Jill Kerper Mora
San Diego State
University
The Calexico Success Story
According to a recent study conducted by professors from San Diego State University (Mora, Jones & Palacio, 1999) the Calexico Unified School District tells a remarkable success story. Although according to the demographic characteristics of its school population, there would be a predicted drop-out rate of 31%, Calexico’s rate for students not completing high school is only 14% annually. Twenty percent of Calexico High School graduates go on to four year universities, while another 58% continue their education at a community college. Of students statewide who are admitted to the University of California system, Hispanics include 3.8%. Among Hispanic students from Calexico, the admissions rate to the UC system is almost double the predicted rate, at seven percent of graduates.
University researchers and school officials attribute Calexico’s success in producing high achievement for Hispanic students to several factors. First, the outstanding leadership of administrators is credited for the soundness of the educational plan and the coherence of the overall program. Second, intensive and long-term inservice training of teachers has been provided to ensure effective implementation of the program. The innovative programs for addressing the linguistic and cultural needs of the students are thoroughly understood and supported by Calexico's teachers. This level of "buy-in" to the program by educators is reflected in a high level of involvement and support from parents and the local community.
The Calexico Unified School District (CUSD), which serves a student population that is 79 percent limited English proficient, has been nationally recognized by the National Association for Bilingual Education for its enriched bilingual education program that stresses academic excellence for all students. Among the reasons cited for the award was the school district’s success in achieving low drop-out rates and a high percentages of continuation of students in higher education (Scheibe, 1994). According to a survey conducted in 1994 in the preliminary phase of this study, the school drop-out rate in Calexico is eleven to fifteen percent, half of the California average for Latino students. Among graduates of Calexico High School, seven percent qualify for the highly competitive University of California system, as opposed to 3.8% for Latino students statewide. Seventy-eight percent of Calexico graduates went on to community college in 1994 while 13% enrolled in a four-year college or university.
This degree of success for a school district stands in sharp contrast to expectations based on district demographics (Moll & González, 1994). In addition to the NABE award, the Calexico District was recognized by the International Reading Association for the raises in achievement of at-risk students in kindergarten through third grade in reading through the Chapter I program. The district was commended for the implementation of the model of transitional reading from Spanish to English that resulted in increases in basic skills test scores for students in the district (Ward & Scheibe, 1993).
Another reason for the successes of the Calexico district is the high percentage of teachers in the district who hold a bilingual teaching Bilingual Cross-cultural Language and Academic Development (BCLAD) emphasis credential or its equivalent, the Bilingual Certificate of Competence (BCC). Between the holders of the BCLAD and BCC, seventy-seven percent of the Calexico elementary teachers hold credentials in bilingual education. Six percent are certified as Language Development Specialists, with specialized training in teaching LEP students.
References
Moll, L.C., & González, N. (1994). Lessons from research with language-minority children. Journal of Reading Behavior 26 (4), 349-355.
Mora, J.K., Jones, E.B., & Palacio, E.J. (1999). The Calexico Success Story: Identifying variables in the literacy achievement of Hispanic students. National Association for Bilingual Education Conference, Denver, CO, January.
Scheibe, J. (1994, February 22). Bilingual award for Calexico. Imperial Valley Press, pp. A1, A8.
Ward, D. & Scheibe, J. (1993, April 12). School gets recognition. Imperial Valley Press, pp. A2, A6.
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This page was last updated on 07/26/02
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