By Fernando Navarro, Alonzo Terry, and Crystal Sawyer-White
The 2016 election season is concluding. We’ve heard from the candidates, and while they have differing ideas, they all agree on one thing: Antioch needs good, high-paying jobs.
How will we draw the high-tech firms that can provide these jobs? Only by improving the quality of education. Only when the educational opportunities in the Antioch Unified School District (AUSD) are second to none, will companies that provide such jobs locate here.
For many years, we have not been providing the clear majority of our students with the type of education that will draw people to Antioch. But, that can change. It starts by electing a school board that will prioritize and refocus resources toward academic achievement. We, the undersigned, have a plan to do just that.
Our vision for our schools is, to borrow a phrase, “to focus like a laser” on academics. This focus needs to begin at the earliest possible time, and involves four main ideas, starting with the development of literacy.
First, we need to ensure that our children are all reading proficiently not by third grade, but in kindergarten and first grade. Private schools in Antioch are already accomplishing this. They do it by providing students with a phonics-based curriculum. They do it by providing full-day classes. They do it by welcoming parents into the classroom to assist with this important endeavor. They do it by establishing reading groups, and then reading, reading, reading.
Second, we need to dramatically increase proficiency in math. To do this, we first need to be intellectually honest, and recognize that students cannot progress until they master fundamental skills, and that students learn at different rates. We already have one program in the district, Math Intensive, that has shown incredible results by recognizing these facts. The data from their last program report submitted to AUSD indicated that students improve about two-and-a-half times faster than students in a regular classroom. African-American students in the program, the demographic most harmed by the achievement gap, improve at three times the regular classroom rate, an even more remarkable achievement. Expanding this, and similar programs, is the fastest way to improve student outcomes in math.
Third, we need to develop a college-bound culture. Again, we already have an organization working with AUSD, Parents Connected, that is getting the job done. Parents Connected helps students with college entrance essays, scholarship applications, and test preparation. They established a program of college tours, and provide mentors for students. Most of the students in their mentoring program do go on to college. This is another program that should be expanded.
Fourth, and probably most important, we need to be completely open and transparent with all stakeholders. We shouldn’t be posting only good news, or only bad news. We need to be open about our results, good and bad, but be clear about our plans for continuous improvement. Trying to ‘spin’ bad results, the theme our opponents are advocating, is a recipe for failure.
Let’s pull together, make academics our priority, and we’ll see parents clamoring to place their children in our schools…and companies clamoring to locate their businesses in Antioch. Vote for us, Navarro, Terry, and Sawyer-White, and we’ll deliver the much-needed change our children, and our community, deserve.
