Alta Vista, Beryl Heights, and Jefferson elementary schools each scored at the top of both rankings, making RBUSD the only South Bay school district – and one of the few in the state – to earn three ‘10-10s’.
“It really is pretty impressive,” said RBUSD Superintendent Steven Keller. “When I saw three [10-10s], I have to say, it’s like the birth of a baby – you have an ear-to-ear grin.”
School board president Jane Diehl said that this API measurement is particularly valuable, because rather than just showing the raw academic testing scores it helps show the relative effectiveness of different schools.
“I think that all of our teachers, students, and parents are working really hard, and it clearly shows in the results of their scores,” Diehl said. “We are the only district in the South Bay that has three 10-10s. My take on this has always been that the comparison of schools is important, because it really shows you are maximizing your efforts with your students.”
Keller particularly prized the similar school rankings, which he calls a “no excuse” comparison. Five RBUSD schools – including Adams Middle School and Redondo Union High – also earned 10 rankings in comparison to similar schools. Diehl also said those rankings are especially significant.
“If you want to compare other schools to us capturing all these parameters, those comparisons show we do a very good job with the population of folks we have,” Diehl said.
But the superintendent also warned against overvaluing API rankings, in keeping with RBUSD’s oft-stated “whole child” ethos that values the emotional, social, and physical well-being of students.
“Even with positive rankings, I will still caution parents that this is only one indicator of one of several indicators we should use when assessing a school,” Keller said. “Clearly, across the board, we have positive API numbers. But that is not the entire story.”
Beryl Heights last year became the first RBUSD school to earn consecutive 10-10 rankings. Keller said that with its third 10-10 in as many years, the school has firmly established its reputation as one of the strongest schools in the district.
“Beryl is a mainstay now,” he said. “Beryl creeped and then caught Jefferson and now is keeping up with the Joneses – I guess keeping up with the Jeffersons.”
Alta Vista joined the ranks of 10-10 schools for the first time.
“It has always been a high achieving school with a solid staff and leadership,” Keller said. “This is a school community that has, for this assessment, really, really shined brightly. It’s always nice when a new school comes forward.”
Jefferson, meanwhile, continued its long tradition of academic achievement. The school has long been the district’s most consistently high scoring performer in the Academic Performance Index.
“It’s easy for folks to take it for granted, but they have institutionalized this high achievement at Jefferson, and they are obviously a shining star in our community,” Keller said. “Whenever I go outside the South Bay to conferences or other events, people say, ‘Oh, you are the superintendant in Redondo? Jefferson is one of your schools!’ I say, ‘Yes, but we have other great schools too.’ Jefferson has a longstanding tradition of high achievement and they enjoy being at the ceiling, because that is where they are at.”
Keller praised the parent community at Jefferson, which also has a longstanding reputation for deep involvement with their school – most recently as they have fought to keep sixth grade at the school in the face of a district recommendation to make Jefferson a K-5 school.
“You have these involved folks who keep the focus on the kids and the programs, and at the same time don’t always agree with everything we are doing,” Keller said. “At the end of the day, we should listen to them – obviously they have a lot to do with the high scores.”
The superintendent also singled out Redondo Union High for praise, noting that the school is on a strong upswing and has a staff “who will tell you they can do even better.” RUHS scored 9 in statewide and 10 in similar school rankings. The only trouble spot in the rankings was at Washington Elementary, which scored 7 in statewide and 4 in similar school rankings.
“I can assure you Washington is working diligently to improve its score and rankings,” Keller said. ER
