First Place winner of the California School Public Relations Association, 2003 Communications Contest.Award of Excellence winner for the 2002 National School Public Relations Association’s Publications Media Contest.Four-color, 40 page annual report, 8.5" x 11" (folded) for the Middle School Office. Design by Steven Swift.

FOR MORE THAN SIX YEARS, our staff, students,parents and other community members haveworked hard to change business as usual in ourmiddle schools. It’s been an incredible time ofgrowth and reform. As you will see in thisreport, the hard work is paying off. By a numberof measures, our middle schools are showingacademic gains.

Our schools started this effort based on thesimple premise that we needed higher standards,to make sure students would gain the knowledgeand skills necessary to thrive in our complexworld. The people of the Long Beach UnifiedSchool District have held fast to those high stan-dards, finding innovative ways to help studentsmeet them.

We call this report “Turning the Tide”because after several years of refining the waywe teach and test students, we’re more confidentthan ever that our middle schools are heading inthe right direction. In fact, our most recent testscores represent nothing short of a breakthrough.Appropriately, “Turning the Tide” also suggeststhe job is not complete, and schools mustcontinue the process of change that led to theseinitial improvements.

We cannot reflect on our progress withoutthanking our Superintendent, Carl A. Cohn, for

his nationally recognized leadership over thepast decade. He is retiring this year, and he willbe greatly missed. We hope you will take timeto read the in-depth profile of Dr. Cohn in the“Reflections” portion of this report.

Special thanks also go to the people at theEdna McConnell Clark Foundation for theirongoing determination and generosity insupport of middle school reform.

We dedicate this report to everyone inour school communities whose daily effortsmake positive, lasting differences in the livesof our students.

“Only in growth, reform and change, paradoxically enough, is true security to be found.”— Anne Lindbergh (1906-2001)

Christopher J. SteinhauserDeputy Superintendent

Dorothy T. HarperAssistant Superintendent, Middle & K-8 Schools

Chris Steinhauser and Dorothy Harper

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Making Waves and Getting ResultsMaking Waves and Getting Results

In his final year as Superintendent,Carl A. Cohn discusses progress, hopeand the difficult work ahead.

High Standards:Looking Below the Surface

2The Evolution of Reform

4Teachers and Administrators

As Learners8

High Standards in Language Arts10

High Standards in Math12

High Standards in History14

High Standards in Science16

Student Checkpoints18

Parents, Community and Business20

Demographics22

Results24

On the Horizon39

How to Reach Us40

Superintendent Carl A. Cohn

Principal Linda Moore

Mom and Daughter:Linda and Jo’Vonna

Teachers Ken ZavalaAnd Barbara Hansen-Rust

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Pg.26Pg.26

THROUGHOUT THE NATION, policymakers and educators talk frequently abouthigher standards for students. In the LongBeach Unified School District, this ideaholds special meaning. For more than sixyears, we’ve worked hard to raise standardsin dress, behavior and achievement. In ourmiddle schools, we’ve especially focused onachievement by starting with the simpleidea of academic standards.

Academic standards are written state-ments of what students should know and beable to do as a result of their schooling.Every day, our schools use standards thatexplain to students, parents and teacherswhat is expected in each subject and gradelevel. The standards-based approach ispopular now, and almost every state in thenation has academic standards. Long beforethe idea caught on nationwide, our schooldistrict began creating its first English,math, history and science standards in 1993.Teachers and school administratorsworked with business people, parents anduniversity experts to refine the new stan-dards, which covered the most important

knowledge students would need to suc-ceed in high school, college and beyond.From time to time, we’ve updated thestandards to reflect new requirements.

Adopting high standards is just thebeginning. Helping students reach thesestandards requires hard work by everyoneinvolved. At the heart of this work is thebelief that all children will learn andsucceed when given the right support.By helping teachers know whether studentsare learning what they should, standardsallow for continual improvement ofteaching and testing.

In a standards-based classroom,students go beyond rote memorization.They’re excited and involved. They thinkand reason more deeply, so they can succeedin a more complex world. They know whattheir assignments are, why they are doingthem, and how to show they’ve met thestandards. Rather than relying solely ontextbooks, students use a wide variety ofwritten materials, computer equipmentand software.

