Save Fresno Unified is a partnership between Fresno Citizens for Good Government and the citizen advisory group who produced the “Choosing our Future” report. "Choosing our Future" is a plan to turn Fresno Unified from one of the worst school districts in the nation to what we hope will become one of the best. Nothing is more important to the future prosperity of our community. Our purpose is to monitor progress of the District and to encourage community support for this ambitious and vitally important turn-around effort.
Two districts were identified by the Task Force as “best practices” schools, the Long Beach School District and the Garden Grove School District. Both have demographics that are every bit as challenging as Fresno Unified. Both have much better student achievement records and financial stability than FUSD, and both have received widespread State and national recognition as “high-performing” urban schools. To a much greater degree than FUSD, both districts have recognized the enormous change in their student population over the last twenty years, from the highly homogeneous demographics of the 70’s to the highly diverse student bodies of today, and they have adjusted their instructional, organizational and fiscal policies accordingly. Case studies for each of the districts included in Appendix “F” of this report. There is a high degree of congruence in the practices used by both districts to achieve their enviable results. These practices have had a significant influence on the Task Force recommendations.
Demographic Comparisons Table No. 1
School FundingTable No. 2
Academic PerformanceTable No. 3
Expulsions and Drop-Out Rates 2002-03 Table No. 4
*4 Year Derived Rate (9-12)
To summarize, Garden Grove and Long Beach have: The Task Force understands that these top-level demographic comparisons do not tell the complete picture. For example, the fact that our Asian population is comparable in size to that of the other two districts does not reveal that we have a much higher percentage of Asian refugees than do the other two districts, or the fact that our poverty rate is accompanied by a higher use of drugs and alcohol than the other districts. Yes, our challenges may be larger in some respects, but the disparity in our academic achievement is so enormous compared to the other two districts that it cannot be dismissed on account of these differences. And, in any case, however difficult they may be, our challenges must be faced.
It’s clear from looking at the benchmark districts that, within a reasonable range, average class size bears little correlation with academic achievement. While Garden Grove and Long Beach, with larger average class sizes have made enviable progress on academic achievement, FUSD is going in the opposite direction, the number of schools in Program Improvement having increased from 2002-03 to 2004-05. The fact that the two districts have larger class sizes than Fresno is more economically significant than might appear at first glance. If FUSD were to increase its average class size from 27.2 to the Long Beach average class size of 29.0, the result would be an annual operating savings to FUSD of approximately $8 million.
FUSD funding per ADA is about 14% higher than the two other districts, largely because its higher poverty rate makes the District eligible for more restricted programs. If only unrestricted funding is measured, the FUSD funding differential declines to 7%. It should be noted that restricted programs bring with them additional administrative burdens.
It’s interesting to contrast the FUSD expulsion rate and drop-out rate with these two “best practices” districts:
- Although both LBUSD and GGUSD have tough policies to enforce codes of behavior for students, including zero tolerance for certain kinds of offenses, it is evident from the numbers that judgment and discretion take precedence over “by the book” policies. While both districts are committed to not allowing disruptive behavior in the classroom, they are also committed to discipline policies that keep children in school. In-school suspensions are the norm at both districts. Instead of rewarding inappropriate behavior by sending students home, they are required to remain in school and continue their education, but in an environment that does not adversely affect other students.
- For the most part, the policies used by LBUSD and GGUSD to minimize drop-outs are baked into their academic strategies. They have fewer drop-outs because rigorous implementation of their retention policies prevent children from being promoted before they are ready, and because they avoid losing transient students through a policy of uniform cross-district curriculum, textbooks, EL and program improvement programs. Both districts rigorously enforce their retention policies for children that do not meet academic standards, but they also work hard to bring those children along. Summer school is mandatory for students that are retained.
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