Something special is happening at Ann Sobrato High School, which is now in the top 1 percent of high schools in the nation that have reached equity among students enrolling in Advanced Placement courses, according to school officials.
At the Feb. 10 meeting, Principal Debbie Padilla, along with some of her staff, shared with Morgan Hill Unified School District Board of Education trustees that 60 percent of Sobrato students are now enrolled in at least one AP course—shooting up dramatically from only 15 percent in 2008 and 30 percent in 2010.
“It is the Sobrato mindset,” said Padilla, whose school partnered with Equal Opportunity Schools, a “growth-stage, education-reform” nonprofit that has a mission of narrowing the achievement gap by ensuring that all students have access to challenging high school classes that set them on a collegiate path.
EOS collected data about Sobrato’s AP program and provided strategies for improving participation in the AP courses. Sobrato’s staff then surveyed its student body, measuring developmental assets such as growth mindset, self-efficacy and academic strategies to identify the potential in each individual student.
“With the tools provided by EOS, our staff was able to see a three-dimensional view of our students rather than just seeing them as a letter grade,” according to Sobrato staff.
By identifying student potential and accomplishing their goal of increasing AP class enrollment across all student subgroups, Sobrato was awarded Google’s AP Equity & Excellence Award in the amount of $18,965—funds that will be used to continue to raise AP quality and students’ ability to succeed at the highest level.
“AP is about that grit, that persistence. It’s showing that sometimes life is hard and sometimes we don’t know things and we’re going to struggle,” said Padilla during her Feb. 10 presentation to board members. “It’s about working through it….with perseverance.”
And the numbers don’t lie.
In 2015, 638 Sobrato students enrolled in at least one AP course. Of that, 269 were in the “White” subgroup; 224 landed in the “Hispanic” subgroup; 115 in the “Asian” subgroup; and 20 in the “African American” subgroup. The increase came across all subgroups with a steady rise from from 2010-2014 and a noticeable jump, with the EOS partnership in place, from last year to 2015.
Trustee Gino Borgioli described the Sobrato staff presentation as “powerful.”
Another first-year board member, David Gerard, was nearly brought to tears after learning of the AP enrollment growth at Sobrato.
“In my 26 years….this is the most important talk I’ve ever heard on education in this district,” Gerard said. “I’m just overwhelmed. This is so beautiful.”
Padilla explained that Sobrato outlined individual student indicators to convince and motivate them that they could succeed in an AP class, regardless of their previous scores.
“Sometimes the mindsets to shift that are harder are the adults,” said Padilla, whose staff convinced students and parents that this was the best educational route for them. “It is a work in progress….Our students are absolutely amazing. When challenged, they will step up.”
In 2015, approximately 375 students received “A” grades in AP courses, and another 375 students finished with “B” grades in AP courses.
Sobrato staff offered homework support, including peer tutoring and organized study groups, to help students along the way. Over the summer, subject area teachers worked with students to prepare them for the AP courses, and that’s something they are looking to expand this coming summer, according to Padilla. Using Local Control Accountability Plan, they paid the $90 fee for AP exams for the school’s most disadvantaged students so money would not be a boundary.
Assistant Superintendent Norma Martinez-Palmer explained that the EOS initiative at Sobrato is now part of the district’s LCAP and will be spreading to Live Oak High School next.
“Sobrato has done a great job paving the way,” she said.
