By Gus Ugalde, San Gabriel Valley Community News

     Baldwin Park -- District officials, parents, and students have a reason to celebrate following the release of a California report detailing outstanding test scores associated with district schools.

     The Baldwin Park Unified School District ranked eighth out of 146 California Districts in a report issued by The Education Trust – West, an Oaklandbased, statewide, education advocacy organization.

     The organization is an advocate of better education for all schools and colleges that concentrates on institutions serving low-income and students of color across the state.

     The BPUSD excelled in all categories, but earned its highest ranking in closing the achievement gap between minority students and white students.

     Christina Lucero, board of education president was thrilled by the news, but also stated that this ranking came as no surprise to her.

     “I’ve always felt good about this district,” said Lucero. “We have a lot of awesome people working for the district. Our students are great and our staff is outstanding.

     “It’s just nice to hear that the media is also interested in this story. We don’t often hear the good things happening in the district,” said Lucero.

     The BPUSD is approximately 90 percent Latino and come from more than 80 percent, low-income families.

     Reacting to the secondplace, state-wide ranking in closing the gap, District Superintendent, Mark Skvarna, told the Pasadena Star News the “no excuses approach to education is, at least, partially responsible for the high ranking.”

     Arturo Ortega, assistant superintendant for the district said that the district rankings in this area have been improving over the last few years.

     “In 2008, there was a 45-point gap between white students and minority and low-income students and in 2010 that number shrank to a 23-point gap” said Ortega.

     Additionally, the achievement gap reduction has resulted from improvement in all demographic groups in the district.

     “Some districts are able to reduce the gap because of improved performance by low income and minority students and lower performance from white students, but that is not the case at Baldwin Park,” said Ortega.

     “We have been able to close the gap while our black, Latino, white and low-income students have all improved their performance.

     ”“We are all very proud of the fact that we were noted,” added Ortega.

     Ortega cited various factors for the district’s high-performance including the adoption of a reading language arts curriculum that is more aligned with state standards and developing grass-roots professional development within the district.

     “The district is committed to a 20 – 1, student-teacher ratio in K – 3 rd grade classrooms, which is a key aspect to our success. We have also doubled the amount of teacher time to a full-day kindergarten,” said Ortega.

     Other factors for the district’s improved performance are Skvarna’s no pink slip policy for district employees and the implementation of early childhood programs, according to Ortega.

     “This, along with the strong vision from the board and superintendant’s office to get our students college-ready and into college, from pre-k through middle school and high school has also been a big part of what we do,” said Ortega.

     Boardmember Jack White credits the English Language Program for the districts recent success.

     “We put a very special emphasis on the program,” said White. 

     "We’ve always been faced with the major task of educating immigrant and first and second generation students here and it’s always been one of the lowest income districts. We have our staff to thank for their efforts for this achievement,” said White.

     Lucero shares Ortega’s and White’s views.

     “One thing that stands out in my mind is that we have a group of teachers and staff that aren’t resting on their laurels,” said Lucero.

     “Everything starts with education. It doesn’t matter what race or socio-economic group a student belongs to – you have to reach for the stars."

      Other districts that are comparable didn’t favor as well, and BPUSD can act as a role model for success.

     Two thirds of the students at Pasadena Unified School District (PUSD) come from poverty homes and 78 percent of its students are minorities.

     By comparison, BPUSD is 83 percent from poverty homes and 90 percent are minorities, but ranked second in the state in closing the achievement gap.

     Superintendent Mark Skvarna cites the district’s “no excuses” approach as a major factor.

     “If we place belief in a  student that his district has faith in him we can educate that student,” Skvarna said.

     PUSD Board Member Ramon Miramontes said they can learn from it’s neighbors.

     “I cant tell you what Baldwin Park is doing right, but our staff and administrators should be going out there to see what Baldwin Park is doing,” Miramontes said to the Pasadena Star News.

     “We make a concerted effort to praise each and every student for every success – every milestone reached. If you don’t reach high, you won’t reach your goals,” said Lucero.

Bursch Elementary fourth-graders got a taste of what’s good for them during a visit to the Baldwin Park Community Garden.

     As participants of the Moveable Feast’s Nutrition in the Community Garden Program, the students planted fresh herbs and vegetables in the community garden. Last week, they had a chance to harvest some of them to make healthy pizzas under the direction of chef Linda Hahn.

     The idea is to show children not only how to grow food, but also how to use what they grow in delicious meals, coordinator Denise Tornatore said.

     “And the emphasis is on developing healthy eating habits,” she said.

     The children take the recipes home and are encouraged to try them with their parents.