Update on PI Status at Alhambra HS

EVA ORTEGA
Staff Writer

“In spite of continued growth, AUSD has been identified as a Program Improvement (PI) District in Year 3 and is required to notify all parents of this status,” a letter handed out to students two weeks ago notified. AHS has been a PI school since 2012 after failing to meet the testing requirements in English Language Arts and Math.

These requirements, known as Adequately Yearly Progress (AYP), are part of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), which was created to level scores between students from families with different socioeconomic backgrounds. AHS now has a total Academic Performance Index (API) of 844 with the high school graduation rate at about 91 percent.

However, according to Education Week, after 50 percent of schools failed to meet AYP standards in 2011, waivers were created by the Obama Administration for schools to avoid being put into PI. Upon receiving the waiver, schools must set goals to put students on the right track for college and future careers.

These waivers put an end to evaluating schools strictly based on test scores, taking suspension/expulsion rates, absentee rates and parent and student evaluations into overall judgement. This new alleviation has the potential to bring AHS out of PI status and produce even more students who exceed in all academic aspects.