Le Grand school district taken to task on failing to disclose problems

Leaders failed to notify parents elementary school was lagging.

By DANIELLE E. GAINES
dgaines@mercedsun-star.com

LE GRAND -- When Lori Hamblin's second-grade son was struggling with grades last year, she planned to pull him out of Le Grand Elementary School and enroll him in another district.

Her request was denied.

The mother of two didn't know at the time that two magic words could have helped them make the switch: "program improvement."

More from the investigation:
Allegation 1:
The district failed to inform parents that its school is in program improvement.
The facts:
For the 2008-09 school year, the only program improvement notification sent to parents was a generic paragraph on page 17 of an annual parent notifications booklet. The district did send a letter Aug. 17, 2009 -- after the school year began. Neither notification met the legal requirements under federal law. Asked for copies of program improvement notification letters, the district provided four from 2002-03, 2006, 2007 and 2009.
Corrective actions:
The CDE concluded that the district had to submit a new notification letter to the department, along with proof that it had been mailed to all families within Le Grand School. In addition, if the school remains in PI status for 2010-11, the district has to submit another notification letter to the state department by Aug. 15, with proof that the letter had been sent to each district family.
Allegation 2:
The district failed to provide parents with public school choice.
The facts:
When a school is identified for school improvement, the school should provide all students in the school with the option to transfer to another public school. If there is just one school in a district, the code of federal regulations states the district must attempt to establish a cooperative agreement with another school district. The district said it didn't provide notifications about eligible school sites for transfer because Le Grand Elementary is the only school in the district. The district noted the federal regulation was guidance -- not law. Until a parent informed the district that he wished to exercise his right to choice under NCLB, officials didn't think they needed to set up an interdistrict transfer agreement. Hamblin said she didn't know to ask for the transfer in this way.
Corrective actions:
The district must include additional information in the parent notification letter, including data to show how the school compares in academic achievement to neighboring schools and in the state, as well as the academic profile of possible transfer schools in the area. The district must also show written evidence of its attempt to create a cooperative transfer agreement.
Allegation 3:
The district failed to advise parents of their right to supplemental educational services -- additional instruction for struggling children often provided by an outside company.
The facts:
Public school children are entitled to supplemental educational services for eligible struggling students when the school is in program improvement. The CDE found that Le Grand failed to properly notify parents about supplemental education providers from 2006 to 2009. The notification letter from Aug. 17 didn't include information on the availability of the services, the identity of approved providers or a description of the providers.
Corrective actions:
Besides the other corrective actions, the district must also include information about supplemental education providers in the parent letter to be sent this month. The information must also be sent in the future if the district remains in program improvement. The district must also submit to the state department a log of attempts to secure providers for the current school year, along with documentation.
Source: California Department of Education Investigative Report, file no. 686.
Compiled by Danielle E. Gaines

District officials didn't tell her either, despite a federal law that allows transfers if she'd used the school's performance on standardized testing as her reason.

Hamblin's case illustrates a serious issue in both local and statewide education. When federal laws require schools to disclose their problems -- and the schools fail to do so -- what options can parents of children in those schools exercise?

Now, as a result of a state investigation, those parents will receive a letter this month outlining their options. The state and federally mandated letter will explain how the school's low performance on federal standards allows families to choose a different, higher-scoring school or district.

On Dec. 1, state education department investigators found that the district failed to notify parents of the school's program improvement status, their right to public school choice and their right to supplemental educational services.

When a school doesn't meet federal standards for two years in a row, it's slotted for "program improvement" under the No Child Left Behind Act. Schools and districts in program improvement must submit detailed plans to improve student performance and offer parents the option of transferring their students.

Le Grand Elementary School has been in program improvement since the 2003-04 school year.

But the district hasn't sent out acceptable copies of the parent notification letter for at least two years, according to the investigation report.

This school year, the letter was sent out to parents after school had already started, and still lacked information recommended on a state template. Last year, the letter didn't go out at all.

"We're just following up with what (the CDE) decided," said Superintendent J. Scott Lucas on Monday. "We don't agree with everything, but we will comply -- and the state's happy with that."

The change of course for the school district started last year when Mark and Lori Hamblin sought to transfer their two children from Le Grand to Plainsburg Elementary.

The family filed a petition with the local school board, which was denied on July 14.

"It's been a policy most of the time with the school board that they usually don't grant transfers and they go to the county. The county school board then hears the appeal," Lucas said.

They appealed the denial to the Merced County Office of Education Aug. 10, and were also denied there, even though the Plainsburg district had already agreed to teach their children.

"When we left the meeting, we were just devastated," Lori Hamblin recalled. "I told my husband we were going to move if that's what it took. I stayed up all night looking for something. I didn't know what."

Late that same night, she discovered information about the school's designation as a program improvement site.

The next morning she called the school to ask specifically about the program improvement status. She was finally told that her children would be transferred to Plainsburg.

School started the next morning. "If something was going to happen, it would have had to happen that day," she said.

Hamblin's third-grader is now on the honor roll at Plainsburg.

Lucas and the school's vice principal, Rosina Hurtado, said it was unclear until that point that Hamblin wanted a transfer under the public school choice provision of the No Child Left Behind Act.

"The child was getting services at Le Grand that we didn't think he would get at Plainsburg," Hurtado said. "We thought that in the best interest of the child, we had services here for him."

Hamblin didn't stop after the transfer was approved. Knowing that she hadn't read anything about program improvement in the materials sent to her by the school that summer, she wanted to know why. She asked the California Department of Education to find out.

On Sept. 15, the Categorical Programs Complaints Management Unit of the state department received a packet from Hamblin. Her arguments spurred the investigation into the school's management of parental disclosures and, specifically, public school choice.

Lucas characterized the department's recommended changes as simple fixes.

"You know, we're in contact with (the CDE) all of the time. Most of the stuff is what we were doing," Lucas said. "It's just some tweaking here and there."

According to state law, the Hamblins and the school have 35 days after receiving the report to ask for reconsideration.

Lucas said the school doesn't intend to dispute the state's decision. Letters will go home with students when they return from winter break on Friday.

Reporter Danielle E. Gaines can be reached at (209) 385-2477 or dgaines@mercedsun-star.com.

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