The
History of Tracy High School!
Tracy High School is located in
the City of Cerritos. The school draws students from a wide
geographic area. Most are residents of Artesia, Cerritos,
Hawaiian Gardens and Lakewood - the cities served by ABC
Unified School District. A small number of students who
attend Tracy with inter-district permits live in surrounding
communities. Nearly all students come to Tracy already at
risk as potential dropouts. They are usually behind 30 or
more required credits toward graduation or they are in need
of one of Tracy's special programs. These students often
have poor attendance histories.
ABC Unified School District has a student
enrollment of 21,900. The district includes 19 elementary
schools, 5 intermediate schools, 4 comprehensive high schools,
1 continuation high school and 1 other alternative education
program. ABCUSD is located in southeast Los Angeles County.
The area is metropolitan including mostly single family
housing, apartments, extensive retail and some business/manufacturing.
The communities of Artesia, Cerritos, Hawaiian Gardens and
east Lakewood are ethnically diverse. There is a wide spectrum
of socioeconomic levels represented in the community and
in the student population.
Tracy is very highly regarded by ABC
Unified School District and by the communities served by
the district. The school's small size, dedicated staff,
reputation as a safe school, academic program, student activities
and special programs such as Cal-SAFE are some of the reasons
Tracy High School is considered a desirable place for students
who have fallen behind in credits. Every year there are
thirty or more requests for interdistrict permits allowing
students who live in neighboring school districts to attend
Tracy.
Students are referred to Tracy by counselors
or administrators at ABC Unified School District's comprehensive
high schools: Artesia, Cerritos, Gahr and Whitney. A small
percentage are transferred by the District Student Evaluation
Committee for disciplinary reasons. Student's options at
Tracy include remaining until graduation, returning to their
referring high school to graduate, transferring to adult
school or another alternative program, or taking the GED
or California High School Proficiency Exam.
There are 410 students attending Tracy
High School. 58% are male and 42% are female. Seniors account
for 57% of the student population, juniors account for 31%,
and sophomores account for 11%. Nearly all of the tenth
graders are enrolled in the Opportunity Program for students
under 16 years of age. There is one ninth grader in the
Teen Parent Program. Enrollment at Tracy has remained relatively
stable over the past six years. A slight decline is attributed
to the smaller number of teen parents referred to Tracy.
Tracy has a diverse student population:
65% are Hispanic, 14% are African American, 10% are Caucasian,
6% are Asian, 3% are Philippino, and 1% are Pacific Islander
and American Indian. Of the 410 students, 122 are identified
as English Language Learners, 28 are in the Resource Specialist
Program, and 30 are in Special Day Class. 44% of the students
participate in the free or reduced lunch program. Additionally,
50 students are enrolled in the Cal-SAFE program for pregnant
and parenting teens. 24 qualify under the Migrant Education
Act.
About 30% of Tracy students are identified
as English Language Learners. 18% have been designated or
re designated Fluent English Proficient, and 52% are Initial
English Speakers. There has been a gradual increase in the
percentage of students who are English Language Learners.
217 students (53%) indicated their home language as other
than English. Spanish is spoken in the largest percentage
of these families (43% of the total population), followed
by Korean (3%).
Tracy High School was named a Model California
Continuation School in 2003. Located across the street from
the district office in the Northern part of the district,
Tracy enrolls students from throughout the district. Busing
is provided for students who live in Hawaiian Gardens and
East Lakewood. ABC Adult School located adjacent to Tracy
offers classes on the Tracy campus periods seven and eight.
Many students also enroll in classes held in the afternoon
or evening on the Adult School site. Some students enroll
in classes at nearby Cerritos Community College and other
local community colleges through the Veysey Program.
Tracy utilizes four grading periods per
school year. Grades and credits are recorded at the end
of each quarter. All students review their progress quarterly
in their homeroom classes.
Every classroom has computers and access
to the Internet. Two classrooms have enough computers for
every student to be at his/her own computer. The ratio of
students per computer throughout the school is approximately
3 to 1.
Tracy has strict discipline policies
and procedures that are applied and supported by 100 per
cent of the school staff. Students who continue to be discipline
problems, interfering with the learning of others, are removed
from the school. These students may be transferred to other
alternative school programs, to ABC Adult School, or be
removed by the ABC District Student Evaluation Committee
(SEC). During the 03-04 school year thirty students were
referred to SEC for major offenses, resulting in three expulsions.
The Tracy discipline program was institutionalized during
the 1996-97 school year and remains in effect. As a result
of this comprehensive discipline plan Tracy High School
is a safe school with an environment conducive to learning
and personal growth.
There are 21 certificated staff (18 teachers,
1 principal, 1 assistant principal, and 1 guidance administrator).
There are 14 classified employees (4 secretary/clerks, 4
para educators, 3 Student Intervention Assistants, 2 custodians,
and 1 librarian). A school nurse, a school psychologist
and a speech and language specialist are assigned part time
to Tracy. The Teen Parent Program also has the part-time
services of a nurse and mental health counselor. The ratio
of students to teachers is 24:1.
Tracy High School has partnerships with
DeVry Institute of Technology, TRW International, Cerritos
Optimists, the Artesia/Cerritos Women's club, the ABC Parent/Teacher
Association, and the Cerritos Center for the Performing
Arts. Partners provide scholarships, recycled items for
the school, technological assistance, instruction/staff
development, career information and opportunities for students
to gain experiences outside the classroom. |
