ECHS Delivers Huge Gains in Academic Performance

ENVIRONMENTAL CHARTER HIGH SCHOOL DELIVERS HUGE GAINS IN 2009 ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE INDEX (API) SCORES

Los Angeles Charter School Success Story Continues To Show Results

September 16, 2009 – Lawndale, CA, Environmental Charter High School (ECHS), an award-winning Los Angeles public charter school serving a largely financially disadvantaged community of students, announced that its 2009 Academic Performance Index (API) scores skyrocketed by 51 points over last year’s results to 765 for 2009.   

ECHS’ point gains exceed surrounding public and charter schools by a wide margin, as well as surpassing California and Los Angeles countywide averages for increases in API scores, which are an overall metric of academic performance based on statewide tests.

ECHS’ recently appointed Principal, Jenni Taylor, attributed the performance increase to a number of strategies implemented over the past two years in math and sciences at the school.

Specifically, she noted math program changes, which include requiring all incoming ninth-graders to take a summer math class, as well as a new rigorous standards-based grading and passing policy.  With this policy, if students fail to demonstrate proficiency at each level, they must repeat the class or segment until they pass.   

According to Taylor, who led the school’s efforts to implement the math program changes, “Key to the success of this approach is that students realize that they must become proficient in the material, or they will not pass and will have to repeat the class. They realize that they can not simply try to ‘pass tests and get by,’ so they focus more on truly learning.”

ECHS also attributed gains in its API score to improvement in its science curriculum, in particular its award-winning Green Ambassadors class, which became mandatory for tenth-graders starting two years ago.   The Green Ambassadors class exemplifies ECHS’ unique curriculum, taking students beyond the classroom walls where they apply math, science and other disciplines to address environmental issues affecting their local communities and the world. 

“With our Green Ambassadors class, students are inspired and find meaning in the coursework, helping to improve their academic performance” said ECHS’ Green Ambassadors Founder and Director, Sara Laimon.   Students now take three years of earth science and biology, compared with the typical two years required elsewhere.

Environmental Charter High School: (http://www.echsonline.org) is a public charter high school serving Lawndale and surrounding communities in south Los Angles.   ECHS offers a rigorous college prep program that is made relevant by guiding students to critically examine and take action to solve environmental challenges in their local communities.  U.S. News & World Report ranked ECHS in the top 3% of high schools in the nation for its ability to deliver college-ready graduates from its community.