Back Bay High School recognized as “Model Continuation High School”

Back Bay High School in Costa Mesa was named a “2010 Model Continuation High School” Tuesday by California public education superintendent Jack O’Connell.

Back Bay High has been recognized for “exemplary program effectiveness, in school management, curriculum, instructional strategies, assessment and evaluation, guidance and counseling, and education climate,” according to a press release by the state.  In addition to the program requirements, schools must submit written statements by parents, students, and community members in support of the school.

Deborah Davis, Back Bay High School principal, is part of the state accreditation team for alternative education.  After realizing her own school was among the best in terms of standards, Davis said, she “felt that we were really competitive and decided to apply.”

Back Bay High School (photo courtesy of principal Deborah Davis)

The Newport Beach school is part of the Newport-Mesa Unified School District, covering 31 schools and an adult-education center in the Newport Beach and Costa Mesa area.  Back Bay High has an enrollment of about 200 students and all four Newport-Mesa high schools can refer students to the alternative education programs.  Students often choose to attend Back Bay High after falling behind in credits or find that their current high schools is not meeting social or emotional needs.

“Since we are smaller, we are better equipped to help the students both emotionally and socially.  In essence, we’ve reunited families that may have been torn apart for years because of school.  We place the stress off the family and back on the student,” Davis said. “These are subtle, but important, differences.”

The campus often has a waiting list, especially between the first and second semesters of the school year and Back Bay High will most likely add an additional 20 students for the spring semester.  The campus has career and vocational tracks for students, including the first solar installation education program that started at the beginning of this school year.

Davis attributes the success of Back Bay to the parents, staff and students involved.  “We have high standards and we treat the students like students, not alternative education students, and that’s the key.”

Following the review process by the state, 12 of the 14 schools that applied were recommended for the model status.  Back Bay High will keep the designation for three years, but must comply with model school guidelines and submit annual compliance reports.  There are now 55 model continuation high schools in California.

Tags: altenative education, costa mesa, Model Continuation High School, Newport Beach, Newport-Mesa Unified School District, OCLNN, State Superintendent

This entry was posted on Tuesday, February 2nd, 2010 at 11:32 am and is filed under Education, Local News . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.