3

Academic standards help every school hold the same high expectations for students.

Standards represent the best thinking of hundreds of teachers, parents, universityexperts, business people and others who created them.

Linked to state standards, our standards help students to meet California’sgraduation requirements.

Given the right support, all students are expected to reach these high standards,but in different ways and within different lengths of time.

Our schools now use standards in English, math, history, science, health and physicaleducation. Teachers also use lessons from these subjects when they teach courses likemusic, technology and foreign language.

Every school keeps a detailed list of “Standards in Parent Friendly Language,” availableupon request in English, Spanish and Khmer (Cambodian).

Here is one of the Earth Science standards that students must understandbefore graduating from high school:

Many processes in nature affect the Earth and the universe.

This standard is further divided into more specific goals for differentgrade levels:

Elementary School:Describe the ocean and its effects on humans.

Middle School:Identify and illustrate the water cycle, which is driven by the sun.

High School:Explain the law of conservation in the context of Earth’s subsystems.

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CHANGE TAKES TIME. Middle school science students know this because they study geologicaleras that span millions of years. Here are excerpts from a geologic timeline found in a middleschool science textbook, followed by modern-day highlights of middle school reform.

Science Standard No. 4Life Sciences: organisms demonstrate similarities, variations, and theability to interact with and adapt to changes in their environment.

“The gem cannot be polished without friction, nor man perfected without trials.”—Chinese Proverb

■ 4 billion to 544 millionyears ago (Precambrian Time)Oceans form and cover Earth.Jellyfish-like animals appear.

■ 544 million to 505 millionyears ago (Cambrian Period)Invertebrates with shells appear,including mollusks.

■ 408 million to 360 millionyears ago (Devonian Period)The Age of Fishes begins as sharksand fish with scales and bonyskeletons become common.

5

■ 1993Educators look hard at how to improve studentachievement in grades six through eight.They recognize that for too long, young adolescentshave been allowed to fail, and that too many adultshave blamed this failure on the changing physicaland emotional state of middle school students, orworse yet, on their families, neighborhoods andcultural backgrounds. Local educators begin devel-oping drafts of standards – statements of what allchildren should know and be able to do by the endof eighth grade in English, math, history andscience. A Middle School Advisory Committeebrings together central office staff and teachers fromeach middle school to shape the district’s firststandards-based reforms.

■ 1994Teachers, parents, business people and universityexperts review the standards and provide feedback.The school district begins education partnershipswith local colleges, universities and key communityorganizations. The part-nerships would lead toSeamless Education, asmoothly linked systemaimed at improvingstudent achievementand teacher preparation.The school districtbecomes the first in thenation to requireuniforms in grades K-8as part of an overallstrategy to raise stan-dards in dress, behaviorand achievement.

■ 1995Teachers receive an orientation and training on thenew standards. The school district begins to createsupport materials, including grade-by-gradeobjectives for the core, or basic subjects. A resource

management guideorganizes basic andsupplemental materialsto help teachers usethe standards.

1990

1991

1992

1993

1994

1995

1996

California State University Long Beach

Student uniforms

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■ 1998The state develops academic standardsin basic subjects. The school districtlinks its standards to the state’s andprovides standards coaches to helpteachers plan instruction.Individualized Education Programs forspecial education students are linked toacademic standards. Expanded tutorialsand other after-school programs focuson academic interventions, withstronger links between schools andservice agencies. Teachers collaboratemore to examine student work.History, science and other subjectsincorporate more writing assignmentsand exams into the curriculum.

■ 1997The school district increases standards-basedtraining for teachers while creating newteaching and testing materials based onacademic standards.This process would beimproved and refineduntil present day.End-of-course exams andstandards-based portfoliosof student work begindevelopment. The firstparent-friendly standards,an annual report onmiddle school reform,and other communicationtools are produced forschools and the com-munity. Physical educationstandards are developed.

