Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

West Bank Town Becomes ‘Big Prison’ as Israel Fences It In

3 days ago

Trump Says He’s Willing to Let Migrant Farm Laborers Stay in US

3 days ago

US Electric Vehicle Tax Breaks Will Expire on Sept. 30

4 days ago

Eyeing Arctic Dominance, Trump Bill Earmarks $8.6 Billion for US Coast Guard Icebreakers

4 days ago

Trump’s Sweeping Tax-Cut and Spending Bill Wins Congressional Approval

4 days ago

Americans Celebrate Their Independence With Record-Breaking Travel Numbers

4 days ago

US Supreme Court to Decide Legality of Transgender School Sports Bans

4 days ago

Nvidia Set to Become the World’s Most Valuable Company in History

4 days ago

Poll: 41% in US ‘Extremely Proud’ to Be American, Near Historic Low

4 days ago
Impoverished Students at This School Chalk Up Big Successes
By Myles Barker
Published 6 years ago on
March 27, 2019

Share

Design Science Middle College High School has achieved a lot since opening its doors in 2005.

Portrait of GV Wire's Myles Barker

Education 101

Myles Barker

For the past two years, the school has maintained a 100 percent graduation rate with an average graduating class of 50 students.

Every graduate also has been admitted to at least one college or university, most with college units already completed thanks to the school’s dual enrollment program.

However, what makes Design Science special has as much to do with its achievements as it does with the demographics of the students that are meeting its high standards.

Around 90 percent of the school’s nearly 300 students live in poverty, and are the first in their families to go to college, said Tressa Overstreet, the principal of Design Science.

“Design Science was designed for those kids that kind of fly under the radar, not your 4.0 (GPA) students,” Overstreet said.

The California School Recognition Program has taken notice of the school’s track record of producing high-achieving scholars. It will honor the magnet high school at its 2019 awards ceremony April 5 at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim.

The CSRP, also known as the Distinguished Schools Program, awards schools for their efforts in making significant gains in narrowing the achievement gap and raising performance levels. The “distinguished” designation is for two years.

The recognition, Overstreet said, is another example of how the small school continues to do big things.

“We are honored to showcase the efforts of our entire school community,” Overstreet said. “We are hopeful that this award brings an opportunity for students and families in our community to hear more about educational options within Fresno Unified School District.”

Portrait of Tressa Overstreet
Design Science Principal Tressa Overstreet

Although the curriculum is demanding, Micah Ruff-Wolfe said Design Science provides a wonderful education.

“The program has been challenging and tests what you can do, but it provides a great opportunity to get a better education,” said Ruff-Wolfe, who plans on majoring in aviation at San José State University. “This school does not want you to fail at all, and strives to make you a better citizen for the world.”

In addition to Design Science, Fresno Unified’s Baird Middle School, Clovis Unified’s Granite Ridge Intermediate School, University Preparatory High in Tulare County, and Lemoore Middle College High will be recognized.

Free Community College Closer To Reality

Two years of free community college in California is one step closer to becoming reality.

On an 11-1 vote, the Assembly Higher Education Committee last week passed Assembly Bill 2 with bipartisan support.

State Assemblymember Miguel Santiago

The bill has also received support from California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who proposed free tuition for a second year for students who commit to a full load of courses for two years. Newsom also is seeking $5 million for outreach encouraging students to attend community colleges.

“Passing AB 2 isn’t just the right thing to do for students; it’s a down payment on our future,” said State Assemblymember Miguel Santiago (D-Los Angeles), the lead author of AB 2.

The way Lucy Ruiz sees it, the more people with degrees and certificates, the better.

“These individuals get jobs, pay taxes, and purchase goods and services from our local businesses,” said Ruiz, executive director for public and legislative relations for the State Center Community College District. “That, in turn, boosts our local economy.”

AB 2 is a more aggressive version of 2017’s Assembly Bill 19, or the California College Promise. That program dispersed $46 million to the state’s 114 community colleges with the option to utilize funds to cover the first year of tuition fees for all first-time, full-time students.

Ana Venegas, a student at Fresno City College, said passage of AB 2 would help a great deal in obtaining a degree in special education.

“Bills like this have really opened my eyes and inspired me to want to finish college to become a special education teacher to help kids out like my brother, who has Down syndrome,” Venegas said.

AB 2 now heads to the Assembly Appropriations Committee for its next hearing.

Breakfast In The Classroom

Students eating breakfast is associated with increased academic grades, standardized test scores, and improved cognitive performance, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

However, many students in Fresno Unified are not reaping those benefits, a problem primarily due to buses arriving late, said trustee Elizabeth Jonasson Rosas.

To increase breakfast participation among students, trustee Carol Mills proposed to allow them to eat breakfast in class.

Carol Mills, Fresno Unified trustee

“Our children need that food, and when you provide breakfast in the classroom, the participation rate for breakfast shoots way up,” Mills said.

Currently, only 32 percent of students in Fresno Unified participate in the district’s breakfast program. Its lunch participation is 80 percent.

Trustee Keshia Thomas said receiving input from teachers should be a prerequisite before moving forward with any plans.

“Unless we have that teacher buy-in that this would be a great program, I don’t think we should move forward,” Thomas said.

Board president Claudia Cazares suggested the board look into creating a uniform system district-wide that gives principals the ability to leave their cafeterias open longer.

“If we can’t get to breakfast in the classrooms, that should be looked at, at a minimum,” Cazares said.

Karin Temple, the district’s chief operating officer, said there are obstacles to overcome, but noted the staff will work on solutions.

