Milpitas High School aims to improve college and career readiness as well as graduation rates for English Learner (EL) students this school year, according to the 24-25 School Plan for Student Achievement (SPSA) document.
This document outlines the school’s goals for students for a given school year and is updated annually, according to the California Department of Educa- tion’s (CDE) website. The 24-25 SPSA states that only 16.7 stu- dents out of 168 total EL students were classified as “Prepared” on the CDE’s college/career indicator for the 23-24 school year.
“One of my goals moving forward is to graduate students on time and provide the right support for them,” EL counselor Yolanda Rodriguez said.
The EL program functions by having EL-specific classes split up through the regular department, English teacher Dena Chavez said. She gets students that have little to no knowledge of the language, she said.
“I have the newcomers, and so my goal is that they are able to function, be conversational, and understand what’s going on in all of their classes,” Chavez said.
Rodriguez believes the best way to help EL students withcompleting necessary credits is by encouraging parents to obtain previous transcripts, she said.
“When I came in last year there was a lot of kids without transcripts, and I was like, ‘This is not good,’” Rodriguez said. “This year I’ve brought (it up) to parents, reinforced that we need their transcripts, and so far, I’ve gotten all but one.”
Exposure to alternative pathways and careers after high school through career-oriented field trips and messaging is also important, Principal and Chief Innovator Greg Wohlman said. Getting students and families to accept the possibilities of pathways different from a four-year university has been a challenge, he said.
“This generation is the first generation that can really make that push away from college and be just as successful, if not more successful, in their future,” Wohlman said. “And that’s hard for students to accept at times, and that’s hard for our parents to accept because it’s brand new.”
The school will be conducting targeted EL tutoring led by Nor-ma Morales as additional supporting meeting credit requirements, Wohlman said.
This will help students en- vision life after high school by ensuring they pass classes every six-week grading period, he said.
Rodriguez would like to have a college and career center for EL students, a EL mentoring program, and a school club for different demographics, she said.
“It could (have) various topics, presentations, guest speakers, (and) activities,” Rodriguez said. School staff is committed to helping students despite the obstacles, Wolhman said.
“When we can’t solve (obstacles), it makes us work harder,” Wohlman said. “It makes us question our systems and process, and that’s a good thing.”