As a new school year starts in the Los Alamitos Unified School District, it is worthwhile to reflect on the foundation, which has been built over the past 12 months.
For some, Newsweek Magazine’s ranking of LAHS as the 87th best high school in the country — out of approximately 30,000 — is proof enough of a great, if not incredible academic year.
But this ranking is not simply a reflection of the great work at Los Alamitos High School, but the result of tremendous efforts at all grade levels from kindergarten to 12th grade.
Because the district has a “unified” school district, we are able to integrate and coordinate our educational programs between all grade levels.
Some of the other accomplishments of our district during the past year include: achieving a district API of 922, being the only district in Orange County named to the College Board Honor Roll four years running, the highest college enrollment in Orange County at 92%, three elementary schools in the top 10 in Orange County, the Los Alamitos High School choir group grand champions in the nation three out of the last four years, three CIF Championships last year and over 100 clubs and activities for student participation.
During the current year of focus for the school board, safety and violence prevention initiatives have been at the top of the list.
Among the achievements in this area include: collaboration with the City of Seal Beach, Los Alamitos and the district to fund a full time resource officer for campus protection, a new Director of Safety & Student Services, 3M shatter-proof Mylar film on all windows adjacent to doors to prevent opening a locked door by violence, automated external defibrillator (AED) installed on every campus, painted building numbers on every corner of every building in the district and on the roof for easy identification, held active shooter drills at all campuses and updated all classrooms and emergency supply kits and protocols.
It is due to the hard work and vision of School Board Members, the leadership of Superintendent Dr. Sherry Kropp, our teachers and support staff and finally, the participation of our students to effectively assist in implementing our priorities.
The district is truly blessed to have some of the best professional teachers in Orange County as well as a dedicated staff of administrators and classified employees.
Jeffrey I. Barke, M.D., is the current Governing Board president of the Los Alamitos Unified School District.
