Schools

NEWPORT BEACH — Sheeva Lotfian finds it remarkable sometimes that she ended up living in south Orange County. The Laguna Niguel resident is the daughter of an Iranian father and an Indonesian mother who met in college in Michigan — and this summer, she’ll be visiting her mother’s home country only for the first time. “I think it’s going to be really different,” Sheeva, 17, said Saturday morning during Sage Hill School’s seventh annual Multicultural Fair.

Newport-Mesa Unified School District recently launched a series of new websites for each of its schools that district officials say will better allow parents and students to access information about each campus. The websites are redesigned, giving each school’s home page a unique feel geared toward that school’s colors and name. The website’s completion was part of the first phase of a complete overhaul of the district’s websites using School Loop, a company that has assisted the district in its overhaul.

Marisa O'Neil While five district high schools far exceed state target rates for graduation, the two alternative education programs have seen drastic drops in graduation rates, according to the latest round of test results, released by the California Department of Education on Friday. The 2003 Adequate Yearly Progress Phase II reports showed 93.6% of seniors in the district graduated from high school last year, exceeding the state's 82.8% target.

Jeff Benson Annual progress reports were released to school districts nationwide Monday, and Newport-Mesa Unified School District met nearly all expectations. The Annual Yearly Progress report, used to measure compliance with the federal No Child Left Behind Act, showed 68% of district schools met all federal targets for progress. The report evaluates schools on performance on the Standardized Testing and Reporting test, the California High School Exit Examination, English and math proficiency and on updated statewide Academic Performance Index scores, also released Monday.

Kaiser Elementary School has been chosen as one of 20 schools nationwide to receive classroom equipment through the Samsung Hope for Education program, as the Costa Mesa campus beat thousands of applicants in an essay contest this fall. In late August, Assistant Principal Debra Muniz submitted an online application for the philanthropic program, which is run by Samsung in partnership with Microsoft Corp. Two months later, she found that her school that been chosen to receive $60,000 worth of technology, but she remained mum about it until Samsung officially declared the winners on Friday.

The Newport-Mesa Unified School District surpassed the state average this year on the Academic Performance Index, posting a higher overall mark even as some schools slipped. The district also bested the state on the federal Adequate Yearly Progress report, which was released Thursday along with the state marks. School district officials expressed concern, however, as three schools — Pomona Elementary, Wilson Elementary and TeWinkle Middle School — may be forced to adjust their programs after failing to meet federal standards for five years in a row. All three schools are identified as schools with low-income populations and flagging test scores.

A blue-ribbon panel is about to propose a $6.1-billion plan to overhaul public education in the state; but with a looming deficit up to $10 billion, experts think any major changes that cost money will just be shelved. Among the findings are that the state’s schools are “hobbled in red tape, riddled with inefficiencies and impossible for parents and students to understand.” Recommendations include performance-based pay for teachers and empowering elected superintendents for public instruction.

They jingled as they walked. Many Newport Coast Elementary students were honored in front of their whole school when they won more than 100 medals from the Academic Pentathlon and the 18th Annual Orange County Mathematics Field Day. Eighteen of the school’s sixth-graders, divided into two teams, received medals at the pentathlon in their first-ever year of competition on May 2. They received their results May 19. The two teams...

Marisa O'Neil New federal education policies announced Thursday that aim to take pressure off immigrant students will have little effect locally. The changes are designed to give students a year to learn English well enough to take standardized tests without penalizing schools that have high immigrant populations. But the amendments, which take place immediately, won't help most Newport-Mesa, or even California, schools, according to Rick Miller, director of communications for the California Department of Education.