Poly pace program long beach

The superintendent of LBUSD and the Poly principal approached Poly teacher Nancy Gray and tasked her with developing a concept for a program that would attract students from other high schools on the east side of Long Beach to attend Poly, at least for a portion of the school day.

Nancy Gray, a Fulbright scholar, devoted her life and remarkable talent to education with a bachelors degree in history, masters degrees in multiple foreign languages and a doctorate in statistics.

She accepted the challenge and viewed the creation of a new program as an opportunity not only to desegregate Poly High School but also to attend to the unmet needs of students. Gray began researching models from all over the. Gray wanted. She crafted a. The seven-period structure guided her naming of the program: Program of Additional Curricular Experiences refers to the seventh class students take each semester.

Advanced Placement courses had never been offered at Poly. She structured specific grade level curricula to begin to achieve the rigor that would characterize this program and free up an elective for the eleventh and twelfth grades. PACE adhered to a modular schedule which we all now enjoy as the block schedule that Dr. Gray based upon what was being done at Beverly Hills High School and that allowed for the seventh class.

Her insistence upon rigor is undeniably the essence of the program. Finding teachers for PACE was not a simple task. Gray relied upon recommendations of colleagues whose standards she trusted. She recruited an initial slate of faculty members with excellent reputations whom she knew could work well with a variety of students from all over the city: Dr.

Initially, many PACE students were bused into Poly for the morning and could return to their home schools for afternoon classes. By , no students were opting to leave Poly in the afternoon.

The safety of the campus and the quality of interaction between students and with teachers was no longer an issue for those who came to experience the program and campus.

Gray be relieved. Recognizing the obvious excellence of the program and the value of her contributions, the district agreed to permit Nancy to focus on the work of recruiting teachers, adding Advanced Placement classes to the roster, and taking care of the multitude of administrative tasks that the PACE.

It now functions as one group, PACE Parent Group, a non-profit board consisting of parent volunteers who raise and manage donations in order to provide additional support to the PACE academic and scholarship programs.

A problem arose when the final number of incoming ninth graders exceeded the maximum spaces available in the PACE ninth grade class. Between and students are accepted into the PACE program each year. Admission is based on that number. This year, however, there were many more students who qualified than available space in the program. This was true for a number of pathways this year. This is concerning to Aberle, who worries that parents will feel betrayed by the system. Why this occurred this year is not known.

The district mandated that programs in the district have the same entrance requirements, which for PACE, lowered the GPA and initially raised the standardized test scores. The school district is using the same admission process, using a top-down HSAI, but with results that fluctuate every year. A few years back, PACE handled their own admissions, using what the district now says is the same process. But in the previous years, results were much more predictable, and the problem of admissions exceeding contractual maximums did not occur.

So, for the first time, we were able to enroll some students who had not been accepted to other programs that happened to be impacted that year. I would imagine that one reason the current selection process exists is to keep pathways strong across the district. At PACE, the number of acceptances sent out to the eighth graders has been based upon the number of students, historically, that ultimately accept.

However, far more students accepted than what could be anticipated from the previous averages. This means that students may be placed in programs that were not among their selections. The district maintains, that students get at least one of their top choices. PACE has also noticed a trend toward decreasing resiliency in the students coming into the program.

Teachers, counselor Connie Loggins, and Aberle are all interested in finding ways to decrease stress and to increase the satisfaction that comes to students who enjoy learning among teachers who clearly enjoy their students. The program remains resolute that program standards be maintained at the current high levels. And according to both Aberle and Steinhauser, all LBUSD high schools are looking at ways to better serve our students, making sure that all pathways are accessible and prepare students for success.

Class of Seniors in November were able to apply to their desired colleges to pursue their undergraduate careers.