Christina Salerno:
Special education students
are treated like
any other kid
at one Central Valley
school.
I'm Christina Salerno.
We'll show you a school
district in the town of
Sanger that has been
especially successful at
integrating its special
education students into
general education
classes and activities.
Sarah Gardner: A library
where high school students
do much more than
check out books.
I'm Sarah Gardner.
A unique charter school in
San Diego is one of
the only schools in the
nation located inside
of a public library.
Jim Finnerty: San Diego's
Balboa Park is transformed
into a classroom for
hundreds of students
each year.
I'm Jim Finnerty.
Elementary and middle school
students spend several weeks
a year studying at
various museums as part
of a creative program
called School in the Park.
Plus, we'll show you what
it's like to spend a day in
the life of a
school secretary.
It's all coming up on
Inside California Education.
Funding for Inside
California Education
is made possible by:
Since 1985, the California
Lottery has raised more
than $30 billion
for our public schools.
It's a modest amount
after dividing it up to
California's 11-hundred
public school districts
from kindergarten
through high school,
as well as
community colleges,
UC and CSU campuses.
Still, these funds help
attract quality teachers,
provide classroom equipment,
and keep art and
music programs alive.
With caring teachers,
committed administrators,
and active parents, every
public school student can
realize their dreams.
The California Lottery:
Imagine the Possibilities.
The Stuart Foundation:
Improving life outcomes for
young people through
education
Additional funding for
Inside California Education
is made possible by these
organizations
supporting public education:
♪♪♪
♪♪♪
Christina: Thanks
for joining us on
Inside California Education.
Let's take you to a school
district in the Central
Valley town of Sanger,
which has been especially
successful at mainstreaming
its special education
students into
regular classes,
encouraging them to
participate in everything
from academics to
cheerleading to sports.
♪♪♪
"Good morning Tej!"
Christina: Third grader Tej
starts his morning like any
other student at Lincoln
Elementary School in
the town of Sanger,
located just east of Fresno.
Students: ... indivisible,
with liberty and justice
for all.
Christina: After a quick
assembly on the blacktop
Students:"1-2-3: Happy
birthday Mighty Rams!"
Tej heads to an English
class where the lesson
of the day is about
California Native Americans.
Teacher: If I put this up on
the wall, am I going to be
able to read it?
Yes!
Yes.
Christina: The eight year old
has severe vision impairment
and sometimes
struggles to stay on task.
That's why he's considered
a special education student
here at Lincoln.
But you wouldn't know it by
watching his interactions
with other students.
Tej:
Robin: That is the best
thing about our school,
is that they
are just students.
You have kids who are just
identified as intellectually
disabled, we have
students with autism,
students with down syndrome,
we have some students
with muscular dystrophy.
A lot of times, in you know,
a special day class you'll
have kids in the back
corner of the school,
that you don't see.
They have their own lunch,
they have their own table,
they have their own recess,
they're not part of the
school, they're not
part of that culture.
And our kids, this
is their school,
this is their home.
Christina: Mainstreaming,
as it's known,
is happening in schools
all across California.
But here in Sanger, the
percentage of special
education students who are
mainstreamed into
academic classes is
exceptionally high.
Most special education
students here spend at
least 60 percent of their day in
regular academic classes
with the support of an aide.
Teacher: "How is this
sentence going to be?
How are you going to write?"
And all special education
students are mainstreamed
for at least
one class a day.
Leo: We know
other districts,
what they'll do,
they'll do recess,
they'll do P.E.
and lunch,
and we said, 'No,
we want to do academics,'
because we saw some
strengths in our kids,
what we knew, with a little
bit of support
they can access the
core curriculum.
"Sit down at your seats."
Christina: Robin Berger
has taught special education
students for more than 20
years in the
Sanger Unified School District.
Robin: "Can you break it apart
and find a new word in there?"
Around 2005, the district
began making a focused
effort to mix special
education students with
general education students.
Robin: It was gradual, it
was really, really slow.
Okay, you know what, they
can walk with their GenEd,
um, peers to lunch.
Or, they're at
recess with them.
And then it was,
okay, we're gonna,
you know, get them
to the field trips.
And it was just
these little baby steps.
