4 | FALL 2023
the MIRROR
| CURRENT EVENTS |
THE MIRROR | GIANNA IOVINO
Enrollment decline leads to teacher displacement BY OLAMIDE OLUMIDE
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THE MIRROR NEWS & FEATURES EDITOR
he school, alongside many others across the district, is experiencing a steep decline in enrollment numbers this year. According to Principal Lourdes De Santiago, this school year there are about 113 less students than last year. Though it fluctuates, the current enrollment number stands at 1278. Many teachers, students and parents theorize this decline in enrollment is due to the school’s failure to implement a block schedule. The principal says that though it might be a factor, this decline is district-wide. “This decline is across the board,” she said. As a result of these reports, many LAUSD schools have had to let teachers go. Displacement is based on merit and seniority within a department. Principal De Santiago explains that the district is highly particular about maintaining a student-to-teacher ratio. When enrollment
is relatively high, more teachers get hired. But when it’s low, like in this instance, some teachers need to be displaced. The student-to-teacher ratio differs per program and magnet. “You’re not supposed to go over a certain number of students per class and it has to do with being able to support the students,” she said. “You have to be able to meet the needs of the students. If you don’t have enough students, you cannot have a lot of teachers, so the teachers have got to go.” A total of 62 schools across Region North, the organization that is in charge of schools located in the northern portion of LAUSD, are experiencing a decline in enrollment. “I received information that there were 35 schools that had one teacher displaced because of low enrollment, 18 schools that displaced two teachers because of low enrollment and nine schools that had to displace three teachers because of low enrollment,” Principal De Santiago said. Overall, 98 teachers have been displaced. The displacement of teachers involves the transferring of teachers from their original school to a school that has a lower number of teachers. Every year, the district has a norm day where they take into account the number of students that enrolled in that year and displace teachers accordingly. This year, the norm day was Friday, Sept. 15. The principal says that there are a number
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Because we don’t have the same amount of students, we don’t have the same amount of funding.” Principal Lourdes De Santiago
of factors that may have contributed to the drop in enrollment. Possible influences include inflation and the relocation of families. “Now that inflation has taken place and everybody’s feeling it, that could be a factor,” she said. “I am also aware of families that are moving out of state.” Even after considering these aspects, Principal De Santiago says that the most significant shift in enrollment occurred after the covid-19 pandemic. “When the district passed the mandate for people to be vaccinated, the people who did not get the vaccine were forced to be homeschooled,” Principal De Santiago said. Noticing this decline across the board, the district has assigned schools to check up on families to make sure students are still continuing their educational journey even if it’s not at an LAUSD school. This decline in enrollment is also affecting the school’s budget. The number of students that enroll and attend school determines the
EMPTY HALLS With a current enrollment
number of 1278 this year, the school has 113 less students than last year. This has led to the dismissal of several teachers.
amount of money the school gets. “Because we don’t have the same amount of students, we don’t have the same amount of funding,” Principal De Santiago said. “That’s why we have to submit our attendance. The state provides the district money for every student that attends. So if we don’t have the students, we can’t get the money.” This decline in enrollment is part of the reason why the school is experiencing budget cuts. Attendance money goes towards field trips and extracurricular programs, as well as magnet conferences. Without this money, the school has to be very particular in what they choose to spend their money on. Principal De Santiago says she sees all of this as a learning experience. She, as well as the staff in the attendance and magnet offices, are dedicated to finding out where these students are going and why they’re leaving. In an effort to prevent this decline in enrollment from happening again, both Ms. De Santiago and her associates are looking at all the possibilities of what they can do or change to support the needs of the magnet and international programs. They are conducting a thorough needs assessment and presenting it to the staff. “This year we were not expecting that decline in the enrollment so my hope is that it is only a one time thing,” she said.
Performing Arts students boost SBAC English scores BY DELMIS VAQUERANO
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THE MIRROR STAFF
ast spring, juniors took the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium (SBAC) tests. Previews of schoolwide score reports were released in September by the State Department of Education, signifying overall academic improvement. The Performing Arts Magnet students led the increases in both English and Math, with scores jumping an astonishing mean of 44 points over the past year. Official detailed reports are set to be released next year. In the preliminary report provided by LAUSD, the school is projected to have improved in both the English and math sections of the SBAC test. Across magnet programs, the English score has increased by 10 points from 8.5 to 18.5, and the math score has increased by 11.7 points from -68.4 to -56.7.
Testing Coordinator Ms. Michelle Park compares the official schoolwide report from the 2021-22 school year to the preliminary report from the 2022-23 school year. “We have increased by about 10 points overall, give or take,” Ms. Park said. “We definitely did better this year than last year.” Though there is a projected increase in scores across magnets, the most significant increase is among Performing Arts students. Performing Arts Magnet Coordinator Ms. Fanny Arana is proud of what she considers to be a notable change in scores. She attributes the difference in scores to the Performing Arts teachers who let students know that they are responsible for their academics. “I think that the creativity that the Performing Arts students are ingrained with really helps them take a deeper dive into the academics,” she said.
EIGHT YEARS OF SBAC TESTING 50%
MATH
40%
2014-15 2018-19
30%
2015-16 2020-21
2016-17 2021-22
2017-18 2022-23
20% 10% 0%
Standard not met
40%
Standard nearly met
Standard met
Exceeds standard
Standard met
Exceeds standard
ENGLISH
30% 20% 10% 0%
Standard not met
Standard nearly met
INFOGRAPHIC: THE MIRROR | BRIANNA ALVARADO
