The State Department of Education designated a baker’s dozen of continuation high schools as 2013 model schools.
California has 504 continuation high schools serving as many as 115,000 students aged 16 or older who, for a variety of reasons, have not been successful in traditional high schools. They are different from community day schools that serve students who have been expelled or have other behavioral problems.
The model schools program is designed to identify the top quality schools and encourage teachers and administrators at other continuation high schools to contact and visit them and apply those practices on their own campuses.
A recent study of California’s continuation schools found a wide range of quality due to poor oversight and accountability by the state.
To be named a model program, a continuation high school must be accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges and have high quality academic programs, flexible scheduling to meet the needs of students who may have to work, strong guidance and counseling services, use data to improve teaching and learning, and have an evaluation system to measure student success.
The 2013 model schools are Alvord High School in Riverside, Amistad High School in Indio, Back Bay High School in Costa Mesa, Donald C. Jamison High School in Lemoore, Junipero Serra High School in San Juan Capistrano, Lee V. Pollard High School in Corona, Ortega High School in Lake Elsinore, Redondo Shores High School in Redondo Beach, Ridgway High School in Santa Rosa, Robertson High School in Fremont, San Antonio High School in Huntington Park, Somerset High School in Bellflower, and Val Verde High School in Perris.
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