And then it was
like, you know what,
they could really go
into a GenEd class,
and they could really
gain that information.
And, it gives them a
typical school experience.
Kimberly: The other thing
I think that stands out is
that even in our special
education classrooms,
it's incredibly rigorous.
Matt: There's a greater
content-rich focus connected
to what's happening in the
mainstream classrooms
which that is very unique.
You have teachers across the
state that are really doing
that in silos, but it's not
a philosophical shift
across all districts.
Where I can say,
"In our district,
that's a
philosophical practice."
Christina: Kimberly is a
fifth grader who is also in
Robin Berger's special
education class due to
an intellectual disability.
Today, Kimberly is proudly
sporting her purple and
yellow Mighty Rams
cheerleading gear.
Kimberly: We do dancing and
we dance and do cheer dance
and we go to different
schools to play the games.
Robin: Kimberly is like
a typical fifth grader,
you know, she's
a cheerleader,
she loves, she has
friends all over campus.
Kimberly: There's nothing
that they can't be part of.
There's nothing
that they can't do.
Um, I think Kimberly
is a perfect example,
you know?
She's, she's a cheerleader
here because she has
the right to be.
Leo: All of our kids
can try out for anything.
We have a no-cut
policy for athletics,
meaning; basketball,
football, those things.
So if our SDC kids
want to try out, they can.
I think it's going to be a
good lifelong lesson
for all kids.
You know it works both ways.
I think both of them are
learning from each other.
But I think our
general education students,
they'll be able
to not be afraid.
They'll know how to interact
with students
with special needs.
Kimberly: Our students with
learning differences benefit
from that access and those
real life peer friends just
as much as our students
who may not have learning
difficulties benefit from
understanding that those
who learn differently from us
or present different from us,
are just kids.
They're just
friends to be had.
And friends to be made.
Christina: What's happening
in Sanger is a goal for
other districts
throughout the state,
as outlined in a 2015 report
by California's Statewide
Task Force in
Special Education.
The report found that too
many disabled students in
the state are not acquiring
the skills they need
to live independently.
Only 60 percent
graduate high school.
One challenge, is that it
costs an average of $22,000
to educate a special
needs student per year
more than double the cost of
a general education student.
The task force recommends
a coherent system of
education, where disabled
students are considered
general education
students first.
Matt: I always say it's, it
was a philosophical change
when people, they
want a program for that,
like, "What's the
program you used?"
I can honestly say
there's not a
program for that.
It really is an intense
conversation that is built
on, you know, transparent
communication and
trust and respect.
And we worked hard and
work on it every day.
teacher: Now we're going
to the nearest hundredth.
So 507.
Now do I care
about the hundreths?
Yes!
Christina: For students like
Tej, Sanger's approach
to special ed means he
can celebrate academic
accomplishments
just like his peers.
Robin: In math, he can
pretty much do it all
on his own.
Miss Divine has sent back
his test that he's taken in
her class, and he's gotten
100% where it hasn't
been modified.
It may have taken
him a little longer,
but he was able to complete
all the math problems on his
own, he was able to write
the answers on his own,
and he was so excited.
Kimberly: I see them bloom.
I see their skill set bloom,
I see their confidence
bloom, the belief in
themselves.
Leo: It gives us a sense
of knowing that people
are different from us;
and that it's okay.
Kimberly: I want them to
have the same options and
opportunities that any
student graduating from
high school has.
And that is, you know, what
is your dream?
And how do we get you there?
That home, school, work
I want them to have access
to that. And meaningful
employment.
And be part of their
community in the way that
any other young adult is.
♪♪♪
Annc: To better prepare
disabled students for life
after high school, some
schools are offering job
training classes
and internships.
Students learn how to write
cover letters and resumes,
and are matched with
internships for jobs such
as food preparation, managing
medical supplies and
teaching sign language.
Sarah: Walk into any public
library in the world and you're
immediately surrounded
by people and books.
At the public library
in downtown San Diego,
it's no different.
But with a quick
elevator ride upstairs,
you'll discover much more.
There's a fully-accredited
high school dedicated to
helping urban
students learn and succeed.
♪♪♪
"What are some other
things that kind of
struck you?"