■ 1996Wider implementation of standards begins inclassrooms. The school district commits to bringing75 percent of eighth graders up to academic standardsby 2001. The Board of Education creates the EighthGrade Initiative, requiring eighth graders who receivetwo or more F’s on final report cards to attend the LongBeach Preparatory Academy foran extra year of instructionbefore high school. The numberof students with multiple F’sdrops from 740 to 439 in oneyear. President Bill Clinton visitsthe school district and praises itsschool uniform policy. EnglishLanguage Development andhealth education standardsare developed.

1996

1995 1997

1998

President Bill Clinton

Parent participation

Long Beach Preparatory Academy

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■ 1999The nation’s first single-gender middle school opensas the Jefferson Leadership Academies. The newColin L. Powell Academy for Success opens to students ingrades K-8. Long Beachbecomes oneof a few schooldistricts withan assessmentplan that goesbeyond state-mandated tests.Drafts ofgradingcriteria aredeveloped.Top adminis-tration reorganizes to support lower performing schools.Middle schools launch a literacy initiative. Districtwideenrollment has skyrocketed by 20,000 students in onedecade, topping 90,000. More than 70 percent of localvoters approve $295 million in bonds to build newschools and fix old ones.

■ 2001Schools show significant academic improvement.They fall short of their goal to bring 75 percent ofall students up to academic standards. But 91 per-cent of middle and K-8 schools meet or exceedannual academic growth targets set by the state.California State University Long Beach offers acredential program for aspiring school administra-tors. Principals receive more training on supervisingliteracy instruction. The school district wins twoGolden Bell Awards from the CaliforniaSchool BoardsAssociation forits teachertrainingefforts,including itssupport fornew teachers.USA Todaydeems LongBeach thenation’s mostdiverse city.

■ 2000Washington Middle School becomes theWashington Intensive Learning Center, with alonger school day and year. Hill ClassicalMiddle School is launched to prepare studentsfor rigorous Wilson Classical High Schoolnearby. State test data show improvement ineighth grade reading and math, and the bestmiddle schoolattendance ratein two decades.Rogers andHughes schoolsbecome thefirst middleschools in thedistrict to winthe NationalBlue RibbonAward, thecountry’shighest honorfor public schools. California State UniversityLong Beach offers a teaching credential in reading.

1999

2000

2001

2002

Gen. Colin Powell

Jefferson Leadership Academies

National honors

Washington Intensive Learning Center

AS STUDENTS ACHIEVE the physical, earth,life and investigation standards, they learnabout things like the design of an atom,how stars and solar systems change overtime, and how cells obtain and processenergy. They develop lab skills so they canexplain, through ample writing, whycertain experiments prove a point.Students go beyond learning facts to under-stand how they connect. They learn howone principle of science applies to manysituations. For instance, we know that heatcauses objects to expand. This concept helpsexplain why we build bridges with expan-sion joints, why we don’t overinflate tiresbefore driving across the desert, and whyhot air balloons rise.

In the old days, science teachers reliedprimarily on textbooks. Today, academicstandards help science teachers know what’simportant to teach, and the textbook is justone of many resources. In recent years, thestandards have led to common, districtwidetests that help teachers and schools comparetheir progress.

“The standards really provided theframework for teachers to start talking toeach other and to develop a perspective ofwhat’s going to make sense for the kids –what they need to be ready for next,” saidEric Brundin, the school district’s sciencecurriculum leader.

“We’re not writing every quiz and testfor teachers, but we do need a few check-points to get teachers talking, so they canshare their best ideas,” Brundin said.“Everyone in every profession has to beaccountable. Teachers have a responsibilityfor building a broad foundation that letskids go where their strengths are.”

“I love science. It’s one of my favorite subjects. We talkabout experiments, and we ask each other questions abouthow things work. We’ll take a guess and then provewhether it’s right. My career will probably involvecomputers and chemical science. You can make stuff tomake life better, like medicine, plus it’s fun.”

— Joshua Mas, Hill Classical Middle School

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Open-Ended Science QuestionStudents demonstrate their knowledge of science standards by writing responses to periodic,open-ended science questions like this.

