus replaces a creaky, 1930s-era school with a dignified facade and bell tower. But band director Anthony Ransfer remembers that every item of value inside had to be shifted when it rained because of leaks. Former Compton school board member Charles Davis, who attended Thursday's ribbon-cutting, said he welcomed the new campus but wished the bell tower had been saved. However, officials opted to raze the old school in its entirety to make room for the new, avoiding costly conservation work. "While we cherish those memories, we also know sometimes, to move forward, we must make tough choices," said school board member Satra Zurita. "The truth is, as much as we loved the old school, it simply wasn't serving our students the way they deserved." Until Thursday, student MyShay Causey's only high school experience was at the former middle school. "As someone who's finally seen the inside, there isn't much more I could have asked for," said MyShay, the school's student representative to the Board of Education. "Instead of squishing together on a tiny stage, we'll get to shine in our very own theater, and our home sports will actually be at our home." MyShay, a graduating senior, added with a laugh that she was "super jealous" that she wouldn't get to attend class here. But, she said, "this campus is not only a culmination of years of our community's vision ... it embodies our collective commitment to providing an environment where curiosity is nurtured, creativity is celebrated, and every student is empowered." MyShay and other speakers captured the spirit of the education theory officials said was behind the construction: If you give students the best, they are likely to do better. A top-notch campus alone does not produce academic achievement — and, conversely, a brilliant teacher and an assiduous student in a one-room schoolhouse can make for an upstanding education. But the new Compton High is aimed at improving the odds for a student body with few resources — 93% of Compton students qualify for a free or reduced-price lunch because of low family income. "The environment we've created here at Compton High School will launch scholars' potential," said school board member Ayanna Davis. "This is more than a campus. It's a launchpad." It was lost on no one that this new campus is located in Compton — both notorious and celebrated as a birthplace of L.A. hip-hop culture. Dr. Dre, the rapper, producer and music mogul, waited cheerfully through celebratory speeches before making brief remarks. "I want to say this in front of everybody," he said. "It was not my idea for my head to be as big as that on the side of this building. ... But yeah ... I really appreciate it. Now, this is the type of building that I would have loved to go to when I was a kid growing up. Unfortunately, it wasn't here, but here it is now." For 100 years or more, Compton has been home to the aspiring working class, evolving from a white to a Black and now majority Latino community that still maintains a strong Black presence. Compton High's 1,600-person student body is 84% Latino, 15% Black and 1% Pacific Islander. "There's something special about growing up here," Dr. Dre said. "It's a certain kind of grit that gets cultivated, navigating these streets, and that grit carried me farther than I could ever imagine." The school district is putting the world on notice, said Supt. Darin Brawley. "There are some of you ... you didn't go to school here for high school because you didn't think our high schools then were good enough to go to," Brawley told the outdoor audience of more than 300. "Fast forward to today, Compton is on the move. We are a shining beacon. "Those of you that still talk about how bad Compton schools are, wake up and cease that narrative and start spreading the good word." In terms of increasing test scores, data support Brawley's claims. Although there is much work to do, independent researchers have praised the school system of close to 17,000 students for showing significant, long-term academic improvement that is outpacing growth in California and the nation. The school district has relied heavily on test preparation and test data analysis — an approach that critics say can stunt deep and broad learning. But the new school also showcases a district learning vision that is more nuanced and nurturing. Jordan Ingram, an 11th-grader, found his motivation in band director Ransfer, who encouraged him to learn multiple musical instruments. Both were glowing as they took in the performing arts center. Without music education, Jordan said, "I wouldn't be here. I wouldn't have the goals that I have. I maybe would have flunked out." He has come to like the satisfaction of solving a math problem, even though it's hard. He plans to go to college and become a music teacher, though he also might start his own band along the way. Over several years, Principal Larry Natividad has ramped up arts programs at the temporary campus so they will be ready to go in the fall. The new school has a culinary classroom with professional-grade stoves, ovens and refrigeration. Swimming coaches won't have to rely on stopwatches. Sensors in the wall of the pool will record when a swimmer completes a lap or race. The pool's mechanical room looks like the boiler room of an ocean liner — with giant