Local area schools are in the money with recent Governor Performance Award (GPA) funds distributed to schools that have met the state’s benchmark for their Academic Performance Index (API) growth targets.
API scores were released in January, and all three Malibu elementary and the middle/high schools met or exceeded statewide standards.
Malibu High School exceeded their target of 794 by five points (799). The school received an award of $70,158. With an additional $32,000 in site block grant money supplementing the award, many departments have submitted their wish lists in recent weeks.
“[We’ve] known the money was coming,” said Principal Mike Matthews, “so we’ve been working for three months” on the reviewing process to decide how the money will be spent.
Each school’s site governance council decides how to spend the unrestricted funds, which will then be ratified by the local governing board.
The GPA is a competitive program based on the API and the award program is intended for schoolwide usage. It is awarded on a per pupil basis, with the current year’s program funded at $63 per student enrolled.
Requests from the various departments at Malibu High range from a pool cover, a timer for the track and physical education programs, to technological supplies for classrooms, additional science equipment, and funds to restructure the counseling office to avail more space for more counselors.
Of the elementary schools, Juan Cabrillo received $22,352, Point Dume, $17,666, and Webster $28,620.
While the rewards help the schools out, pressure exists each year to exceed last year’s target.
“We’re doing very well,” said Matthews. “We have to keep improving. [It’s] a lot of pressure.”
Matthews said he has mixed feelings about increased pressure for accountability from schools and teachers, resulting in increased testing.
“In the past, I’ve been told by teachers and parents, ‘We’re not going to change our teaching methods, we’re going to continue to see how we do,’ ” said Matthews. “This year, for the first time, we will spend time teaching to the test. It’s not a good thing, as far as I’m concerned. Learning is a lot more complex than one test score shows.”