Aiming High

The Aiming High initiative works with Sonoma County schools to close the achievement gap for English learners. The program works with educators, parents, businesses, and community members to accelerate academic achievement. The initiative publishes monthly articles in a bilingual newspaper, produces weekly programs on Spanish-language radio stations, and hosts an Early Learners Summit. Working with agency partners, districts and schools establish goals and strategic plans for English Language achievements. Administrators identify a curriculum and provide teachers with professional development, monitor individual student progress, increase parent participation, and track and report overall progress. The program also offers algebra tutorials, after-school math intervention programs, summer academies, and school readiness initiatives for kindergarten and preschool-aged children.

The goal of Aiming High is to increase the percentage of English learners scoring at or above proficient on California Standardized tests in language arts and math by three percentage points annually.

During the 2008-2009 school year 20 districts and 21 partner agencies participated in Aiming High. In these districts, the percentage of English learners reaching proficiency in the language arts increased by eight points, and proficiency levels in mathematics increased by seven points over the previous year. These gains are well above the goal of three points. Since Aiming High was launched in 2003, language arts proficiency has increased by 16% (from 19% to 35% of English learners) and mathematics proficiency has increased by 21% (from 24% to 45% of English learners).