Live Oak High Making Academic Progress
Dear Editor,
I’m a parent and member of the local Real Estate community. I frequently encounter individuals with very strong perceptions and opinions, all of course thought to be based on the facts. Such perceptions regarding our high schools seem to heavily favor Sobrato as the school of choice, usually due to a perception of stronger academic performance, being new, and “educationally progressive.”
I am troubled and concerned about the perceived disparity in our two high schools and the inequity that it is fostering. In an attempt to verify or discredit these perceptions, I requested public information from Morgan Hill Unified School District Superintendent Alan Nishino’s office. My research has led me to the conclusion that inequities in enrollment and academic achievement between the two high schools do exist.
Contrary to common opinion, our highest academic achievement is taking place at Live Oak. The perception of higher academic standards and achievement at Sobrato is not consistent with the facts. Higher academic achievement is occurring at Live Oak but is statistically masked by a higher number of understandably lower scoring English Language Learners.
In the game of public opinion, largely fueled by cursory inspection of test scores, Live Oak has been forced to play a game where the deck has been stacked. Through conscious decisions, our district has allowed the adoption of boundaries and choice placement policies that have created a large disparity in the make up and total student populations at the two high schools. Next year, the projected enrollment of the two freshman classes are currently 260 for Live Oak, and 450 for Sobrato, numbers that if left to stand could result in school sizes of 1800 at Sobrato and 1040 at Live Oak in just four years.
I am calling on the School Board to gain a thorough understanding of enrollment, performance, demographics and public opinion regarding our two high schools and to take immediate action to assure the equity that the community was promised when approving the construction of Sobrato High School. Such decisions must not be left to administrators who are often transient to our community, or even worse, may have personal interests and ambitions served by creating false records of accomplishment so they can land lucrative consulting positions.
Although adjusting boundaries will ultimately be part of that solution, additional immediate action must also be taken to equalize the size of the incoming classes. To do anything less, would perpetuate growing inequities that will affect curriculum, instruction, and overall academic performance. Without proactive action to adjust enrollments, the current administration will become complicit in creating school’s of haves and have nots and invite the intervention of outside agencies in our school district.
Nancy Dronek, Morgan Hill
Column About Universal Health Care Bill Appreciated
Dear Editor,  Â
Kudos to the Morgan Hill Times and guest columnist Mark Grzan for coverage of Senate Bill 840, the universal health care bill. The good news is that California only has a few more years to wait for the election of a Democratic Governor who will sign the bill into law. California will lead the nation with health care for every citizen.
Frank Crosby, Morgan Hill
