Chris Amico: Journalist

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LANCASTER — A state-appointed trustee with veto power over the principal’s decisions will take up residence at Antelope Valley High School in the coming weeks as part of the long-troubled school’s efforts to boost student achievement.

The decision follows a blistering report issued last month on the state of education at the Valley’s oldest high school and three years of state monitoring. State Superintendent Jack O’Connell handed down sanctions for six schools around the state, including two in the Antelope Valley and two in Kern County. (more…)

Starting this fall, every ninth-grader in the Antelope Valley Union High School District will take algebra or a higher math class. The district announced this week it will adopt a more rigorous math sequence in order to give more students options when they graduate, but some skeptics worry it will push some kids too far, too fast.

“Our mission is that the district is to provide students with options,” said David Vierra, the district’s superintendent.

The algebra requirement is part of a broader push to align curriculum at all eight comprehensive high schools in the district. “Whether a student lives in the north valley, south valley, east valley or west valley, we want to offer the same things,” said Michael Vierra, assistant superintendent of educational services and the superintendent’s brother. (more…)

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LITTLEROCK — State, district and charter school officials continue to sort through financial records of the defunct Henry Hearns Charter School of Academic Excellence, some of which show how precarious the school’s budget situation was at the end.

The school, which opened in 2000 with fanfare and high aims, ushered in the Antelope Valley’s first major encounter with the charter school movement. Charter schools operate independently from traditional school districts, though under their auspices, and obtain state funding for their operations. (more…)