Editors' Note: This education dispatch is part of a new ongoing series reported from Mission High School, where youth issues writer Kristina Rizga is known to students as "Miss K." Click here to see all of MoJo's recent education coverage, or follow The Miss K Files on Twitter.
There's a cold rain falling in San Francisco the night of Mission High School's annual open house, and principal Eric Guthertz is chagrined by the low turnout. Iron chandeliers illuminate his face as he stands near the public school's Spanish Baroque-styled entrance. "Welcome!" he says brightly as one prospective family signs in at a greeting table laden with veggies, cookies, and cups of juice. Like many Mission families, this one doesn't speak English, so a Spanish interpreter explains to the parents that she'll be translating Guthertz's talk this evening. The school's parent liasion, Benita Varnado, hands the young mother a small receiver with headphones, while a student volunteer fixes up a plate of cookies for the dad. We all move into the auditorium and wait for the Q&A to begin.
Until recently, Mission High had a pretty bad reputation. This is the place you sometimes landed after being expelled from other schools in the city; some locals still refer to it as a "dumping ground." But in 2009, things started to change in dramatic, visible ways. Dropout rates fell from 32 percent to 8 percent in one year. Test scores shot up. College acceptance rates grew. That's pretty impressive no matter where you are—and practically miraculous in near-bankrupt California, which ranks 47th in the nation [PDF] in terms of school funding per student. Given that nearly half the students here were raised with a first language other than English, and 61 percent are considered poor, it's pretty clear that Guthertz and his colleagues are doing something right. So what is it? And how can other public schools learn from this tiny microcosm, which so neatly demonstrates the nation's inner-city education woes?
Bridget Moynahan Noureen DeWulf Nicollette Sheridan Amber Heard Veronica Kay