tanks that purify pool water and another system that stabilizes the temperature. The weight room is enormous, and there's an entirely separate fitness room with different equipment. A treatment room has ice machines to feed full-body ice baths. The cafeteria is organized like a small college student union, with a chess-or-checkers table, foosball tables and pingpong. Classrooms are set up with long electronic cables suspended from the ceiling — so power for a computer will never be far away even if chairs and tables are reconfigured. The school also includes learning innovations that may raise eyebrows. The library is meant to be noisy: It's a lounge-like area with no walls or doors that is bisected by the hallway that traverses the building. And there are no shelves or books — all volumes are digital. Classrooms are organized like high-tech college lecture halls — no teacher has their own room. Instead, each teacher has a desk and a computer in a separate and small "collaboration" room. The design also incorporates extensive natural light; doors are made of glass and adjacent to other panes of glass. The look is in stark defiance of a proliferating security mentality in schools to stop active shooters. Many schools are "hardening the target," making it impossible to see inside rooms, limiting ground-floor windows, locking entry doors and reinforcing them with steel. Compton High is relying instead on a secure campus perimeter, cameras throughout campus and facial recognition technology. Principal Natividad is thinking big. "Make no mistake," he said, recounting a pep talk he had with his students. "We will have a president of the United States coming from Compton. We will have a Supreme Court justice from the city of Compton. We will have various members in leadership to lead our great country, because we are great, and no one is going to tell us that we are not." Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Los Angeles Times
23-05-2025
- General
- Los Angeles Times
Some of the poorest students get the newest, fanciest public school around: Compton High
Students from among the poorest families in California are about to get the newest, most up-to-date public high school in the state as the rebuilt Compton High prepares to open. The brand-new $225-million, 31-acre campus is strikingly innovative — even experimental in some ways: The library has no books; it's all digital. Classrooms feature an expanse of windows and sliding glass doors. Security measures are high-tech and largely invisible. Traditional components of a high school are meant to be top-in-class. Each station in the weight room is outfitted with an iPad so athletes can design and monitor workout plans. Athletic facilities include two baseball fields, a football stadium, a soccer field, multiple basketball and tennis courts, a swimming pool and a large gymnasium. And for musicians, dancers and drama kids, the performing arts center got a $10-million donation from Compton native Andre 'Dr. Dre' Young — commemorated with a massive mural of his face on the building. The new campus was showcased to the public Thursday and, in the fall, will welcome students — who have been roughing it for six years in temporary quarters at a nearby, worn, surplus campus that was formerly a middle school. The campus was paid for with school-construction bonds approved by voters who live within the boundaries of Compton Unified. The new campus replaces a creaky, 1930s-era school with a dignified facade and bell tower. But band director Anthony Ransfer remembers that every item of value inside had to be shifted when it rained because of leaks. Former Compton school board member Charles Davis, who attended Thursday's ribbon-cutting, said he welcomed the new campus but wished the bell tower had been saved. However, officials opted to raze the old school in its entirety to make room for the new, avoiding costly conservation work. 'While we cherish those memories, we also know sometimes, to move forward, we must make tough choices,' said school board member Satra Zurita. 'The truth is, as much as we loved the old school, it simply wasn't serving our students the way they deserved.' Until Thursday, student MyShay Causey's only high school experience was at the former middle school. 'As someone who's finally seen the inside, there isn't much more I could have asked for,' said MyShay, the school's student representative to the Board of Education. 'Instead of squishing together on a tiny stage, we'll get to shine in our very own theater, and our home sports will actually be at our home.' MyShay, a graduating senior, added with a laugh that she was 'super jealous' that she wouldn't get to attend class here. But, she said, 'this campus is not only a culmination of years of our community's vision ... it embodies our collective commitment to providing an environment where curiosity is nurtured, creativity is celebrated, and every student is empowered.' MyShay and other speakers captured the spirit of the education theory officials said was behind the construction: If you give students the best, they are likely to do better. A top-notch campus alone does not produce academic achievement — and, conversely, a brilliant teacher and an assiduous student in a one-room schoolhouse can make for an upstanding education. But the new Compton High is aimed at improving the odds for a student body with few resources — 93% of Compton students qualify for a free or reduced-price lunch because of low family income. 