March Mountain Reaches High

Moreno Valley’s March Mountain High School held its second Community Conversation on Feb. 27th in its continuing effort to close the achievement gap. Organizing the event from the onset with the support of Principal Sean McMurray, Social Science teacher Horacio Gomez found additional support from the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, and especially in procuring the grant to assist with these meetings, Moreno Valley Educators Association (MVEA) in partnership with the National Educators Association (NEA). Also, with the help of representatives from other community organizations including the Elks Lodge, Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity, and CTA, Gomez stated, “We sought input from all corners of the community.” The first meeting occurred in September of last year guided by Moreno Valley Educators Association. At that time, Gomez shared, he had been given a blueprint on how to make the second Community Conversation possible. By bringing together community leaders and parents, Gomez explained the need “to have a conversation about what we can do to help more students graduate. The mold has always been to just have a conversation between teachers, parents and then administrators. And so, we decided to take that further and think outside the box.” Asking, “Who else can we involve in this conversation? Because, at the end of the day, we're all stakeholders. The gaps in achievement. The low graduation rates. They affect us all. And so we wanted to bring people from different walks of life, because the way that I think as a teacher may be different from the way somebody else thinks as a business owner or a councilmen or the president of the Elk's Lodge. So, that was our push." Representatives from throughout the community attended the discussion. Dinner was served from 5:30 p.m., and at 6 p.m., Principal McMurray, welcomed and thanked all in attendance, including Mayor Tom Owings, city council member Jesse Molina, school board member Jesus Holguin, Washington D.C. representatives from the NEA and leaders of MVEA. Harold Acord, President of MVEA, which has 1,694 certificated members in the Moreno Valley Unified School District (MVUSD) stated, “We’re excited about what the community would like to know and how they can help their children achieve the best that they can." Ann Adler, Executive Director of MVEA, stated, “The idea is to help with the achievement gap, and to bring in the community as we're doing that in an effort to broaden open discussion between students, parents, teachers, administrators, and community leaders for the city and the district.” With the MVUSD's approval, Adler stated, "Our vision is to try and replicate this in some form district wide; especially as we move into Common Core State Standards, our hope is that parents will be involved and know what's going on.” After a brief introduction as to the meeting's purpose, the large group of roughly about 50 or so broke into 3 groups: two English speaking and one Spanish speaking. In this way, the small discussion groups addressed three priority points of interest, particularly: (1) parent involvement, (2) mentorship programs, and (3) resources for parents. After the 90-minute or so small group discussions, all groups returned to share what each group came up with. NEA representative Brenda Vincent who goes around the country working with state and local affiliates and communities centering on closing the achievement gap shared, "We have done over 250 community conversations around the country from Mississippi all the way to Seattle. We go wherever they ask us.” The grant proposal NEA requires asks school leaders to illustrate what the current situation is for their site, particular graduation rates. NEA also looks at the desired outcomes the school is seeking. Based on these analyses and based on the outcomes of the second Community Conversation, additional funding is approved accordingly. March Mountain is a continuation high school that has a variety of programs specifically designed to meet the specific needs of students who have been unsuccessful in traditional high schools. March Mountain's 400 students attend classes from 8 a.m. to 2:05 p.m. Students work at an accelerated pace with academic rigor to assist with credit recovery. To further assist students with credit recovery, concurrent enrollment in Adult Education is available for seniors on a limited basis. In addition, students may enroll in credit recovery classes, ROP or work experience classes to earn credits. Independent Study is also offered for those students who have extenuating circumstances. The Cal-SAFE program provides parenting classes for students with children, or for those who will be having a child. The program also provides school-time childcare for the babies. Special Education programs serving March Mountain students include the Resource Specialist Program and Transitional Language Program. In order to receive a high school diploma, a student must complete 225 credits in required subject areas and be accountable for all state and district requirements, including passing the California High School Exit Examination (CAHSEE). Vincent shared, “We try to replicate some of the things they're doing in other communities that’s working, but it's a process. It takes time. A lot of people are eager to close the achievement gap, but it takes time. You have to be patient and believe in the process." For more information or how you can be involved, please contact Horacio Gomez at (951)571-4800. For those interested in listening to one of the small group discussions of the second Community Conversation, a link is provided below: https://app.box.com/s/tc2bxzq2h4z5qtnnrm93 For those interested in listening to the outcomes concluding the second Community Conversation, a link is provided below: https://app.box.com/s/odkehl47j0w27lzyh0gd