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School, civic and


community leaders have joined forces with the


goal of eliminating the achievement gap in San Jose by 2020.


S 18 Leadership


anta Clara County boasts some of the highest-performing schools in the state. That’s not exactly star- tling news, given the locale. After


all, it’s the heart of Silicon Valley, the global center of innovation, and the home to thou- sands of affluent, well-educated and ambi- tious professionals. Those of us in education here are natu-


rally proud of our high-flying schools. But at the same time, we hold our pride in check. For all of the accolades earned by our top schools, we know that far too many of our students do not receive the same high-qual- ity education as their more fortunate peers. Like so many other California counties, from north to south, a significant number of our students suffer the consequences of an opportunity gap that results in a persistent, severe achievement gap. When we f lip past the first page of our


good-news reports on our high-achieving schools, here’s what we find: In nearly every


section of our county, there is a gap in aca- demic performance between two groups: lower-performing Hispanic/Latino and African American students, versus higher- performing Asian and white/non-Hispanic students. In the city of San Jose, more than half


of all public school students tested are not proficient in their grade-level skills. When the California Department of Education re- leased its graduation and dropout rate report this year, we saw that Santa Clara County’s Hispanic students dropped out at a rate of 31 percent. More strikingly, these students – who made up 37 percent of the overall cohort – accounted for 69 percent of all dropouts. This is not only deplorable, but it’s also


destructive – to the students, to their fami- lies, and to the entire community. When stu- dents drop out of high school, the chances


By Charles Weis


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