'The environment we've created here at Compton High School will launch scholars' potential,' said school board member Ayanna Davis. 'This is more than a campus. It's a launchpad.' It was lost on no one that this new campus is located in Compton — both notorious and celebrated as a birthplace of L.A. hip-hop culture. Dr. Dre, the rapper, producer and music mogul, waited cheerfully through celebratory speeches before making brief remarks. 'I want to say this in front of everybody,' he said. 'It was not my idea for my head to be as big as that on the side of this building. ... But yeah ... I really appreciate it. Now, this is the type of building that I would have loved to go to when I was a kid growing up. Unfortunately, it wasn't here, but here it is now.' For 100 years or more, Compton has been home to the aspiring working class, evolving from a white to a Black and now majority Latino community that still maintains a strong Black presence. Compton High's 1,600-person student body is 84% Latino, 15% Black and 1% Pacific Islander. 'There's something special about growing up here,' Dr. Dre said. 'It's a certain kind of grit that gets cultivated, navigating these streets, and that grit carried me farther than I could ever imagine.' The school district is putting the world on notice, said Supt. Darin Brawley. 'There are some of you ... you didn't go to school here for high school because you didn't think our high schools then were good enough to go to,' Brawley told the outdoor audience of more than 300. 'Fast forward to today, Compton is on the move. We are a shining beacon. 'Those of you that still talk about how bad Compton schools are, wake up and cease that narrative and start spreading the good word.' In terms of increasing test scores, data support Brawley's claims. Although there is much work to do, independent researchers have praised the school system of close to 17,000 students for showing significant, long-term academic improvement that is outpacing growth in California and the nation. The school district has relied heavily on test preparation and test data analysis — an approach that critics say can stunt deep and broad learning. But the new school also showcases a district learning vision that is more nuanced and nurturing. Jordan Ingram, an 11th-grader, found his motivation in band director Ransfer, who encouraged him to learn multiple musical instruments. Both were glowing as they took in the performing arts center. Without music education, Jordan said, 'I wouldn't be here. I wouldn't have the goals that I have. I maybe would have flunked out.' He has come to like the satisfaction of solving a math problem, even though it's hard. He plans to go to college and become a music teacher, though he also might start his own band along the way. Over several years, Principal Larry Natividad has ramped up arts programs at the temporary campus so they will be ready to go in the fall. The new school has a culinary classroom with professional-grade stoves, ovens and refrigeration. Swimming coaches won't have to rely on stopwatches. Sensors in the wall of the pool will record when a swimmer completes a lap or race. The pool's mechanical room looks like the boiler room of an ocean liner — with giant tanks that purify pool water and another system that stabilizes the temperature. The weight room is enormous, and there's an entirely separate fitness room with different equipment. A treatment room has ice machines to feed full-body ice baths. The cafeteria is organized like a small college student union, with a chess-or-checkers table, foosball tables and pingpong. Classrooms are set up with long electronic cables suspended from the ceiling — so power for a computer will never be far away even if chairs and tables are reconfigured. The school also includes learning innovations that may raise eyebrows. The library is meant to be noisy: It's a lounge-like area with no walls or doors that is bisected by the hallway that traverses the building. And there are no shelves or books — all volumes are digital. Classrooms are organized like high-tech college lecture halls — no teacher has their own room. Instead, each teacher has a desk and a computer in a separate and small 'collaboration' room. The design also incorporates extensive natural light; doors are made of glass and adjacent to other panes of glass. The look is in stark defiance of a proliferating security mentality in schools to stop active shooters. Many schools are 'hardening the target,' making it impossible to see inside rooms, limiting ground-floor windows, locking entry doors and reinforcing them with steel. Compton High is relying instead on a secure campus perimeter, cameras throughout campus and facial recognition technology. Principal Natividad is thinking big. 'Make no mistake,' he said, recounting a pep talk he had with his students. 'We will have a president of the United States coming from Compton. We will have a Supreme Court justice from the city of Compton. We will have various members in leadership to lead our great country, because we are great, and no one is going to tell us that we are not.'