Sarah: It's another typical
school day at a most
untypical school.
(Teacher addressing students)
Welcome to E3 Civic High
School it's located not just
in the heart of downtown
San Diego
it's on the sixth and
seventh floors of the city's
sleek new main library.
Helen: I'm just excited to
be the part of a work that
allows us to meet the needs
of the next generation.
That allows us to change the
face of public education,
I believe, in the future.
Sarah: Dr. Griffith is the
director of this charter school.
She says establishing and
developing e3 is one of the
proudest accomplishments of
her long career
in public education
Helen: Martin Luther King said,
if you see a good fight,
get in it.
This is a good fight.
Sarah: E3 was
founded in 2013.
The city of San Diego,
the school district,
and library foundation
worked together to open
this high school
inside public library.
E3 is the only public
high school in downtown
San Diego, providing more
opportunities to students
who live in the urban area.
Ikechukwu: The library has
its own tools, like computer
labs, 3D printing labs,
stuff like that.
So if you have the
dream to create something,
you already have to
the tools for you.
Sarah: E3 has more than 450
9th through 12th graders.
It's a project-based
learning school.
That means students
design and create real-life
projects that demonstrate
comprehension of everything
from mathematics to English.
It's one reason many
students are excelling.
Noah: We have a very diverse
school coupled with a small
class size which gives us a
lot of one on one time
with our teachers.
Other schools tend to
just work through busywork,
worksheets that sort of
thing whereas we really want
to get into the deep, deep,
deep depths of what
we're trying to learn so that
we're experts in it
by the end of the year.
Rikayah: I think
personally, for myself,
I learn better through
working through projects
and different things
of that matter.
Sarah: Supporters say this
approach appears to be working.
In the 2016 school year,
100 percent of e3's seniors
graduated, and 97 percent
attended to a two or
four year institution.
Rikayah: For myself I
want to be a neuroscientist.
One of my science teachers,
Dr. Parang Chowdhury,
actually really inspired me
to study neuroscience though
one of the science classes I
took for him
in my freshman year.
Parag: "Just based on the
name, like that policy might
be about."
Sarah: Dr. Chowdury teaches
everything from philosophy
to physiology.
Parag: We're still a school
that's kind of finding
our own identity.
One of the big things is
we're not afraid to
kind of experiment with
our approach.
"How much pollution can
a company emit
into the environment?"
Sarah: For Dr. Chowdury,
teaching at E3 is just as
rewarding as his prior career
as a research scientist
with equally tangible and
meaningful outcomes
Parag: In science
you kind of begin to realize
it's never really about you.
It's really about being able
to transmit those ideas to
the next generation and
see what they do with it
and what they'll come up with.
"It's sort of like if I can't
think in my head what
is wrong with the things that
are going on around me,
if I can't describe it,
then how can I fight it?"
Sarah: With 77 percent
of their students from
traditionally underserved
communities and 65 percent
of their student body
receiving free and reduced
lunch, E3 faces a
unique set of challenges.
Jeffery: For example, a kid
that comes to school hungry.
Um. It's really hard
for them to learn.
Sarah: One way Mr. Newman
faces this challenge:
teaching students about
nutrition in his
project-based, sustainable
urban agriculture class.
"All the flowers are
gonna turn into cucumbers.
I feel like there oh, look."
Jeffery: I teach a lot about
health and nutrition and
diet and really helping kids
to make smart choices
about how they eat.
It's especially fun to
kind of hear their quirky
stories, kind of later in
the semester or even years
later, like oh Mr. Newman I,
you know, every time I eat
a cookie I think of you
and I think maybe
I should be eating a salad.
I'm sorry I only have
three that are ripe right now.
But I'm sorry more
will be ripe soon,
I promise.
Helen: I love seeing our
learning facilitators which
typically are
called teachers,
and our staff, I love seeing
them step into their next
level of capacity.
And building their ability
to carry on this work.
Sarah: Teachers and
administrators here
recognize not every urban
public school will be able
to emulate e3's success.
After all, very few
schools start out literally
surrounded by a major
library and its vast
repository of knowledge.
