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Heritage College-Ready Academy
PROVIDING A BETTER HERITAGE
In less than a year, Heritage has transformed into the best public school in their community, with almost 80 percent of students accepted to four-year colleges.
FEATURE | PINNACLE CHARTER SCHOOL
T H E M AG A Z I N E F O R C A P TA I N S O F I N D U S T RY
EDUCATION LEADERS TODAY
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PINNACLE CHARTER SCHOOL | FEATURE
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FEATURE | HERITAGE COLLEGE-READY ACADEMY
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by Joan Tupponce
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HERITAGE COLLEGE-READY ACADEMY | FEATURE
When Principal Robert Pambello first walked through the halls of Heritage College-Ready Academy High School in south Los Angeles, he was alarmed at the atmosphere that prevailed. “It was an awful feeling place,” he recalls. “The school needed a lot of assistance. It was a low performance school with little processes or procedures in place.” After surveying the school’s situation, Pambello took immediate action. Now, one year later, the five-year-old public charter school outperforms all local and surrounding neighborhood public schools. Each of the 88 students in the 2009 graduating class applied to four-year universities and 79 percent were admitted. Heritage College-Ready Academy is part of the network of the Alliance College-Ready Public Schools, a nonprofit charter management organization in the Los Angeles area. The organization operates high performing 9th-12th and 6th-
8th public schools in historically underachieving, low-income, overcrowded communities in Los Angeles. It now has 11 high schools and five middle schools with potentially four more schools opening next school year. To learn more about the Alliance go to www.laalliance.org. Pambello came to Heritage after working as a middle school and high school principal in Houston. Heritage was a perfect fit for him. “I like to go to places where I can make a difference,” he said. “It’s challenging for me.” The 532-student high school has a teacher-to-student radio of 1 to 25. Eighty-one percent of the student population is Hispanic; 16 percent is African American. The remaining students come from various ethnic groups. More than 95 percent of the students qualify for free or reduced lunch under Title 1. Summer 2010 5
FEATURE | HERITAGE COLLEGE-READY ACADEMY
Heritage has moved locations three times since it opened. Currently, grade 9 is located in a separate building, several miles from the main building. Students are bussed from the main site daily. This fall, the school will move into a new, permanent facility that will accommodate all grade levels. Soon after assuming his post as principal, Pambello increased the academic rigor and gave students more responsibility for their education. “Last year the kids came here because their parents wanted them to come,” he said. “Now they come because they know they will go to college and graduate from college.” To date, 86 percent of the 2010 senior class has been accepted into a four-year university. Scholarships total $1.3 million. “Last year there was very little for scholarships,” Pambello said. In one year, Pambello has been able to shift the culture and academic status of the institution. The school started AP classes this past year in U.S. History, Calculus AB, Spanish Language and U.S. Government and Politics. It will add three most AP classes next year. In addition, all 12th-grade students take at least two community college courses offered by Los Angeles City College and Los Angeles Southwest Community College. The school also implemented a new program called Character Counts where academic curriculum is integrated with six pillars of character: respect, trustworthiness, responsibility, fairness, caring and citizenship. At first, students resisted Pambello’s changes. “We had to convince them that the way the school was in the past is not the way it’s going to be any more,” he said. “We now 6 Education Leaders Today
have some college counselors and administrative team that meet with the kids to talk about what the school is about and what it means to go to college.” Teachers and administrative staff are all working together to help students be successful in their academic endeavors. “I want them to understand I am not the enemy; that I am here to help them in their future,” Pambello said. Last year, Pambello had the school pay for all juniors to take a series of three ACT preparatory classes through Kaplan. “We wanted a benchmark,” Pambello explains. “In the history of Kaplan, they have never seen so much growth over a fourmonth time period.” The school has adopted other changes as well such as moving
PREMIER EDUCATIONAL STAFFING Premier Educational Staffing congratulates Heritage Academy and Mr. Pambello for their outstanding academic accomplishments. Premier provides quality substitute teachers with outstanding references and high moral and ethical standards to charter schools in the Los Angeles area. They are family-owned, and are known for reliability and professionalism. Rates are very flexible, allowing them to work towards accommodating each individual school’s budget. Premier sincerely anticipates the opportunity to build a solid business relationship with organizations like yours. For more information, visit www.pe-staffing.org.
