CAT Principal Daniel Allen responded to a 10/4/2013 article in the San Francisco Chronicle describing the difficulty SF high school students are having graduating on time, since the adoption of tougher graduation requirements.  The full version of Daniel’s letter is below; a condensed version ran in the Letters to the Editor of the SF Chronicle on 10/5/2013.

Thank you Daniel for telling the positive story about what our students are achieving!

 

October 4, 2013

Dear Editor,

Thank you to Jill Tucker for her recent article highlighting the plight of SFUSD high school seniors facing new, tougher graduation requirements this year.  We applaud the SFUSD for adopting the more rigorous college-prep requirements for students.  It is unfortunate that budget cuts have forced them to get rid of the critical support systems many students now need in order to meet those requirements and graduate on time.  It is also significant and disturbing that minority students are being disproportionally affected; these are the students who are most in need of support and opportunities for the future.

There is another education story happening in San Francisco that also deserves to be told.  City Arts and Technology High School (CAT), a public charter school operated by Envision Education, has been successfully preparing students for college and careers for a decade.  76% of our students are African American and Latino, and virtually all (99%) of our 2012 senior class graduated having met UC’s A-G requirements, compared to SFUSD’s 32% for African Americans and 45% for Latinos.

Education is about so much more than taking the right set of classes.  As the Balboa High School student in Tucker’s article articulated, it’s about equality.  It is about giving students hope that they can do and become anything they choose, and then it’s about making sure they have access to the resources, knowledge, and skills they need to succeed.

At CAT, we work to ensure that every graduate is equipped with both the core academic competencies and the leadership skills that will ultimately transform their lives and our society.  Unlike most schools where college readiness is measured simply by student GPA and class credits, we utilize a four-year College Success Portfolio assessment program that requires student to show and articulate their college readiness.  In addition, each student is assigned an academic advisor whose primary responsibility is to help students develop a strong academic identity on their journey to graduation and college.   These are the kinds of supports students need to be successful.

We are proud of what we are doing for SF students, especially African American and Latino young people.  They are beating the odds and offering the city a shining example of what is possible in our city’s public schools.

Sincerely,

Daniel Allen
Principal, City Arts and Technology High School