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NEWS
New shuttle to expand transportation. A2
SPOTLIGHT
Discussing school shooter preparedness. A4-5
LIFESTYLE
Choir Madrigals host annual production. B1
Tuesday, Dec. 13, 2022
The Campanile
Vol. CV, No. 4
Palo Alto High School, 50 Embarcadero Road, Palo Alto, CA 94301
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Business Manager
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NON-PROFIT ORG U.S. POSTAGE
PAI D PALO ALTO PERMIT #44
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News/Opinion Editor Secondary school officials and the Board of Education are taking initiatives to combat demographic disparities in student performance after reviewing this year’s first quarter data which was presented during the Nov. 15 Board meeting. Guillermo Lopez, Assistant Superintendent of Secondary Educational Services, said there are three key factors that lead to failing grades. “Students (with chronic absenteeism) are seven and a half times more likely to receive an F,” Lopez said at the meeting. “Socioeconomic disadvantaged students (are) six times more likely to receive an F. If you’re Hispanic, you’re five times more likely to receive an F.” The board looked at first quarter Ds, Fs, Incompletes and No Marks across all secondary schools. After sorting these non-passing grades by race, Lopez said certain demographics are more likely to receive an F instead of an NM. According to Paly’s 2022-23 Course Catalog, students cannot earn credit for any F grades they receive in a course. However, a grade of NM means the teacher has insufficient course work completed to determine a grade. “Hispanic students have a (oneto-one) chance of receiving a No Mark and an F,” Lopez said at the meeting. “White students have (two) chances to receive a No Mark and one chance to receive an F. Asian students have two and a half chances to receive a No Mark compared to one for an F. If students are white or Asian, they are twice as likely to receive a No Mark over an F compared to Hispanic students.” Board member Jesse Ladomirak said if the data measured As, Bs and Cs, the percentages for each demographic would be flipped. “It feels logical to me to think that if we looked at As and Bs, you would be more likely to get an A and B if you were white or Asian,” Ladomirak said. Board member Jennifer DiBrienza said the district aims to remove the bias of grading systems. “When you can predict outcomes based on demographics, there’s only two things that are possible,” DiBrienza said. “You (either) think that certain demographics are more capable than others, or you think there’s bias in the system.” DiBrienza said the data shows students of a certain ethnicity or race are at a disadvantage. “We have found that sometimes we are failing even our students of color who are not lowincome,” DiBrienza said. “And so there is no reason for that, except for their demographics. PAUSD has admitted that there is bias in our system, and we are working to dismantle it.” One way PAUSD addresses educational equity is through System Wide Integrated Framework for Transition, a plan to enact institutional and structural change within the district. “We have lots of staff members at the school site, district level and classroom level doing equity work and looking at these biases and trying to fix them,” DiBrienza said. High schools, in particular, have begun to look at their grading practices to confront the F and NM data separated by race. According to Paly’s action plan, which addresses student performance, Paly’s Ed Council discussed the 2021-2022 F and NM data after the October Professional Development session. “There is no current rationale within Ed Council for using both F/NM given the inconsistencies around the data when disaggregated by race. We will revisit this conversation in future Ed Council meetings to determine next steps for eliminating the disparities seen in last year’s data,” the report said. In addition to support systems for students with Ds and Fs, DiBrienza said another way to make grading practices more efficient is to increase transparency around the use of soft skills in grades. To make grading clearer, DiBrienza said schools should move towards standardsbased grading. Disparities continues on A2
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SION LE/USED WITH PERMIS JOHN HA
CAYDE N GU /T H
o provide additional opportunities for students within the media arts pathway, both Paly and Gun will begin offering dual enrollment Beginning Journalism courses with Foothill College starting in the 2023-24 school year. After comparing the PAUSD Beginning Journalism course with the Foothill equivalent, representatives from both schools decided that the classes are similar enough to create a dual credit program. Beginning Journalism teacher Brian Wilson said while the Paly and Gunn Beginning Journalism curriculum likely won’t change by a significant amount, the class will be converted into a weighted one in terms of calculating a student’s GPA. Traditionally, students take Beginning Journalism at Paly during their sophomore year as a prerequisite to joining a publication, but Paly offered alternative pathways to freshmen for the first time this year. “We’ve introduced these freshman-level Photojournalism and Broadcast Journalism classes, which students can take as an alternate pathway to joining the publications and not have to take Beginning Journalism at all,” Wilson said. Wilson said he hopes turning Beginning Journalism into a dual enrollment course with college credit will encourage more students to sign up for the journalism program and eventually join a publication. “We were worried about the Beginning Journalism class when the (Photojournalism) and Broadcast Journalism pathway took off,” Wilson said. “Because those kids will have joined a (publication) by sophomore year, we were worried about numbers. So at least theoretically, the dual enrollment idea will counterbalance that a bit.” Journalism ART BY RACHEL LEE teacher Paul Kandell said he appreciates Foothill College acknowledging Beginning Journalism’s relatively challenging coursework. “I’m confident that our Beginning Journalism course, which has been the bedrock of the district’s success in journalism for more than two decades, is on par with any introductory college class,” Kandell said. “I’m grateful that Foothill saw the quality and agreed to offer a dual enrolment option.” Gunn Beginning Journalism teacher Kristy Blackburn said the dual enrollment opportunity also offers the advantage of standardizing the journalism education curriculum at Paly and Gunn. “It’s a good way to ensure that students are entering the pathway and getting a good foundation of journalism,” Blackburn said. Blackburn also said she hopes students will realize how fun journalism is and how it is different from traditional high school English classes. “I think students will take the Beginning Journalism course and realize, ‘Oh, this is different than I thought. It’s not English essay writing — it’s actually super interesting,’” Blackburn said. Kandell said Beginning Journalism is not only a challenging elective, but it is one that teaches students about real-world events and gives them skills to thrive in a changing society. “It’s a fun, challenging class that offers students a fresh perspective on writing and gives them valuable 21st-century skills regardless of their long-term interest in journalism,” Kandell said. Additionally, Blackburn said she thinks this change will help students of all backgrounds to discover a new pathway that sets them up for academic success. “One thing that I appreciate about this (change) is I can market the course more to some students who may not think about taking any of them,” Blackburn said. “For example, kids who are in (Focus on Success) or kids who are in AVID.” Wilson said he hopes the change will ultimately incentivize a diverse group of students to join the journalism program. “We’re constantly looking at different pathways and ways in for students who are interested in the programs,” Wilson said. “It gives another opportunity and reason for students to take that class where we might not have had it before.”
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PALO ALTO UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT PALO ALTO HIGH SCHOOL 50 EMBARCADERO RD. PALO ALTO, CA 94301