More Money, More Early Childhood Education for SRCSD

Good news came to the cash-strapped San Rafael City Schools District when the Marin Community Foundation announced that it will renewing two grants and adding a third for total of $1.2 million for the upcoming school year.

The funds, aimed at closing the achievement gap in Marin County schools, will be going towards projects at , , , Short and Laura Dell elementary schools, as well as .

“They are involving teachers, parents and administrators in helping ensure their students get the support they need to succeed,” said Thomas Peters, president and CEO of the Marin Community Foundation.

These measures include parent outreach and education nights, additional early childhood education courses and added training for teachers.

Despite the fact that Marin County students are always among the most successful during statewide testing, there is a noticeable difference in achievement based primarily on the race and socio-economic background of a student, according to a report from the Marin Community Foundation.

Hispanic or Latino students make up a bulk of classrooms in the SRCSD. Despite their numbers, these students have difficulty in English and math, especially in comparison to white students, according to the California Department of Education’s database.

The 2010 Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR) test results show 36 percent of Hispanic students in the SRCSD are considered below sufficient in math while only 13 percent of white students fit into the same category. And 32 percent of Hispanic students are below sufficient in English while only five percent of white students are.

The Marin Community Foundation launched an initiative to close the gap in Spring 2010. In August 2010 Bahia Vista, San Pedro and Venetia Valley elementary schools received their first “Promoting Early School Success” grant, which was renewed at the June 8 school board meeting.

The district has made it a priority to close this gap in order to “ensure that every student… has access to learning opportunities that prepare them for school,” Superintendent Michael Watenpaugh told Patch in September.

With funding from last year, schools were able to fund training for staff based on the National Equity Project and Guided Language Acquisition Design. The National Equity Project seeks to enforce that every child in America has a right to quality education while GLAD provides training in cross-cultural academic achievement with an emphasis in English.

“These schools have already shown a tremendous commitment to helping close the education achievement gap so all their students can thrive academically,” Peters said.