Only Two Parents Attended the CUSD Workshop Re: High School Graduation Requirements

Two Parents attended the CUSD workshop re: High School Graduation Requirements

Unfortunately the District may no longer be recording workshops due to a change in BP 9324. If CUSD did record this workshop, parents should listen to the discussions that took place, especially if your child plans on attending a 4-year college or university after graduation.

To have any opportunity to go to a 4-year college or university (not a community college) your child must do complete the following by graduation:

A- G requirements:

The 15 courses are:

a. History/social science (2 years)

b. English (4 years)

c. Mathematics (3 years)

d. Laboratory science (2 years)

e. Language other than English (2 years or equivalent to the 2nd level of high school instruction)

f. Visual and performing arts (1 year)

g. College-preparatory elective (1 year)

College Entrance Exams:

To perform well on college entrance exams a student must master the material in Algebra I, Geometry and Algebra II.

Minimum GPA:

Minimum GPA of 3.0 is required to get into UC or Cal State (below 3.0 -check eligibility index)

If your student does not complete the above, they only option they will have after graduation is to attend a Community College.

Completing the above is a minimum for acceptance into a UC or CalState school and does not guarantee that a student will be accepted into a UC or CalState school. Space is limited so students must compete for a seat.

Freshman Profiles for individual campuses will tell you what is really needed to compete.

For example:

The 2014-15 data that was presented showed that after graduating from CUSD:

No College: 24%

Community College: 37%

4-Year College:

• UC: 7%

• CSU: 10%

• Other: 23%

Early Assessment Testing showed that CUSD students are very weak in math. CUSD currently requires 2 years of math to graduate from high school. Trustees expressed an interest in changing this to three years of math minimum and a strong recommendation that students take math all four years.

In 2014-15 EAP testing showed that:

41% of all CUSD students are ready for college level work in English.

22% of all CUSD students are ready for college level work in Math.

The data also showed that of the kids that went to saddleback after graduation:

40% needed to take remedial courses in English before beginning college level work.

57% needed to take remedial courses in Math before beginning college level work.

Class sizes in CUSD are some of the largest in the State. There are 17 CCP teachers in the District. There are 18 Health teachers. If the District were to eliminate CCP and Health this may allow the district to teach 84 sections of other courses that would help students show rigor with Honors classes in 9th and 10th grade, or help more students have an opportunity to complete A-G requirements. CCP/Health is actually holding students back. Having CCP and Health as a graduation requirement is unique to CUSD.

The District's school site implementation plans incorporated Naviance into CCP.

In grade 9 CCP is requiring all students to take personality tests (Parents are suppose to Opt into these tests) so this should not be a requirement of a class. These type of tests collect personally identifiable information on students and is suppose to be protected under FERBA unless a parent opts in).

re: Student Privacy under Common Core- see discussion: http://disclosurecusd.blogspot.com/2016/02/lawsuit-against-california-department.html

Solutions:

1) Trustees admitted that CUSD Parents do not understand that A-G and Math Sequence (Algebra I, Geometry, Algebra II by 11th grade) is essential to having the option to go to a 4-year college. The District needs to reach out to parents with this message.

The Problem:

Parents think that if their student completes CUSD graduation requirements their child is ready to apply to a four year college. That is not true. CUSD graduation requirements only require 2 years of math (Algebra I, Algebra IA/IB or Applied Mathematics I/II). There is no requirement to take Geometry or Algebra II. In fact there is no requirement to take math after 10th grade.

Parents need to understand that to ensure that their child will have the option of attending a 4-year college or university they must complete Algebra 1, Geometry and Algebra II to do well on college entrance exams; and they must complete all the A-G requirements or they will be limited to community college.

2) CCP and Health are not required by the State of California to graduate. CUSD requires students to use one full block of their schedule for CCP and Health, which prevents students from using that block to complete an A-G course. CCP should be eliminated and health should be incorporated into PE. Most school districts do not make CCP or Health a graduation requirement like CUSD does.

If you would like to know the history and deception behind CCP, details are at the following link:

CUSD LCAP Goal 3 Measurable Outcome #1

http://peopleforstudentrights.com/index.php/lcap/lcap-goal-3/measurable-outcome-1

3) CUSD was the only school district in south Orange County that did not offer any honors classes. The District has started to add more honors classes. UC Doorways approve the following classes for next 2016-17:

• Honors English I
• Honors English II
• Honors Algebra 2/Trig
• Honors Biology
• Honors Chemistry
• Honors World History

4) Academic performance in CUSD is declining at a rapid rate due to a lack of funding from the State of California. Parents and the Public need to become a strong voice for more funding for CUSD. The State's new education funding law intentionally deprives students in CUSD with adequate funding to provide a minimum education for all students. CUSD currently receives about $7,763 per student. A state study shows that you cannot educate any student for less than $9,000 and that CUSD should be receiving $10,726 to $12,077.

The State of California has the money to adequately fund CUSD but is choosing not to.

For information on the LCFF see: http://disclosurecusd.blogspot.com/2016/03/californias-own-2007-08-study-showed.html