Still, they're hoping other
schools will embrace some of
their innovative ways of
teaching and learning
and most important,
e3's deep commitment to
helping each student
succeed and thrive
Ikechukwu: E3 has impacted
my college decisions because
they really inspired me
to pursue science.
I really like science a lot.
I'm very analytical.
Rikayah: I tend to take a
more slower pace when it
comes to different work,
and so, it's definitely
helpful to have a smaller
class size for it allows
me to work more one-on-one
with my teachers,
really get the support
and help that I need.
Michelle: We hope to provide
the resource that our
students can use to
transform their lives into
whatever it is
they want to be.
George: Everyone gets
to know each other,
we all have really personal
bonds with each other,
as well as the students.
with teachers and
it's a strong family.
Helen: The first work of any
high school or any school or
any new work is to build
the culture and climate.
If you build the proper
culture and climate where
every individual is
loved, celebrated,
respected, and held
accountable and incentivized
and rewarded and motivated,
you can teach them anything.
♪♪♪
Annc: Students at E3 Civic High
have more than
one million books at their
fingertips at the
San Diego Central Library.
The library is topped by a
dome larger in size
than U.S. Capitol.
The dome looks incomplete
a purposeful design to
reinforce the notion that
learning is
a continuous process.
Jim: Still ahead on Inside
California Education:
School in the Park is a
creative program that takes
San Diego students out of
the classroom,
and exposes them to the
museums and exhibits
of Balboa Park.
But first, we'll show you a
day in the life of
a school secretary.
♪♪♪
Lupe Duran: Thornton's a
very small town.
We are located in the Central
Valley between Stockton
and Sacramento.
There's a lot of
farming, agriculture.
It's a very close community.
Everybody knows
each other here.
We are one school, one
district here at
New Hope Elementary.
♪♪♪
Back in 2000 when I was
hired for this position as a
school secretary, it was a
challenge to see if I was
going to be capable of
doing the daily routines.
"So I've got a bus note."
As a school secretary here,
I've had to wear many hats.
We take phone calls
"New Hope School"
We call on students
that are out sick,
we do tardies
" Here you go."
Thank you.
And making copies.
One day can be just
being a school nurse.
[In Spanish] Mira! Que ese so?
[Translation] Look!
What is this?
Sometimes we go
out to yard duty,
interacting with the students
and watching over them.
What's going on Carla?
I do have a school
business card.
It says my name and on
the bottom it says school
secretary, but it should say
many hats, etc.
A few years ago I was
diagnosed with thyroid cancer.
It was really a tough
challenge for me not to lose
faith, to still be who
I am and not change.
I came to work every
day because my kids here,
my coworkers,
my family here,
deserved me to be here
because I felt that this is
my second home, and
I needed to be here.
"Lupe?
Yeah!
I know I like her.
Yeah I like her.
She's been here since
I was in Kindergarten."
I feel like there's a lot in
me that I can give to these
kids and if I can help
make one child smile,
to me that's the most
rewarding thing
that I can get out of my day.
Hi Aiden.
At the end of my day I do
feel happy because wearing
many hats or just being
the plain school secretary,
I've accomplished something.
I've made a difference
to somebody.
I've made somebody smile.
And going home to my
six children and my two
grandchildren
and watching them,
I just enjoy it
even more, so to me,
that's my reward.
♪♪♪
Jim: The phrase "a
day in the park"
usually means a day
spent at leisure,
perhaps surrounded by
nature.
But that's not the case
for hundreds of San Diego
elementary and
middle school students.
Each school year, they spend
up to eight weeks in
San Diego's Balboa Park
studying everything from
science to history to the arts.
It's called
"School in the Park."
♪♪♪
Over the million of years
of evolved, evolution
Jim: These kids may seem
unusually focused and
attentive as they explore
"the Nat"
Balboa Park's Natural
History Museum.
That's because looking at
fossils and dinosaur models
isn't just a casual exercise
during a one-day field trip.
Each student's spending up
to four hours a day here for
a solid week as their
textbook learning comes to life.
Erick: "The Nat is a very
good place to stay calm and
just discover things.
Jim: Welcome to School in
the Park an innovative
program that shifts learning
from the traditional classroom
setting to the vibrant and
diverse opportunities inside
San Diego's cultural center.
