By Ashley A. Jones

Dr. Herbert Fischer

Dr. Fischer, who has served the San Bernardino and Colton School Districts in various capacities for 38 years, announced some positive reports, however, he expressed a need for improvement. "A record of 15 schools from San Bernardino County exited Program Improvement status in 2007. While 146 schools in the County remain in Program Improvement. In addition, of 98 districts statewide in Program Improvement under No Child Left Behind, six are in San Bernardino County," he told the crowd. Program Improvement is a state-approved program provided to initiate plans of improvement in order to achieve success in student academics.

Maple Elementary in Fontana and Westside Park Elementary in Adelanto are the only two schools within the county to exit Program Improvement in the last four years. Maple Elementary is 80 percent Latino, 10 percent African American, and 7 percent Caucasian. Forty-seven percent of students in the school are English learners, and 14 percent are special education students. All the students within Maple Elementary are classified as economically disadvantaged. Within two years Maple Elementary has gained 104 points in terms of academic performance growth.

Westside Park Elementary is 74 percent Latino, 14 percent African American, and 10 percent Caucasian. Fifty-six percent are English learners and 11 percent are special education students. Ninety-seven percent of the school's students are classified as economically disadvantaged. Within three years Westside Park Elementary has gained 131 points in terms of academic performance growth. 

As of 2007 there was a 64 percent increase of Latino students in the San Bernardino school system, 13 percent increase of African American students, 71 percent increase of English learners, 31 percent increase of economically disadvantaged students, and 25 percent decrease in Caucasian students in the San Bernardino school system.

Jack O'Connell, State Superintendent of Schools, gave an overall report of the progress achieved by California students. He said five years ago 35 percent of students passed the English segment of the statewide exams, and today 43 percent have passed. Five years ago 35 percent of students passed the Math segment of the statewide exams and today 41 percent have passed. In 2006 ninety-one percent of students passed the High School Exit Exams and today 93 percent of students have passed the Exit Exam. O'Connell said the goal is to reach 100 percent within the various districts.

Dr. Fischer shared his plan to close what he calls the learning gap among San Bernardino county students. One gap includes the learning ability between readers and non-readers. Another concern is the opportunity gap between California schools and other state schools. Dr. Fischer said, "California ranks 46th among all states in terms of funding per student. California teachers, on average, have twice as many students than teachers across the nation, and we have the lowest student-counselor ratio in the nation."

He also expressed a gap in leadership positions and teacher experience. He said 85 percent of teachers working in the schools are interns, and during the course of his nine years as San Bernardino Superintendent he has worked with 87 superintendents. He said studies show that there have been more cases in which student achievement was gained through experienced instructors and the prolonged existence of superintendents.

Dr. Fischer has adopted a new program to achieve the gaps and prepare students for the workforce. He said, "The number one issue in our region continues to be our under-educated workforce." Through the "Project Lead the Way" program he hopes to make a positive difference among his districts that serves approximately 427,000 students. Project Lead the Way is a nationally recognized program that offers a STEM (Science, Technology, English, Math) program for middle school to high school students. This program strives to provide training, support, and a curriculum for teachers in order to prepare the students for a career in engineering and provide post-secondary degrees. Dr. Fischer said San Bernardino has been given $287,000 to fund the program. Some of the districts already enrolled in the program include Barstow, Victorville, and Chino.

Dr. Fischer said he would continue to respond to the needs of the local schools by sharing and promoting praise-worthy schools within the district for setting a positive academic example, leading the way in taking on after school programs, supporting administrators, teachers, and additional employees with development programs, coaching, training, and curriculum placement, supporting the Quality Education Investment Act which will benefit 42 schools in the county in terms of funding, and provide necessary data for schools to aid them in instructional decision-making.

As for state funding for schools, Dr. Fischer said he would not allow any more budget cuts in the San Bernardino school systems. He said, "The Governor's budget proposes spending $300 per pupil less than last year. This, in a state that invests nearly $2,000 per pupil, less than the national average in our students, according to Education Week's Quality Counts report. This budget crisis did not originate in our public school classrooms, and neither will the solution to the crisis be found by reducing funding in the classroom." 

Dr. Fischer recalled an event in 2005 when the education community and voters congregated to rebut the budget cuts in the schools proposed by Governor Schwarzenegger. Fortunately, the budget cuts were rejected by the Legislature. Dr. Fischer said, "Our children are the casualty of poor budget and policy making decisions. They deserve better, and we vow to fight for every dollar for our students."

"Our goal is to see that all students master the standards regardless of race, background or economic status. It's not about teaching, it's about learning and it's time to turn teaching minutes into teaching moments," said Dr. Fischer.