Yahoo
11-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Compton Unified stands out as a national leader in raising student test scores
The Compton Unified School District is winning recognition for its success with students, who are showing significant, long-term academic improvement that is outpacing growth in California and the nation. An analysis of recent standardized test score shows Compton has proven to be a standout exception to overall poor math and reading test scores — even though its overall student proficiency rates have much room to grow. In recent years, Compton Unified teachers have intently studied how students are performing on tests and targeted lessons to weak spots. The district — where nearly all students come from low-income families — also brings in corps of tutors who walk the class and offer on-the-spot help. And teacher training in math and reading has been bolstered. When compared to other districts with similar demographics, Compton is among a handful of districts that have succeeded in raising scores beyond pre-pandemic levels of 2019, according to a project called the Education Recovery Scorecard — a collaboration between researchers at Harvard, Stanford and Dartmouth universities. Recovery Scorecard researchers used test scores from the National Assessment of Educational Progress, which is based on a relatively small sample of fourth- and eighth-graders, and determined a correlation to state testing programs that measured virtually all third- through eighth-grade students. This calculation allowed for a comparison of 8,719 school districts across 43 states. Read more: Low math and English scores mark the nation's report card, California and L.A. included The Compton turnaround — which also is reflected in other analyses — has rewritten the script for a school system that for decades made headlines with bad news: a district bankruptcy, a state takeover, corruption allegations, cheating scandals and perpetually low student achievement. Students in Compton are scoring more than half a grade level better in math than in 2019 and approaching half a grade level better in reading. In contrast, state and national scores show the average student remains half a grade level behind pre-pandemic achievement in both reading and math. In reading, especially, students are even further behind than they were in 2022, the new analysis shows. "Test scores in Compton were increasing rapidly before the pandemic, and have continued increasing," said Sean F. Reardon, professor of poverty and inequality in education at Stanford University. In 2015, Compton students scored two grade levels below the California average and 2.5 grade levels below the national average. Today, Reardon said, Compton has matched the state average in math and stands about one-third of a grade level below the state average in reading: "That's a remarkable and sustained pattern of improvement over the last decade." Compton's formula, which includes prepping students for standardized testing, is an approach considered controversial in some quarters. An over-emphasis on test-prep can narrow the curriculum and make school less engaging and less academically and socially nurturing in the long run, some educators say. Compton administrators think they've found a reasonable balance. The district justifies a test-centered strategy on the grounds that the state testing is aligned with what students are supposed to be learning. The Compton approach includes frequent diagnostic tests that are used to get students accustomed to the language of testing and also to adjust teaching and to single out students for extra help — in school, after school or on Saturdays. The data analysis in Compton happens at all levels. Teachers meet weekly with their colleagues within their schools. Principals at each academic level — elementary, middle and high school — gather every four to six weeks with each other and Supt. Darin Brawley. Students are included in the analysis so they know where they stand. 'Looking at my data, it kind of disappoints me' when the numbers are low, said sixth-grader Harmoni Knight, a student at Davis Middle School. 'But it makes me realize I can do better in the future, and also now.' Compton also has relied heavily on a form of tutoring that researchers have deemed most effective — immediate in-person, in-class help. The district deploys more than 250 tutors daily to classes across the school system of about 17,000 students. The district has benefited, too, from philanthropy and higher levels of state and federal aid — and appears to have used such resources effectively. Compton received $9,064 per student from the federal Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief program for pandemic recovery — one of the highest amounts in California, according to the researchers. By comparison, L.A. Unified, the nation's second-largest school system, also fell into this high funding category, receiving nearly $200 more per student than Compton. L.A. has fared much better since the pandemic than a number of other large school systems, but it has not kept pace with the rate of improvement in Compton. The researchers concluded that, across the nation, more money made a positive difference, but that it helped some school districts more than others. Stable leadership also could be a factor for Compton: Brawley joined the school system as superintendent in 2012 after leading school-turnaround efforts as a deputy superintendent in Adelanto. "When I first got here," Brawley said, "every surrounding district was kicking our tail, whether it was Lynwood, Paramount, L.A. Unified, Bellflower — you name it. They were all outperforming us. So we began literally bench-marking their performance so that our performance would become better. And we started establishing smart goals to produce better results." Compton high school math instructor Annie Belonio, who started teaching in Compton in 2002, said that early in her career the training and curriculum guidance was "hit and miss." "They would give one day of training at the start of the year and then give you the curriculum and you're on your own,' she said. But for the last decade or more, "we started having curriculum councils with teachers of different levels. We meet, talk, plan out things that should be included and how to deliver and how to assess." The district targets areas that the state measures — reading and math test scores — but also graduation rates, college preparation, chronic absenteeism and suspension rates. "We wanted Compton Unified to become one of the best districts that we could within the districts that we benchmark ourselves against," Brawley said. "And we've pretty much done that." Brawley's presentation includes a list of school districts across the state with a poverty rate similar to the 93% of Compton students who qualify for a free or reduced-price school lunch because of low family income. Among those districts, Compton is a leader in overall academic achievement, not just rate of improvement. California's own test data back up Brawley's claims, while also making clear that challenges that lie ahead. In Compton, for grades three through eight, 41.9% of students were reading at a proficient level in tests administered last spring. This compares to 39.8% in L.A. Unified and 44.8% for the state. In math, Compton's proficiency rate was 36.7%, compared to 34.6% for L.A. Unified and 36.9% for California. 'Even though we gained, and we celebrate the gains, at the end of the day we all know that we can do better,' Brawley said. Brawley said his current goals include a 50% proficiency rate for math and 60% for reading. On a recent Friday, second-year instructor Nathalie Robles was teaching Compton High 11th-graders about exponents in her integrated math class — and had multiple strategies to make sure students were keeping up. She carried cards with student names — so that she would call on everyone. She set a timer for certain math problems — so all students knew they were being challenged to pay attention and move quickly. She called students up to a white board to explain how they solved math problems. But it's hard to know in the moment whether all 28 students are keeping up, even though she moved from table to table to help them. For this class, she had two tutors also moving from table to table. One of them, Joseph Flores, glided toward a student table to help a girl with a quizzical expression. She was hesitating over a problem involving the manipulation of exponents. "We take the exponent from the top minus the exponent from the bottom, right?" explained Flores, who majored in math at Cal State L.A. After about a minute of coaching, the student was ready to finish the problem. "We're immediately reinforcing what they're learning," Flores said. "We are able to really key in on any type of concerns that they might have, anything that they might have missed, really just making sure that they get all their questions answered there and then before they forget." "I see a drastic improvement in the students from the beginning of the semester to the end of the school year." This approach also builds on research stressing the importance of having students learn a concept when it's first taught to them — because it's harder to catch up. Delshanae Williams, a Compton High 11th-grader, recalled that in middle school she had worked with math tutors every day. Now she's in honors math. Her classmate Froylan Diaz said it was hard to get back on track — academically and socially — when campuses reopened in the wake of the pandemic. "The pandemic affected me in the way where I didn't understand the subject or the math as much as I do now, in person," he said. "I felt that I struggled more during the pandemic because it wasn't hands on... working out the problems in person." Associated Press reporters Annie Ma, Jocelyn Gecker and Sharon Lurye contributed reporting and analysis. Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Los Angeles Times