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

How Trump’s ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’ Will Make China Great Again

DON'T MISS

What’s Caitlin Clark Worth to the WNBA? A Lot More Than Her $78,066 Salary.

DON'T MISS

Trump to Sign Tax-Cut and Spending Bill in July 4 Ceremony

DON'T MISS

Madre Fire Spurs Evacuations Across 3 Counties, Grows to More Than 70,000 Acres

DON'T MISS

Clovis, Sanger, Madera, and Bass Lake Will Light the Sky With Fireworks Shows Tonight

DON'T MISS

Oil Dips Ahead of Expected OPEC+ Output Increase

DON'T MISS

613 Killed at Gaza Aid Distribution Sites, Near Humanitarian Covoys, Says UN

DON'T MISS

Fresno County Authorities Investigating Suspicious Death of Transient Man

DON'T MISS

West Bank Town Becomes ‘Big Prison’ as Israel Fences It In

DON'T MISS

Israeli Military Kills 20 in Gaza as Trump Awaits Hamas Reply to Truce Proposal

UP NEXT

Clovis, Sanger, Madera, and Bass Lake Will Light the Sky With Fireworks Shows Tonight

UP NEXT

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Rachelle Maria Blanco

UP NEXT

Fresno Police to Conduct DUI Checkpoint on Fourth of July, Boost Holiday Patrols

UP NEXT

Fresno Crash Involving Unlicensed Teen Driver Sends Woman to Hospital

UP NEXT

Madre Fire Burns More Than 52,000 Acres in San Luis Obispo County

UP NEXT

RIP John Harris: Fresno County Rancher, Racehorse Breeder Was a Visionary Leader Who Leaves a ‘Profound Legacy’

UP NEXT

Valadao, Costa Spar on What Passage of Trump’s Bill Means for Medicaid Recipients

UP NEXT

Kaweah Health Names Its New Chief Nurse. She’s From Texas

UP NEXT

Clovis Police Say At-Risk Missing Woman Found Dead in Mariposa County

UP NEXT

Fresno Police Recover Some of the $40,000 in Fireworks Stolen From Bullard High Team

Wanted Fugitive Found Hiding in Attic Arrested in Chowchilla

39 minutes ago

Trump Says US Will Impose 25% Tariffs on Japan, South Korea

1 hour ago

Wall Street Knocked Lower by Tariff Jitters, Musk’s Political Plan Hurts Tesla

1 hour ago

Trial Over Free Speech on Campus, and Trump’s Student Crackdown, Begins

1 hour ago

Planned Parenthood Sues Trump Administration Over Planned Defunding

2 hours ago

San Luis Obispo’s Madre Fire Injures 1 Firefighter, Burns Over 80,000 Acres

2 hours ago

Two Border Patrol Officers Injured After Gunman Opens Fire in Texas

2 hours ago

Fresno Police Arrest 9 at Independence Day DUI Checkpoint

2 hours ago

Schumer Wants Probe of National Weather Service Response in Texas

2 hours ago

Israeli Guilt Over Gaza Lurks Beneath Silence and Denial

2 hours ago

Man Dead After Firing at US Border Patrol Station in Texas

WASHINGTON – A 27-year-old Michigan man was shot dead by police after opening fire with an assault rifle on a U.S. Border Patrol stati...

4 minutes ago

Photo of caution tape
4 minutes ago

Man Dead After Firing at US Border Patrol Station in Texas

The Flume Fire in Sequoia National Forest has burned 65 acres near Highway 190 with no containment as of Monday, July 7, 2025, prompting evacuations in Tulare County. (CalFire)
14 minutes ago

Tulare County Flume Fire Burns 65 Acres in Sequoia National Forest, Evacuation Order Issued

Firefighters stopped the forward progress of the Fish Fire near Avocado Lake after it burned 15 acres Monday, July 7, 2025, reaching 50% containment. (CalFire)
30 minutes ago

Fresno County Fish Fire Burns 15 Acres Near Avocado Lake, 50% Contained

Gary White, 42, a wanted fugitive, was arrested in Chowchilla after deputies found him hiding in an attic and he surrendered without incident on Thursday, July 3, 2025. (Madera County SO)
39 minutes ago

Wanted Fugitive Found Hiding in Attic Arrested in Chowchilla

Containers on a cargo ship are pictured at an industrial port in Tokyo, Japan, July 2, 2025. (Reuters File)
1 hour ago

Trump Says US Will Impose 25% Tariffs on Japan, South Korea

Traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., June 30, 2025. (Reuters/Brendan McDermid)
1 hour ago

Wall Street Knocked Lower by Tariff Jitters, Musk’s Political Plan Hurts Tesla

Protesters march near the campus of Columbia University in upper Manhattan to demand the release of Mahmoud Khalil, a Palestinian activist and former Columbia student, on March 14, 2025. A federal judge in Boston on Monday, July 7, 2025, will hear opening statements in a trial expected to present the foremost challenge to the Trump administration’s aggressive posture toward foreign students who espoused pro-Palestinian views. (Dave Sanders/The New York Times)
1 hour ago

Trial Over Free Speech on Campus, and Trump’s Student Crackdown, Begins

Activists for Planned Parenthood demonstrate as the U.S. Supreme Court hears oral arguments in South Carolina's bid to cut off public funding to Planned Parenthood, in Washington, D.C., U.S., April 2, 2025. (Reuters File)
2 hours ago

Planned Parenthood Sues Trump Administration Over Planned Defunding

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend