LSHS School Description
La Sierra High School (LSHS) is an alternative school serving the needs of high school age and Adult Transition Program students. In 2011 LSHS received a six-year term of accreditation from the Western Association of Schools and Colleges and had a successful mid-term review in 2014. According to Ed-Data, the school’s student population is identified as 77.6% Hispanic, 14.1% White, 3.6% Asian, 2.3% African American, .3% American Indian, .4% Native Hawaiian, .7% Filipino, and 1% two or more races.
LSHS is an integral part of the Fullerton Joint Union High District. The District covers a fifty-square mile area serving the communities of Buena Park, Fullerton, La Habra, and La Habra Heights as well as portions of Anaheim, Brea, La Palma, Placentia, and East Whittier. The feeder elementary districts are Buena Park, Fullerton, La Habra and Lowell Joint Union. The Fullerton Joint Union School District operates six comprehensive high schools (Buena Park, Fullerton Union, La Habra, Sonora, Sunny Hills, and Troy), a continuation high school (La Vista), and an alternative high school (La Sierra). The District serves a varied socioeconomic population and is governed by an elected five-member school board.
Staffing
In 2013-14, LSHS has a staff of 94 employees, comprised of 29 certificated teachers, 56 classified staff members, 1 psychologist, 1 speech and language specialist, one nurse, two full time counselors, one shared dean, one assistant principal, and one shared principal. La Sierra employs one full-time computer maintenance technician and has the support of a Fullerton Police Department school resource officer, who is shared with two other high schools.
Programs and Student Support Services
La Sierra serves students through six different programs:
1. Opportunity classes are designed for ninth and tenth grade students who are experiencing academic or attendance problems. Students attend school in a small-class setting with a cohort of other Opportunity students. They work on core academic classes as well as ROP classes to earn the credits needed to graduate. The goal is for Opportunity students to improve basic academic skills, attendance, and social attitudes while earning the credits needed to return to their comprehensive high school and graduate.
2. Independent Study is a voluntary alternative learning experience with instructional value equivalent to a regular classroom program. Independent Study utilizes an on-line curriculum which allows students to learn and interact with their instructor in a virtual setting. Students meet at least weekly for an individual appointment with the Independent Study teacher to review progress and take assessments.
3. Home Hospital is a program for students who are medically identified as not being able to attend regular school. Teachers are sent to the home or hospital setting to provide instruction. The goal is for Home/Hospital students to stay on pace to graduate or to meet the goals of their individual education plan.
4. Crittenton is a program for students in residential placement. Students attend school in a small-class setting. The academic instruction is focused on reading and math intervention and students also have full access to a-g approved on-line curriculum in all courses required for graduation.
5. Endeavor is a program for high school students on individual education plans focusing on functional academics. Endeavor students receive services that include, but are not limited to, adaptive physical education, assistive technology, occupational therapy, speech and language therapy, and counseling. After finishing the program Endeavor students receive a certificate of achievement.
6. The Adult Transition Program serves 18 through 22 year-old students on individual education plans. Students learn valuable vocational, mobility, community, social, and independent living skills in a community-based instruction model. The goal is to enable Adult Transition Students to function productively in the community to the best of their abilities.
LVHS School Description
La Vista High School (LVHS) was established in 1966 as Fullerton Joint Union High School District’s continuation high school and is an integral part of the District. The population is comprised of students at least 16 years of age who are at-risk of not graduating with their class as well as high school aged students participating in the Teenage Pregnant and Parenting Program (TAPP). The student body represents the District’s six comprehensive high schools and an alternative high school from a fifty-square mile area which includes the cities of Buena Park, Fullerton, La Habra, and parts of Brea and Whittier. LVHS serves a predominantly Hispanic population. According to Ed-Data, the school’s student population in 2012 - 2013 was identified as 84.4% Hispanic, 9.4% White, 1.1% Asian, 2.3% African American, .4% Filipino, .4% Native Hawaiian, .4% two or more races, and 1.8% not reported.
When functioning at capacity, La Vista High School serves 552 students and provides a supportive educational environment to meet students’ individual academic needs. The LVHS master schedule includes all courses needed to meet the District’s graduation requirements. Through the use of research-based, data-driven instruction, content area teachers are able to identify areas of academic needs to target instruction to increase student achievement. Students have the opportunity to take up to eight classes daily and also may enroll in Regional Occupational Program (ROP) course(s) during the school day, late afternoon, evenings, or Saturdays. Students have the option of graduating from LVHS or, if sufficient credits are earned, returning to one of the District’s six traditional comprehensive high schools for graduation. Additionally, LVHS serves special education students and fifth-year seniors.
Staffing
The staff of La Vista consists of 20 classroom teachers, two ROP teachers, two counselors, a shared dean, an assistant principal, a shared principal, 8 classified staff members, 12 child care workers and three District-employee food service workers. Support staff includes a psychologist, a speech and language specialist, a school nurse, a TAPP nurse, a TAPP community healthcare worker, and one computer technician. La Vista also has the support services of a Fullerton Police Department school resource officer, who is shared with two other high schools.
La Vista High School works with a wide array of partnerships within the local community. Examples of these partners are with: North Orange County Regional Occupation Program (NOCROP), the Fullerton Assistance League, and the Fullerton Sunrise Rotary Club. In addition representatives from St. Jude, CHOC, Women Infants and Children and the Adolescent Head Start, Family Life Program work together on the Assessing, Accelerating Children Toward Tomorrow (AACTT) collaborative to support students in the Teenage Pregnant and Parenting Program.
In 2011, LVHS received a six-year term which was reaffirmed in the mid-cycle review in 2014 from the Western Association of Schools and Colleges. In addition, La Vista High School was named a Model Continuation High School by the California Department of Education in April 2012.
