Serving Smaller Learning Communities Schools Making Progress Series: Sierra Vista High School

Introduction

Defining Smaller
Learning Communities

Individualized Career
Counseling

Career Guidance

A Focus on Students

Conclusion

Sierra Vista High School
Baldwin Park, California

Established in 1961, Sierra Vista High School's 1,913 students are largely from middle- to low-income families.
The student population is distributed over the following ethnic groups: 82 percent Hispanic, 7 percent Asian, 6 percent Filipino, 3 percent Anglo, 1 percent Black, and 1 percent other.
Fifty percent of students participate in the free and reduced-price lunch program.
The student population is fairly mobile. Of the 550 students who entered Sierra Vista in 1996, 233 (42 percent) were not present to graduate with the class of 2000.
Dropout rates are relatively low with 3.3 percent in 1996-1997 to 1.3 percent in 1999-2000.
Attendance rates have improved from 92 percent in 1995-1996 to 94 percent in 1999-2000.
Sierra Vista has exceeded its academic performance index growth targets for the last four school years (1999-2001).

- From Sierra Vista High School reports

Individualized Career Counseling

The career pathways program and a full-time career counselor at SVHS have helped to blur the old distinction between college- and vocational school-bound students. Students receive individualized career guidance during their sophomore year, when they can choose a career path if they desire. All interests are valued, whether they are in the world of work, the military, trade school, or college. Students can change career direction without affecting their chance to graduate. As a result, students have opportunities to explore career options in real-world situations, which helps them make meaningful choices. One student reported, "Career counseling has given me the confidence in my own self, with the knowledge that there is a vocation fit for any personality."

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Sierra Vista High School Baldwin Park, California

Sierra Vista High School
Baldwin Park, California