ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE

By Walter K. "Walt" Ruehlig

Antioch scores ten points or more below the state average STAR-testing on reading, math and literacy. We now run with Pittsburg and Richmond. Granted, maybe going head to head with Orinda and Walnut Creek is dreaming a bit for now, but, for starters, how about us competing with Brentwood?

Ed-West gave AUSD a D plus grade for closing the achievement gap with minorities. We have talked the talk for years and need to turn talk into action. Parental involvement is key as mom and dad are the third leg in a three legged chair of student, teacher and parent.

Bi-lingual front office staff; recruiting parents into site volunteering positions; offering workshops in areas like navigating college entry, helping kids with homework, gang prevention, monitoring social media, preventing drug use,etc.will help strengthen this leg.

The African American Male Achievement Initiative is a good move on the part of the District. I applaud the preventative counseling, the after-school tutoring and the summer school to prepare middle school graduates for high school.

The Linked Pathways program, which I am proud to say I helped start,is also a positive. Students thirst for relevance and career-based learning makes sense to them.

It would be wonderful to be like Nashville, TN. with 59 academies where every kid goes to a specialized school catering to his/her interests. We need more internships to grow the program more.

Of course, we must not forget that college is not for every child. Vocational training makes sense for many and it is a shame we got rid of auto mechanics at Antioch High. There is nothing wrong with the trades. Heck, last I looked my mechanic was charging me 115$ an hour!