EDITORIAL

The good news from the past week is that Newport-Mesa schools continue

to be among the best in the state.

The troubling news is that, instead of getting better when compared

with similar campuses, our schools appear to be falling a bit behind,

according to statewide scores released this week.

Those numbers revealed that of the 27 Newport-Mesa schools ranked, 12

lost ground when compared with similar schools, nine stayed at their same

level and just six gained.

Several fell significantly, including Kaiser Primary, which dropped

from a 10 to a five on a scale that lists schools from a low of one to a

high of 10 in comparison with schools in similar socioeconomic areas.

Other schools that dropped substantially were Newport Harbor High,

Killybrooke Elementary and Lincoln Elementary, which all fell four points

to middle of the road numbers.

Those are big drops, and while one set of numbers is far from a trend,

it is clearly not the direction Newport-Mesa should be headed. It is

something to be worried about.

There is another, more immediate concern, however: that school

officials did not appear deeply concerned about the drop. They suggested,

among other reasons, that it could be the result of mistakes made by

other schools in filling out their demographic data.

Certainly, these drops could be a blip, and next time the results

could be much improved. But rather than looking elsewhere, school

officials should be figuring out how to correct possible problems here at

home, whatever they might be. The results provide an early opportunity

for the district to ensure our schools stay at the top of the class.

The other big bright spot in these numbers was at the campuses that

improved, which were primarily schools on the Westside. Estancia High

jumped from a six ranking to a nine, and both Rea and Sonora elementaries

went from eights to 10.

In those numbers is early proof that increased efforts at the

district’s poorest performing schools are paying off. Combined with the

coming of 9,000 books -- thanks to the work of our Rotary clubs -- the

educational future on the Westside looks brighter.