FE ATURE | HERITAGE COLLEGE-READY away from traditional final exams to project-based final exams and prompting students to “Stop, Drop and Write.” When students hear the prompt, they must write for 15 minutes on a specific topic, using graphic organizers. Students also participate in a grant-funded afterschool program called “After School All Stars,” which provides activities centered on health and fitness, the visual and performing arts; youth leadership and community service and preparation. Pambello is also interested in helping his teachers grow professionally. He implemented an Excel program that rates teachers on their weekly performance. “The weekly dashboards help them to see what areas they to focus on,” Pambello said. “It also serves as a place for them to provide comments and questions to us.” Teachers at the school value the support and guidance they receive in developing their expertise in the classroom. “We help our teachers grow,” Pambello said. “We work closely with them, looking at instructional data and giving them quarterly benchmarks. They meet with an evaluator and share data. They talk about what they are doing to work on their areas of weakness. They go before their peers and make the same presentation.” The new measures help increase camaraderie. “Our teachers have been able to make more interdisciplinary
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connections,” he said. The relationships Pambello has established also extend to parents and the community. Parents have to do 40 hours of community service at the school. “Last year all parents at all grade levels did that,” he said. “We also have a monthly parent workshop. Last year we had three to five parents show up. Now we have up to 250 come.” In the past year, Pambello has seen a180-degree change in
Royal Dining, for their part, supports Heritage Academy’s dynamic efforts in the classroom, with a well-balanced meal for their students & faculty. The company’s reputation for serving delicious, healthy & affordable meals throughout the Greater Los Angeles area was a natural fit for Heritage’s campus culture. According to the Centers for Disease Control, increasing instances of Type-2 diabetes are being observed in youth ages 10-19, who are typically obese, with low levels of physical activity reported. Royal Dining has responded to this alarming trend with an offering that transforms the conventional notions of school cafeteria food. Frozen & fried items are conspicuously absent from their menus. Royal Dining emphasizes freshness, going as far as to operate a bakery to further maximize control over the final product. They also accommodate special dietary needs by offering complete vegetarian/vegan, gluten-free & low protein menus at no additional charge to their clients. A variety of whole, fresh fruits are offered with meals at Heritage Academy. Studies conducted by the USDA, as part of the National School Lunch Program, indicate an increased consumption of fruit when a wider variety of options, apart from the standard apple, orange, banana triumvirate, are made available to students.
HERITAGE COLLEGE-READY ACADEMY | FEATURE
the attitudes of students at the school. “When I first walked into the door at the school, students were rude,” Pambello said. “They would cuss out their teachers and other adults. You don’t see that any more. Everyone is friendly. There is no tension between ethnic groups.” Students are very welcoming to new students and visitors to the school. Greeters meet visitors at the door and explain what they are working on in the class and what college they want to go to when they graduate. They have come to enjoy Pambello’s monthly meetings where he often recognizes students for their good work and celebrates special moments. He ends each meeting by telling them he loves them, taking on a fatherly role with the group. During one session this year, the bell rang and he dismissed students without saying his usual phrase. “They didn’t move and I asked them why,” he said. “They said ‘You didn’t tell us you love us.’” Pambello always makes it a point to talk to students in a positive way. They have come to realize that he is there to help them. “I tell them ‘Your goal is to get through college and be productive members of society,’” he said. Every evening Pambello stands on the corner of the school and shakes each student’s hand. When he first started the practice they walked around him. “Now,” he said, “if someone is talking to me, they will stop and wait for me to be done with the conversation and then shake my hand and go to school.” ELT
TOTAL EDUCATION SOLUTIONS Total Education Solutions provides innovative, high-quality educational services to individuals with exceptional needs. They work with schools to ensure that special education programs comply with IDEA 2004 and both local and state education standards and reporting requirements. In home, community, school and clinical settings, Total Educational Solutions fosters opportunities for success.
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