11-02-2025
- General
- Los Angeles Times
Compton Unified stands out as a national leader in raising student test scores
The Compton Unified School District is winning recognition for its success with students, who are showing significant, long-term academic improvement that is outpacing growth in California and the nation. An analysis of recent standardized test score shows Compton has proven to be a standout exception to overall poor math and reading test scores — even though its overall student proficiency rates have much room to grow. In recent years, Compton Unified teachers have intently studied how students are performing on tests and targeted lessons to weak spots. The district — where nearly all students come from low-income families — also brings in corps of tutors who walk the class and offer on-the-spot help. And teacher training in math and reading has been bolstered. When compared to other districts with similar demographics, Compton is among a handful of districts that have succeeded in raising scores beyond pre-pandemic levels of 2019, according to a project called the Education Recovery Scorecard — a collaboration between researchers at Harvard, Stanford and Dartmouth universities. Recovery Scorecard researchers used test scores from the National Assessment of Educational Progress, which is based on a relatively small sample of fourth- and eighth-graders, and determined a correlation to state testing programs that measured virtually all third- through eighth-grade students. This calculation allowed for a comparison of 8,719 school districts across 43 states. The Compton turnaround — which also is reflected in other analyses — has rewritten the script for a school system that for decades made headlines with bad news: a district bankruptcy, a state takeover, corruption allegations, cheating scandals and perpetually low student achievement. Students in Compton are scoring more than half a grade level better in math than in 2019 and approaching half a grade level better in reading. In contrast, state and national scores show the average student remains half a grade level behind pre-pandemic achievement in both reading and math. In reading, especially, students are even further behind than they were in 2022, the new analysis shows. 'Test scores in Compton were increasing rapidly before the pandemic, and have continued increasing,' said Sean F. Reardon, professor of poverty and inequality in education at Stanford University. In 2015, Compton students scored two grade levels below the California average and 2.5 grade levels below the national average. Today, Reardon said, Compton has matched the state average in math and stands about one-third of a grade level below the state average in reading: 'That's a remarkable and sustained pattern of improvement over the last decade.' Compton's formula, which includes prepping students for standardized testing, is an approach considered controversial in some quarters. An over-emphasis on test-prep can narrow the curriculum and make school less engaging and less academically and socially nurturing in the long run, some educators say. Compton administrators think they've found a reasonable balance. The district justifies a test-centered strategy on the grounds that the state testing is aligned with what students are supposed to be learning. The Compton approach includes frequent diagnostic tests that are used to get students accustomed to the language of testing and also to adjust teaching and to single out students for extra help — in school, after school or on Saturdays. The data analysis in Compton happens at all levels. Teachers meet weekly with their colleagues within their schools. Principals at each academic level — elementary, middle and high school — gather every four to six weeks with each other and Supt. Darin Brawley. Students are included in the analysis so they know where they stand. 'Looking at my data, it kind of disappoints me' when the numbers are low, said sixth-grader Harmoni Knight, a student at Davis Middle School. 'But it makes me realize I can do better in the future, and also now.' Compton also has relied heavily on a form of tutoring that researchers have deemed most effective — immediate in-person, in-class help. The district deploys more than 250 tutors daily to classes across the school system of about 17,000 students. The district has benefited, too, from philanthropy and higher levels of state and federal aid — and appears to have used such resources effectively. Compton received $9,064 per student from the federal Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief program for pandemic recovery — one of the highest amounts in California, according to the researchers. By comparison, L.A. Unified, the nation's second-largest school system, also fell into this high funding category, receiving nearly $200 more per student than Compton. L.A. has fared much better since the pandemic than a number of other large school systems, but it has not kept pace with the rate of improvement in Compton. The researchers concluded that, across the nation, more money made a positive difference, but that it helped some school districts more than others. Stable leadership also could be a factor for Compton: Brawley joined the school system as superintendent in 2012 after leading school-turnaround efforts as a deputy superintendent in Adelanto. 