The California School Board Association recently awarded Alta Vista High School the Golden Bell Award. The School-Based Case Management program, based at Alta Vista, was one of just seven high school programs to receive the award in the "Student Support" division.
Nearly 300 school programs entered the competition. The Golden Bell Award recognizes outstanding schools as a means of highlighting successful school programs and demonstrating its appreciation to the educators who implement them.
Alta Vista High School, located next to Mountain View High School, is a continuation school designed for students who have not succeeded in a traditional high school environment.
Linda Miller and Hinda Weber developed the case management program six years ago to address the nonacademic needs of at-risk high school students. Miller has since left the program to work for the Community Health Awareness Council, an organization that works closely with the case management program.
Weber now works for the Mountain View-Los Altos Union High School District as the program coordinator. Together with two other case managers, Perla Sanchez and Miriam Maldavski, Weber organizes a support system for each student at Alta Vista, as well as other district students who have been referred to the program.
"We sit down with the student to learn all about their family and environment," she said. "We try to find out who the student is and build on their strengths."
The program uses a four-step process to address any needs of the student that may have a negative effect on his or her academic performance.
First, the case manager meets with the students and their families in confidential interviews to assess these needs. Next, the manager evaluates this information to determine the student's specific areas of concern. Case managers address such issues as mental and physical health, financial and legal issues and possible crises in a student's personal life.
The manager then refers the student to a network of resources, which can include both school-related counseling and private services. The case managers then continue to follow up with the students and offer their support.
Bill Pierce, principal of Alta Vista, credits the case management program with much of the school's academic success. "Our graduation rate is up and a lot of that is due to case management," Pierce said.
Although the program focuses on nonacademic issues, Weber is able to gauge the success of the program through monitoring the student's academic performance. Among the benefits of the management program are improved attendance, fewer behavioral referrals and higher grade point averages.
"Our primary goal is to help kids come to school ready to learn," Weber said. One of the ways the program accomplishes this is by encouraging the students to spend time on campus.
"We try to make school a nurturing and warm environment, where the kids feel welcome," she said.
The School-Based Case Management program is unique among California schools. "As far as I know, we're the only school to have its own site-based case management program," Pierce said.
Weber hopes that the award will bring more attention to the program, and will help the program develop and expand. She especially would like to increase the program's staff and hire more case managers who have social work credentials.