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Local School Recognized for Achievement Gap Success

By Ana Tintocalis / Education Reporter,  KPBS Public Broadcasting
Published January 24, 2008 at 12:43 PM PST
This story was published more than 17 years ago.

State school superintendent Jack O'Connell visited a San Diego elementary school today to learn how teachers closed the racial achievement gap at their campus. KPBS Reporter Ana Tintocalis has the sto

Local School Recognized for Achievement Gap Success

(Photo: State School Superintendent Jack O’Connell visits a classroom at Rowan Elementary School in San Diego. Ana Tintocalis/KPBS)

State school superintendent Jack O'Connell visited a San Diego elementary school today to learn how teachers closed the racial achievement gap at their campus. KPBS Reporter Ana Tintocalis has the story.     

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Black students at Rowan Elementary struggled academically for many years. Things changed when teachers developed culturally relevant ways to connect with the kids. Their strategies included adopting culturally relevant books and making home visits to minority parents. 

Now the school's black students are outperforming whites on standardized tests.  

O'Connell wants that success around the state. 

O’Connell: Its time to move past, I believe, the discomfort of talking about race. It’s time to past the harmful illusion that we live in a colorblind society.

O'Connell initiatives for change include offering cultural sensitivity training for teachers and conducting school surveys on race and education. 

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Ana Tintocalis, KPBS News.

Ana Tintocalis
Ana Tintocalis was a member of the KPBS radio news team from 2001 to 2011. She first served as a as a producer for "These Days" (now "Midday Edition") and then later as the station's education reporter. After graduating from California State University, Long Beach with a journalism degree, Ana began working as a field reporter and anchor at KLON Radio 88.1 FM in Long Beach, covering breaking news in Orange and Los Angeles counties. During that time she also freelanced for other print and broadcast news organizations, such as Metro Networks, the Associated Press, and Santa Clarita Our Times. In 2001, Ana traveled for more than three months in Cuba where she produced a radio series focusing on the street music in Havana. Upon returning from her journey, Ana freelanced as a reporter covering court cases for the Antelope Valley Press, a newspaper based in Palmdale, California.
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