In the recently released US News & World Report 2024 Best High Schools list, BHHS ranks in the top 15% [But NOT in the top 10%] among Los Angeles Metro area public high schools.

The rankings are objectively based on student performance on state exams assessing proficiency in math, reading and science; graduation rates; and AP exam participation, among other things.

In my view, while these rankings are not perfect, the metrics used are largely objective and the current status which is some distance from the very top should not be disregarded or explained away.

Without looking back or undue hand wringing about spilt milk, I think that we can all agree that there is room for improvement.

In anticipation of a robust campaign for three seats on the Board of Education, and the hope that additional candidates will come forth before the August 14 filing deadline, (not as a reflection on the five candidates that are currently running but simply a belief that more, up to a point, is better) I thought that it would be useful to list some of the issues that may be addressed in future months and years to achieve improvement.

This list is not intended to imply solutions or to prioritize these issues. Rather, my purpose at present is to stimulate discussion during the School Board campaign that hopefully will lead to refined priorities and solutions.

With regard to priorities, I always bear in mind that the word “priority” means first in time, order or importance. To me, this means that there can only be a few. Maybe three or less. If you have too many “priorities” it is unlikely that many, if any, can be accomplished.

For now, I will confine myself to a list in alphabetical order in the hope that the candidates and others will weigh in so that the list can be more complete, solutions can be suggested and priorities will emerge. It is my intention to list these dispassionately without any preconceptions or solutions.

One more thing – by listing these issues, I do not intend to suggest that the District Board of Education, administration or faculty have not considered or are not addressing these issues – I am certain that they have and are addressing these issues and many more. But we can only benefit by community consideration and discussion of what should be done in the future in the context of a school board election campaign.

So – here they are:

Alignment of Curriculum

Should our high school curriculum be even more aligned to the state proficiency exams or is this “teaching to tests” and an undue distortion of the education process? [The most recent results show that 68% of our students meet state proficiency standards in reading, 48% in reading and 38% in science. Again, I believe that all would agree, there is room for improvement.] Notably, these state proficiency exams are important not only for rankings but also because they assess just how well we are educating our children.

AP Classes

What, if anything, should be done to improve our Advance Placement exam program?

Behavior

To what extent are behavior issues a major problem? If so, what can be done about it?

Blue Ribbon Schools

The National Blue Ribbon

Schools Program recognizes public and private elementary, middle, and high schools based on their overall academic excellence or their progress in closing achievement gaps among student subgroups. Should we seek this recognition? If so, how?

Graduation Rates What can be done to enhance the prospect that our students remain at BHHS for their senior year and to graduate rather than, for example, forego senior year, take the GED exam and go to a community college?

Money

Is District funding sufficient? We currently spend more than $30,000 per annum per student and have a student/ teacher ratio of better than 15/1. Is funding an issue?

Parental Involvement Should our parents be encouraged/incentivized to be more involved, directly or indirectly, in the formal education of their children? And specifically, should parents be held responsible for student attendance?

Performing Arts

The K.L Peters Auditorium has been unusable due to construction for a number of years; while BHHS has tried to use the Saban Theatre and the Beverly Vista [?] auditorium, the once-storied performing arts programs have been impacted.

How can they be restored to former glory?

Permits

Should the permit program, now capped to permit up to 100 non-resident grandchildren of residents, be expanded, contracted, remain the same?

Programs What recently introduced academic programs are effective and what are some others that should be considered for introduction?

Retention of Students

What can be done to attract and retain the most successful students?

Role of the School Board

According to the California School

Boards Association, “the role of the school board is to ensure that school districts are responsive to the values, beliefs and priorities of their communities.

Boards fulfill this role by performing five major responsibilities: setting direction; establishing an effective and efficient structure; providing support; ensuring accountability; [and] providing community leadership as advocates for children, the school district and public schools.”

What does this mean to the candidates and who is best qualified to fulfill this role?

Security

This issue was a major distraction for the Board a few years ago and has been solved to the extent humanly possible. Given the other challenges, should we travel further down this rabbit hole now?”

Strategic Plan What should be in the strategic plan for the District? How should performance in accordance with the strategic plan be measured? Should there be specific benchmarks against which performance can be measured? Who should be held accountable for successful performance?

Conclusion I do not presume to know all of the potential issues. Let me know about others that you consider important and what you think about these and the priorities.