San Bernardino parents focus on improving graduation rates
Author: Debbie Pfeiffer Trunnell, Staff Writer
To ensure she and other area students get there, Jorge Antunez and other parents involved with Inland Congregations United for Change have embarked on an effort to improve graduation rates in the San Bernardino City Unified School District.
"Little by little the dropout rate in the district is decreasing, but there are still a lot of dropouts, so I want to make sure my daughter graduates and gets a career," he said.
The ICUC, a faith-based nonprofit in San Bernardino that focuses on such issues as education, youth violence and foreclosures, has recently stepped up its focus on the district's high dropout rate.
According to the California Department of Education, the district rate is 22.7percent, compared with 22.5percent for the county and 18.9percent for the state.
To make a difference, parents from a number of congregations gathered on Nov. 13 at Arroyo Valley High School to present the latest developments in their dropout prevention work and engage community members in finding solutions.
Among items discussed were the positive experiences parents have had with such programs as Advancement Via Individual Determination, or AVID, and advanced placement.
Concerns ranged from teacher quality and security to fears of violence and racial tension.
The parents plan to continue researching the graduate-rate issue and hold meetings.
"The high unemployment rate and low rates of home and business ownership in San Bernardino all attest to the fact that we need to bring up the education level to benefit the city," said Benjamin Wood, organizer for the ICUC.
According to the California Department of Education, the district rate is 22.7percent, compared with 22.5percent for the county and 18.9percent for the state.
To make a difference, parents from a number of congregations gathered on Nov. 13 at Arroyo Valley High School to present the latest developments in their dropout prevention work and engage community members in finding solutions.
Among items discussed were the positive experiences parents have had with such programs as Advancement Via Individual Determination, or AVID, and advanced placement.
Concerns ranged from teacher quality and security to fears of violence and racial tension.
The parents plan to continue researching the graduate-rate issue and hold meetings.
"The high unemployment rate and low rates of home and business ownership in San Bernardino all attest to the fact that we need to bring up the education level to benefit the city," said Benjamin Wood, organizer for the ICUC.
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