Capo Unified Earns a 'C' on Educating Minorities

When it comes to meeting the educational needs of minority and low-income students,  earns a "C," according to an outside analysis. For Latinos, the district scored a "D." A new district committee met this week to begin tackling the problem.

The ratings were issued by Education Trust–West of Oakland, an advocacy group that strives to bridge the achievement gap between minority and Caucasian students. It released its report in late April, grading California's largest 146 school districts on how well they teach minorities and low-income students.

The highest grade any Orange County school district scored was a C+, which went to . Newport-Mesa Unified and Orange Unified got the worst area grades, each with a D+.

“The report is in line with what we’ve found in our data,” said Capistrano Unified spokesman Marcus Walton. Education Trust–West used the Academic Performance Index to measure student performance, the same tool the California Department of Education uses.

Of the 38,577 students tested in Capo, 20 percent are considered low-income, 1 percent are African-American, 24 percent are Latino and 62 percent are white. Scores for students of color and with low incomes have trended upward during the last five years, so the district scored a B when it comes to improvement. It also got a B for performance levels among students of color.

Overall, however, the gap between minority students and whites remained large, with the district earning a C for its African-American chasm and a D for Latinos, the group said.

Walton pointed out that Education Trust–West's report did not separate Latinos who speak fluent English from those who don't.

Because of Capo's , the California Department of Education has put the district on “program improvement” status for its English learners and special-education students. This means the school district must take certain steps to improve performance for students identified as falling behind.

Beyond changes the district is making for , Capo recently convened a new committee, the Achievement for All Task Force, to devise new ways to reach struggling students, Walton said.

"The focus on classroom instruction will help all students," Walton said. "We expect to see progress for all students on an annual basis."

The best school districts in the state for educating minority and low-income students included Clovis Unified in Fresno County, Temecula Valley Unified in Riverside County and Redondo Beach Unified in Los Angeles County, according to Education Trust.

Santa Ana Unified, despite its overall C- grade, was called out as an example of a district making positive change. In the past five years, African American students there cut their achievement gap by 52 percent. During that time period, overall scores for both blacks and whites increased.

“The grades on these report cards provide district leaders and community members with critical information on how well their Latino, African American, and low-income students are faring,” said  Arun Ramanathan, executive director of The Education Trust—West.