It all started in the 1990's
when Price Club and Costco
founder Sol Price decided to
help revitalize
San Diego's City
Heights neighborhood
a disadvantaged urban area
where nearly four in ten
residents were immigrants
and refugees and nearly a
quarter lived in poverty.
Price Philanthropies brings
third-through-seventh graders
from two City Heights schools
into Balboa Park for
up to eight weeks over
the school year.
Debbie: "We like to think of
it as adding depth
to their curriculum. We really
work with the teachers to plan
and, they'll teach something at
school in the books and then
we'll bring it to life here
in the museum.
So it's not a field trip at all.
This park becomes their own.
"So you are trying to give
me a switch that can either
turn on one lightbulb or a
switch that can turn off
both lightbulbs"
Jim: Making "the park
their own" means these students
will study at as many as
nine different museums,
including this science center.
"Those went off, so where would
I draw that on your schematic?"
The school district
and their own teachers work
closely with museum
educators to ensure all
instruction is closely
coordinated, and fully
meets all grade level
and Common Core standards.
"What sort of habitat..."
Jennifer: "This week's
sixth graders,
they have to do a presentation
at the end of the week
and each one is an
expert group about
one specific time period.
We really get to know
who the students are,
their personality, what
their interests are and
how to even delve deeper
into that so they have
a deeper appreciation for
dinosaurs or for science."
Jim: Besides science
and technology,
math, and natural
and human history,
these kids are also
introduced to another,
perhaps more surprising
area of study.
"Oberon wants the boy and
Tatiana will not
let him have it!"
Jim: Inside the Old Globe
Theater, students are
rehearsing for their
performance of Shakespeare's
A Midsummer Night's
Dream.
"Set your heart at rest,
the fairyland buys
not the child of me."
Colleen: "I know there's
academic success because we
do a pre- and post-
test at every museum.
But more than that, I like
to see that students get
confidence and they
gain social skills.
It's an amazing immersion
in culture and in academic
language that puts
our students in line,
in level with every
other playing field of
socio-economic strata."
Debbie: "Kids have gone on
and said that we've helped
them with their
science skills,
right now we can interview
parents and they do say
that kids never forget this
experience and that a lot
of them want to go on
to become careers that
they've never even
thought of before."
Angee: "I think why the
other students and I enjoy
school in the park is
because we get to go
outside, we get to learn
different topics instead of
Math and English and
Social Studies."
Jennifer: "It provides a
much richer experience
for the students and
it's a lot more fun.
They don't realize
they're learning,
to them they're just
checking out the dinosaurs."
Jim: These students come
from households where at least
seven non-English languages
are spoken.
Educators say School in
the Park is where
this vast array of different
backgrounds and cultures
come together in an
exciting and shared learning
experience one that
even extends to parents,
who also can visit
these museums for free.
Debbie: "I would say that
every philanthropist should
invest in education,
especially this blend of
formal and
informal education.
It's a great experience
for our kids and it's really
sorely needed in
education right now."
Colleen: "I think every
student in an inner city
environment needs
this experience.
And it needs to be
more than just a day.
This is 40 days a year.
So it's an amazing
opportunity for them
and for the future."
"Yes, we got it!"
♪♪♪
Jim: That's going
to do it for this edition of
Inside California Education.
If you'd like more
information about the program,
just log on to our
website insidecaled.org.
We have video from
all of our shows,
and you can connect with
us on social media as well.
Thanks for joining us.
We'll see you next time on
Inside California Education.
♪♪♪
Funding for Inside
California Education
is made possible by:
Since 1985, the California
Lottery has raised more than
$30 billion for our public
schools.
It's a modest amount after
dividing it up to California's
11-hundred public school
districts from kindergarten
through high school,
as well as community colleges,
UC and CSU campuses.
Still, these funds help
attract quality teachers,
provide classroom equipment,
and keep art and music
programs alive.
With caring teachers,
committed administrators,
and active parents, every
public school student
can realize their dreams.
The California Lottery:
Imagine the Possibilities.
The Stuart Foundation:
Improving life outcomes for
young people through
education
Additional funding for
Inside California Education
is made possible by these
organizations
supporting public
education:
♪♪♪