Schools only part of the problem

For San Diego's North County Times

After 10 years of relying on student test scores to promote a competitive free market approach to school reform, what do we have to show for it?

Schools in wealthier districts continue to prosper. Those serving low-income populations face sanctions or closure. Charter schools, most of which enroll students who've never been left behind, flourish despite producing few measurable results of improved learning.

While we can argue about whether all that prepping for English and math tests has been worth taking so much time away from other important subjects, like science, history, literature, the arts and vocational training, most would agree it's good to track evidence of student learning.

The latest student tracking news came from last month's release of a report by the California Department of Education on high school dropout rates. It tracked the progress of the 2006 statewide cohort of ninth-graders. We learned 18 percent dropped out before earning a high school diploma. It was 16 percent in San Diego County and substantially lower in North County, according to a report in this newspaper ("Local schools have fewer dropouts compared with state, county," Aug. 11).

But before we rest on our laurels, consider this small sample of dropouts by student population. La Costa Canyon High School, with the lowest numbers of low-income and English-learner students, had a total dropout rate of 2.8 percent ---- but 16 percent of low-income students and 22 percent of English-language learners left school without a high school diploma.

Oceanside High School, with the largest number of economically disadvantaged and English learners, had a 14 percent total dropout rate. Fifteen percent of low-income and 25 percent of English learners dropped out.

The CDE released another report last month, "A Blueprint for Great Schools," issued by a 59-member committee consisting of parents, educators, business and union leaders appointed last January. Two of the committee's recommendations caught my eye.

The first was the call for a coordinated early learning system, beginning at birth, to assure that all children thrive in preschool. The second was the creation of wraparound support services in "community schools," incorporating school staff and their partners (local government, community agencies) working together to identify and address the various needs beyond the classroom of children and their families.

According to the report, "current education reform strategies often ignore the very real needs of children for secure housing, regular health care, supportive out-of-school environments, and educational assistance."

Maybe it's not schools that are most in need of reform. We may have to abandon the belief that schools alone can repair the damage done to kids outside the classroom before and after they get there.