Change of StateA large pot of water is heating on the stove. At sea level, water changes from liquid to gas at100 degrees C.

There are four different phases of matter. There is solid, liquid, and gas, and then there is

plasma. This specific problem or question is based on liquid water converting (by boiling) to gas.

Let’s imagine I’m bringing a pot to the sink and filling it with water. I want hot cocoa, but the

microwave isn’t working, so I start to heat the water on the stove. I have a thermometer with

me to see when the water will boil. It tells me that at first (0 minutes), the water is room tempera-

ture: 23 degrees C. Then, 10 minutes later I check it again and the water is 100 degrees C.

An explanation for this is that a lot of heat energy was added from the stove flame making the

water molecules move faster and faster. There was lots of kinetic energy in the molecules.

This caused the water to evaporate faster, even before boiling, as some molecules jumped off into

the air. After 15 minutes the temperature is still 100 degrees C and the water is boiling. I start to

observe that the water level is going down. So by boiling the water, its physical characteristics

are completely changed. All the heat energy being added is making the fastest molecules

(the hottest ones) leave the liquid and turn into gas. Since the hottest molecules leave,

the temperature doesn’t go up.

Thirty minutes go by because I got distracted and my water is all done boiling. It’s a good

thing I started with a large pot of water, because there is only a little bit of liquid water left.

I am able to have my cocoa now, but I don’t like it too hot, so I’m going to leave it for a while to

slow its molecules (cool off).

So now my explanation is done and my cocoa is delicious.

This eighth grader’sresponse was graded asa six on a scale of six.The answer completes allparts asked in the question,and it connects scientificconcepts with reality.

Using the data above, explain the changes thathave occurred in energy and molecular motion.Predict what will happen over the next30 minutes and justify your prediction.

Time (minutes)

0

10

15

Temperature (C)

23º

100º

100º

IF NO MAN IS AN ISLAND, neither aremiddle schools. They rely on parents,community members, local businesses,colleges and universities to help givechildren their best chance at success.

Parent involvement can be a challengewhen children reach middle school.Students still need guidance, but they’re alsostriving for independence. School lifebecomes complicated with more teachersand more demanding homework.But studies show that students performbetter when parents stay involved.Our schools work diligently to keep parentsinvolved and informed. Many parents takeadvantage of PTA and PTO activities.Many serve on school or district commit-tees. Others take English, computer literacyand parenting classes at our schools.Still others serve as representatives fromtheir schools, joining regular parent forumswith the superintendent of schools andother administrators.

Helping students succeed requiresregular and clear communication fromschool to home and back again. Throughnewsletters, school accountability reportcards, student agendas (planners), andreports like this one, schools work to keepparents informed. Many of these materialshave been created and refined in recentyears to explain the importance of highexpectations, and how to recognize whetherstudents are reaching academic standards.Today, schools also use home visits, parentcoffee hours and events like Open Houseand parent conferences to explain howacademic standards are helping childrenlearn at higher levels.

Other community members playincreasingly important roles in local

middle schools. Hundreds of volunteers donatetheir time, and dozens of business partners donategoods and services. Each year, business andcommunity leaders become Principal for a Day tolearn more about schools and how they cansupport them. Non-profit groups help providemeaningful afterschool activities, and localcolleges and universities continue their nearlydecade-long work with our schools to improvecurriculum and teacher preparedness (See Teachersand Administrators as Learners, pg. 8).

Steven Chesser, a senior manager with The BoeingCompany, visits Newcomb Academy. He was one of260 community leaders to serve as Principal for a Dayin October 2001.

“No man is an island entire of itself; every man is a piece of the Continent, a part of the main…”

— John Donne, 17th Century British poet

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At the Annual ParentInstitute, middleschool parents learntips on how to helptheir children succeed.

More than 700 businesses,community organizationsand agencies have formedactive educational part-nerships with schools inthe Long Beach UnifiedSchool District, a recordlevel of involvement.

During a recent visit toLong Beach, U.S. Secretary ofEducation Rod Paige praisedSeamless Education partner-

ships between the schooldistrict and higher education.

