Imperial High School, Imperial Valley, California

           The senior student with a sweatshirt hood pulled over his face on a 100-degree day seemed to be the picture of high school disaffection. But when he was asked what should be written about his high school, Mario Gomez said, “It’s the best school ever,” adding, after a moment of thought, “in the whole world.” Similar sentiments were expressed by the “goth” student with a spiked leather bracelet, the football player–jock, and the student who had arrived only weeks before. Even the student who administrators said was a known gang member—the younger member of a multi-generational gang—said that Imperial was a great high school that was helping him prepare for college.
            In two days of interviews at Imperial High School in California’s Imperial Valley, the only student complaints that could be heard about the school were about the less-than-ideal facilities and the fact that students aren’t permitted to leave at lunchtime.
            The reason students gave for their generally positive assessment of the school was invariable: “the teachers.”
            “The teachers here really make sure you learn what you’re supposed to,” said Israel Ramos.
            “Our teachers go out of their way if you have a problem,” said Emily Mayhew.

Students gathering in the morning before school begins. (Michael LeRoy is in the striped shirt, and Israel Ramos is second from the right.)

nother student, Michael LeRoy, who had recently moved from Illinois, said about his previous school, “The teachers there were just getting through the year–here they really care if you do your work and do well.”

With their enthusiasm, Imperial students were recognizing that they attend a high school that has posted considerable improvement in the past five years, helping more and more students meet what the state considers to be “proficient” levels in English, math, science, and history. It has also put more students on track to succeeding in college and, in 2006, made sure that every student who was required to pass the state high school graduation exam in order to graduate did so.

These are not the kinds of results that were once expected of a school like Imperial. With 70 percent of the students being Latino and about one-third meeting the requirements for the federal free and reduced-price lunch program, many people would say the school was fated to perform at much lower levels than schools where almost all of the students are white and middle and upper middle class. Now that its test results rank in the top one-third of all schools in California, it is nearing those white, middle- and upper-middle-class schools in performance. But, said principal Lisa Tabarez, “It’s not just about being successful in high school. We work for a greater accomplishment. We work for students to be successful, to take care of themselves and take part in society.” Students respond to that commitment to their overall well-being, and the statistics demonstrate that the commitment translates into results.

Read the rest of the story about Imperial High School at http://www.achievementalliance.org/files/Imperial.pdf.