'When I first got here,' Brawley said, 'every surrounding district was kicking our tail, whether it was Lynwood, Paramount, L.A. Unified, Bellflower — you name it. They were all outperforming us. So we began literally bench-marking their performance so that our performance would become better. And we started establishing smart goals to produce better results.' Compton high school math instructor Annie Belonio, who started teaching in Compton in 2002, said that early in her career the training and curriculum guidance was 'hit and miss.' 'They would give one day of training at the start of the year and then give you the curriculum and you're on your own,' she said. But for the last decade or more, 'we started having curriculum councils with teachers of different levels. We meet, talk, plan out things that should be included and how to deliver and how to assess.' The district targets areas that the state measures — reading and math test scores — but also graduation rates, college preparation, chronic absenteeism and suspension rates. 'We wanted Compton Unified to become one of the best districts that we could within the districts that we benchmark ourselves against,' Brawley said. 'And we've pretty much done that.' Brawley's presentation includes a list of school districts across the state with a poverty rate similar to the 93% of Compton students who qualify for a free or reduced-price school lunch because of low family income. Among those districts, Compton is a leader in overall academic achievement, not just rate of improvement. California's own test data back up Brawley's claims, while also making clear that challenges that lie ahead. In Compton, for grades three through eight, 41.9% of students were reading at a proficient level in tests administered last spring. This compares to 39.8% in L.A. Unified and 44.8% for the state. In math, Compton's proficiency rate was 36.7%, compared to 34.6% for L.A. Unified and 36.9% for California. 'Even though we gained, and we celebrate the gains, at the end of the day we all know that we can do better,' Brawley said. Brawley said his current goals include a 50% proficiency rate for math and 60% for reading. On a recent Friday, second-year instructor Nathalie Robles was teaching Compton High 11th-graders about exponents in her integrated math class — and had multiple strategies to make sure students were keeping up. She carried cards with student names — so that she would call on everyone. She set a timer for certain math problems — so all students knew they were being challenged to pay attention and move quickly. She called students up to a white board to explain how they solved math problems. But it's hard to know in the moment whether all 28 students are keeping up, even though she moved from table to table to help them. For this class, she had two tutors also moving from table to table. One of them, Joseph Flores, glided toward a student table to help a girl with a quizzical expression. She was hesitating over a problem involving the manipulation of exponents. 'We take the exponent from the top minus the exponent from the bottom, right?' explained Flores, who majored in math at Cal State L.A. After about a minute of coaching, the student was ready to finish the problem. 'We're immediately reinforcing what they're learning,' Flores said. 'We are able to really key in on any type of concerns that they might have, anything that they might have missed, really just making sure that they get all their questions answered there and then before they forget.' 'I see a drastic improvement in the students from the beginning of the semester to the end of the school year.' This approach also builds on research stressing the importance of having students learn a concept when it's first taught to them — because it's harder to catch up. Delshanae Williams, a Compton High 11th-grader, recalled that in middle school she had worked with math tutors every day. Now she's in honors math. Her classmate Froylan Diaz said it was hard to get back on track — academically and socially — when campuses reopened in the wake of the pandemic. 'The pandemic affected me in the way where I didn't understand the subject or the math as much as I do now, in person,' he said. 'I felt that I struggled more during the pandemic because it wasn't hands on... working out the problems in person.' Associated Press reporters Annie Ma, Jocelyn Gecker and Sharon Lurye contributed reporting and analysis.