“The seamlessness of yoursystem is something we really

must applaud, and America canlearn from that,” Secretary Paige

said. “Here, all the entities, allthe diverse groups, are putting

their shoulders together andheading in the right direction.”

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1995-96 2000-01

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ONCE KNOWN AS IOWA BY THE SEAfor its large population of migratoryMidwesterners, Long Beach officiallybecame the most diverse large city in thenation, according to a USA Today analysisof Census 2000 data. There is nearly an80 percent likelihood that any two residentsin Long Beach, chosen at random, will be ofdifferent races or ethnicities. This dramaticshift in population is reflected at schools inLong Beach and surrounding communities.

Our middle school students come froma wide variety of ethnic and socioeconomicbackgrounds, and they speak more than40 different languages.

Each year, hundreds more students enterthe school system, and record-breakingenrollment is projected to continue in thecoming years.

The school district’s philosophy is thatdiversity is an asset and every child canlearn and grow when given the rightsupport. We are committed to giving allchildren the support they need to meethigh standards.

The following charts show some of thedemographic changes and trends seenduring the past six years.

“Here is not merely a nation, but a nation of nations.” – Walt Whitman

Our student population remains among the most diverse in the nation.The percentage of Hispanic students has increased steadily.

Percent of Students Enrolled In Grades 6-8

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Language remains a challenge. About 30 percent of middle school students speak alanguage other than English as their primary language. This percentage has not

changed since 1995. Most of these students speak Spanish, many speak Khmer(Cambodian), and the rest speak one of 40 other languages.

Record-breaking middle school enrollment continues year after year.There is no letup in sight.

Enrollment In Grades 6 - 8

95-96 96-97 97-98 98-99 99-00 00-01

17,353 17,906 18,736 19,38620,461 21,046

Poverty remains a challenge. Nearly 74 percent of the students in ourmiddle schools receive free and reduced-price lunches.

1995 - 96

69.6% 73.7%

2000 - 01

30% do not speak Englishas their first language.

2000 - 01

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A CUSTOMIZED CLOCK ON THE WALL of LindaMoore’s office provides a clue about her approachto helping kids learn. At first glance, the clocklooks normal enough, with two hands and theusual numerals arranged in a circle. The numerals,however, span beyond 12 and extend to 15, givingMoore an extra three hours for everyone else’s 12.Middle school principals are accustomed toearly mornings and late nights, and Moore isno exception.

“Be nice to Linda,” said Jody Raef, the school’ssecretary. “She was here until 9 o’clock last night.”

Commitment. Perseverance. Focus. These

Principal Linda Moore

Linda Moore retired last summer after 38 years in the Long Beach Unified School District. She worked as a middle and highschool teacher, department chair, activities specialist, assistant principal and principal for both Franklin and Rogers middleschools. She served in the school district’s central office as a principal on special assignment and, in that capacity, helped to laythe groundwork for standards-based middle school reform a decade ago.

Five years into her final job as principal at Rogers, the school won the 2000 National Blue Ribbon School award, the highesthonor for excellence bestowed by the U.S. Department of Education. Consistently rated as a top principal by teachers, Moore waswidely respected for her ability to find resources, motivate staff and improve instruction. Just before she retired, Moore reflectedon what it takes to create meaningful change in today’s middle schools.

Linda Moore andcompany enjoy themarina near RogersMiddle School. Fromleft: Moore, studentbody president PortiaSimms, school secre-tary Jody Raef, teachersPatricia Strait andTimothy Ching,students RodolfoTrigueros and JesusNava, and parentJacqueline Taucher.

words, printed on inspirational posters in Moore’soffice, take on special meaning when she startstalking about student achievement.

“The key is to track student performanceconstantly and make sure lessons and assign-ments are leading to the end goal of learning.”Her approach is easier said than done, sometimesleading to more questions than answers. Along theway, Moore has learned some lessons of her own.

“Planning time is crucial for teachers. At first,teachers were reluctant to spend time planningtogether. Now, they beg for more,” Moore said.“Teachers need paid, professional time to work

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together on structuring and coordinatingcurriculum, instruction and assessment, and thenthey need to revisit their work.”

