Calexico Unified School District

Calexico, California

Number of Schools: 6 elementary schools, 2 junior high schools, and 1 high school

Number of teachers: 433

Student population: 9,271

• 98% Hispanic
• 1% Caucasian
• 0% African American
• 1% Asian
• 71% English learners
• 79% Free or reduced-price lunch

In fall 2001, the Calexico Unified School District contracted with WestEd's Teach for Success team to work in six schools that had been identified by the California Department of Education (CDE) as underperforming, and three additional schools. The WestEd team created a custom version of the Teach for Success Classroom Observation Protocol to define a common language of teaching for administrators and coaches to provide specific feedback to teachers on their instructional practices. Calexico's protocol emphasized student engagement, levels of cognition, and instructional practices related to standards, curriculum, and students.

Tables A and B indicate the Academic Performance Index (API) growth the schools made from 2001 to 2005. Table A reflects the six schools that CDE identified as underperforming. Table B reflects the three schools that were not identified as underperforming. From 2001 to 2005, the average of all the schools’ API scores increased 124 points. The range of all of the schools' API scores in 2001 was 82, and in 2005 it dropped to 48.

Table A: API Scores - Six Calexico Schools Identified as Underperforming

^* Baseline, planning, and implementation refer to T4S.

Table B: API Scores - Three Calexico Schools Not Identified as Underperforming