MAKING THE GRADE: RIVER VALLEY CHARTER SCHOOL OUTPERFORMS OTHER SAN DIEGO COUNTY HIGH SCHOOLS

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By Ray M. Wong

December 8, 2010 (Lakeside)--The school doesn’t look that impressive: A waist-high, chain-link fence separates a gravel parking lot from the school, a cluster of portable structures But appearances can be deceiving. River Valley Charter, a small public school in Lakeside serving 7th to 12th graders, has been the highest rated high school in San Diego County for seven years running.

 

It’s 2010 Academic Performance Index (API) score: 920. The API ranges from 200 to a high of 1000 based on how a school’s students score on state standardized tests. River Valley, a rural school of 253 students, is outperforming high schools in Del Mar, La Jolla and Coronado.
 

This small, rural school has been given a silver medal rank by “US News & World Report” for its excellence in preparing students for college. In 2004, the San Diego County Grand Jury commended River Valley for its outstanding API ratings.

They do all this on an annual budget of just under $1.6 million.

How does this tiny school work such wonders?
 

River Valley has ten teachers and an average student to teacher ratio of 15 to 1. Students attend four core classes in the areas of English, math, history and science for 75-minute sessions on campus twice a week. 

 

That’s not a misprint. Students meet for formal instruction two times a week in class, but they're not just hanging out at the beach on other weekdays. On non-instruction days, students do assignments at home in the same manner that college students must devote considerable homework time outside of class to be successful.

 

The unique state Average Daily Attendance funding format for River Valley is determined by the amount of homework students turn in within a specified time period, rather than how much seat time students occupy in class.
 

Since River Valley students are preparing for college, they are practicing the skills of time-management, organization, prioritizing work, initiative and responsibility – life skills that will serve them well in college and beyond.

 

Principal Cheryl Bloom conveyed how they prep their students for college. “Truly, that’s what we’re moving toward from 7th to 12th grade,” she said. “You’re taking students and working on their organizational and time management abilities and you’re preparing them for a college program. If you go to college, you’re on a two-day or a three-day program. By the time our kids leave River Valley, they’ve got it down. We’re basically a college model.”
 

How is River Valley able to maintain an average student to teacher ratio of 15 to 1 when other schools are at 35 or even 40 to 1 because of the state budget situation?

 

They have the support of the Lakeside Union School District, which doesn’t charge the school rent for the facilities, and River Valley isn’t concerned with outside appearances. “You’re looking at portables rather than a big, shiny building,” Bloom related. “I don’t get any more funds than anyone else, but it’s how you spend your money. We don’t put it into the buildings. It’s what’s inside that counts. It’s what’s happening between the teacher and the students. We believe that with the smaller numbers, we’re able to do a better job – so no one falls through the cracks.”
 

Because of its reputation, River Valley gets students and parents who are serious about education. “We have the kids that basically just want to go to school. They just want to learn. The kids are very respectful. You’ll see kids that go up and kiss their parent on the cheek. I mean we’re talking about 9th graders or 10th graders who will give (parents) a hug,” Bloom said.
 

River Valley also has dedicated teachers who participate in a formalized tutoring period from 3:15 to 4:30 p.m. at the end of each school day, so students can always receive help. Teachers are available by e-mail and phone to students.
 

Stephen Hunsberger has been teaching science for six years at River Valley. He loves his career. The instruction is intense, focused and needs to combine the in-class lessons with rigorous outside homework. It takes more preparation, planning, organization and grading. This doesn’t faze him because he gets to work with some great kids. He trusts his students. If he leaves the room during a quiz, the students remain on task, and cheating isn’t even a concern.
 

“I have a very close relationship with the students because I teach the same group of kids three years in a row,” Hunsberger said. “I’m their biology teacher in 10th grade, then chemistry and physics, so by the end, you know, I love them. They are my children. They have my phone number. They can call me with questions, and they do, and that’s really special.”
 

Eric Martin is a 17-year-old who has attended River Valley since the 7th grade. He is taking physics and AP English. He’s in a robotics club and enjoys building and programming robots to enter in tournaments. He’s also concurrently enrolled in an online psychology course at Grossmont College and a linear algebra class at Palomar College. Martin likes the smaller size of River Valley compared to other schools, but there’s another reason he enrolled at River Valley. “People don’t seem to resent you for getting good grades here,” Martin said. “If you get good grades, nobody hates you, and nobody shuns you.”
 

Hunsberger echoes the sentiment. “The school culture is amazing. I’ve never seen a fight here,” he said. “(The students) help each other. Help at another school is like, ‘Let me copy your homework.’ Help here is like, ‘Let me explain the homework to you so you can understand.’ The kids have a great attitude here.”

 

River Valley Charter School is located at 9707 ½ Marilla Drive in Lakeside. For more information, visit www.rivervalleyhigh.org or call (619)390-2579.

 

Ray M. Wong is a freelance writer in Rancho San Diego. He writes about people who make a difference in their communities. If you know someone deserving notice for the work they’re doing in the community, contact Ray at ray@raywong.info or through his website www.raywong.info.

 


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