Partnership Principal
William Roberts

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      The goal at Los Altos High School in California’s San Gabriel Valley is “to push and pull” in order to serve all of its 2,000-plus students.

     “Our aim is not just to meet minimum standards; rather it’s to help each youngster reach his or her potential,” explains Principal “Rob” Roberts. “We strive to pull the students at the bottom to loftier achievement and push those at the top to even higher accomplishments.”

     And that philosophy is working at the four-year comprehensive high school which was named a California Distinguished School in 2004-05 and one of nine High Impact High Schools by the Education Trust for growing students more than the average that same year. Perhaps an even stronger indication of success is that enrollment is steadily increasing primarily due to students outside of the Los Altos attendance area opting to attend this school through California’s choice program. Currently, 18 percent of the Los Altos High enrollment is composed of choice students.

    Roberts, who has been at the helm of the school for four years, believes there’s no one secret to his school’s success. Rather, it’s many components including a culture of high expectations, a support system that allows everyone to achieve their best, teachers that understand their special role, and a strong academic core.

   Those students who need extra help receive it right at the start at Los Altos High.

    “We examine student’s seventh grade data from our feeder schools,” explains Roberts. “If they need help, we pre-load them into summer school as a preventive strike instead of letting them get behind. We use summer school as a support system.”

    Los Altos has also opened its advanced placement and honors courses to all students by eliminating any pre-requisites.

    “However, students must understand once they get in, they aren’t opting out,” said Roberts. “Too many kids don’t challenge themselves because they don’t have confidence in themselves. We build support systems to help those youngsters so they can succeed.”

   For example, if a student is struggling in honors algebra, he or she can be assigned a mathematics lab course along with the algebra class for extra help. This approach is appealing to students as evidenced by the fact that two years ago 516 youngsters were in AP classes compared to 831 now.

    “We’ve learned from research through The Partnership that the number one predictor of success is rigor in the curriculum,” Roberts states. “Some students enter high school not even knowing about AP classes. We want to push them, but provide the support they need so we aren’t pushing them into failure.”

   Los Altos High also offers its students, 63 percent of whom are Hispanic, 19 percent Asian, and 13 percent Caucasian, a number of academies through partnerships it has developed in the community.

   An engineering academy done in conduction with the La Puente Valley Regional Occupation Program allows Los Altos students to investigate robotics along with other exciting endeavors. In 1997 the high schoolers built a solar powered car that was raced across Australia, and they are currently building the only hydrogen fuel cell vehicle in a high school in America.

Another partnership has been developed with nearby Mount San Antonio Community College to allow Los Altos High students to experience college coursework.

    While funding is one of the biggest challenges Roberts faces, the school is tackling that with development of a non-profit foundation, which in two years has garnered $21,000 that has been funneled back into mini-grants for teachers.

  Roberts calls The Principals’ Partnership “fantastic,” and especially relies on the research briefs.

     “When people ask me a question, I can direct them to The Partnership Web site; or if the information isn’t there, I can call my consultant and ask for the research. This is a big savings of time and resources.

     “It’s incredible that Union Pacific has made this tremendous gift to support public high school principals. Everyone talks about how complex our roles are, but UP is acting to help us with our work.”

     For additional information on Los Altos High, check the school’s Web site, http://www.losaltoshighschool.net/, or contact Roberts at [email protected].

Past Focus Principals:

Focus- Franklyn Wesley
Focus- Magdalena Gutierrez
Focus- Kent Bergum
Focus- William "Rick" Johnson
Focus- Ken Ball
Focus- Dan Tenuta
Focus- Charlesetta Deason
Focus- Rene Posey
Focus- Stuart Baker
Focus- Paul Smith
Focus- Christie Gestvang
Focus- John A. Butterfield
Focus- Janie Hill Hatton
Focus- Steve Warmack
Focus- Glen Clark
Focus- William Dunn
Focus - Richard Pemberton
Focus- Dr. Anthony Spivey
Focus - John Weigel