When Moore first became principal at Rogersin 1995, she and educators at other local middleschools were just beginning to answer the question,“What are standards?” Since then, districtwidestandards, combined with more recently developedstate standards, have helped teachers prioritize whatis important for students to learn.

“What do students really need to know about theU.S. Presidency? Do you need to memorize all thepresidents and vice presidents of the United Statesin order? No. First, we determine what the essen-tial knowledge is.

“The whole stan-dards-based move-ment is good for kidsand teachers,” Mooresaid. “It tells kidswhat they have to doto be successful andto compete in thisworld, and it tellsteachers whether they’re successful, too. It’s nolonger, ‘I taught it; who cares if you got it.’ Now it’s,‘I’m teaching it, and everybody can get it – just noteveryone at the same time.’ We don’t learn at thesame rate. Do all babies start walking at the sametime or eating solid food at the same time?”

The next logical question is, what level ofstudent achievement is good enough and what doesthat look like? Teachers, schools and state legisla-tors are still answering that question.

“If we can stick with consistent assessment overtime, we’ll be able to report our success better interms of meeting standards for all students.The same goes for the state’s API (AcademicPerformance Index). Don’t keep changing it.Decide what it’s going to be, and stick with it,”Moore said. “The whole process of reform wassomewhat delayed, for good reason, because wedidn’t have all the right assessments in place.But now we’re moving at a good pace. We’re gettingthere, with end-of-course exams in math andhistory, open-ended math questions, writing examsand other tests.”

Motivating and supporting teachers amid thisever-evolving environment requires finesse, andagain, focus.

“I don’t hesitate to speak my mind, but I try to

do it in a gentle, constructive way. I try to figureout every person’s strengths,” Moore said. Her earlyexperiences with reforms, when she held a varietyof administrative jobs, helped her sharpen herability to work with others. It was a time thatrequired teamwork and innovation, and she isgrateful that her own supervisors allowed her thefreedom to try new ideas.

“I’ve learned that everybody has a contributionto make. The most important thing is to knowwhere you’re going, to stay focused on that destina-tion, and figure out a way to get everyone to be partof the journey. You have to figure out how to geteveryone in this boat, rowing the same way.”

The hard workpaid off at Rogers.It’s no coincidencethat a school sodiligent aboutstandards-basedinstruction wasdeemed worthy of aNational Blue Ribbon.

“The wholestandards-based movement forced us to say allstudents are expected to achieve at a certain level.That’s what Blue Ribbon schools are supposed to do,”Moore said.

As with any success, Moore’s is sometimessubject to scrutiny by other educators. Some skep-tics point out that only about half of the students atRogers accept free and reduced-price lunches,compared to nearly double that at some Long Beachschools. Rogers has hundreds fewer students thanmost urban middle schools, and at the end of theschool day, most Rogers students go home tocomputers, ample reading material and supportive,English-speaking parents. Other schools don’t haveit so easy. The reality, however, is that plenty ofstudents at Rogers face the same challenges as theircounterparts at other nearby middle schools.

“I think that many of the things we do here atRogers can work elsewhere,” Moore said. “In fact, ifI were a few years younger, I’d say give some of usan under-performing school and watch us.”

Moore hopes her successor at Rogers can takethe school to higher levels of excellence, just asshe and her staff have. The clock on the wallreads 14:55.

“As good as we are, we’re still not there.”

The most important thing is to know whereyou’re going, to stay focused on that destination,

and figure out a way to get everyone to bepart of the journey.

You have to figure out how to get everyone inthis boat, rowing the same way.

Board of EducationBobbie Smith, President

Karin Polacheck, Vice PresidentEdward M. Eveland, Member

Suja Lowenthal, MemberMary Stanton, Member

Erwin SaenzStudent Member

Carl A. CohnSuperintendent

FundingThe Edna McConnell Clark Foundation

Special ThanksLong Beach Aquarium of the Pacific

Working Together to Raise Standards in Dress, Behavior and Achievement