Stories of Possibility highlights schools and educational programs that promote high quality and socially just learning.
The Accelerated School
by
Karen Hunter Quartz & Cris Gutierrez
The Accelerated School (TAS) does not “cream” or academically screen its students, yet it does treat them all as gifted—grounded by the belief that students rise to high expectations.
Karen Hunter Quartz and Cris Gutierrez discuss the sucess of a school that has been recognized as one of the most promising models for urban public renewal.
With more than 1,200 students vying for 30 openings each year, The Accelerated School (TAS) in South Central Los Angeles is recognized both locally and nationally as one of the most promising models for urban public school renewal. Over the past ten years, TAS’s celebrated founders, Johnathan Williams and Kevin Sved, have had their extraordinary story told many times—notably in Time Magazine where TAS was hailed as the 2001 Elementary School of the Year. These two young teachers, driven by a passion for social justice, started TAS as a charter school in 1994 after their attempts to reform another South Central school ended up mired in bureaucratic red tape. Traveling door-to-door, Williams and Sved recruited their first class of 50 students and opened shop in two rooms of a local church. They have worked tirelessly ever since to ensure a high-quality education for all their students. Stunning gains in student achievement and the co-directors’ entrepreneurial savvy have enabled TAS to raise millions of dollars for the state-of-the-art educational multiplex currently under construction at the corner of Main Street and Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard.
In the fall, TAS’s current 8th graders will grow with the school as it embarks on its high school effort. The imperative to extend TAS beyond the elementary grades came from parents who didn’t want to send their children to one of the district’s large year-round high schools given the vast store of educational possibilities opened by TAS. Three hundred parents volunteer at the school every month—their voices a strong, integral part of the TAS community.
Students recognize the power of belonging to such a caring and responsive community. According to Jonathon, an 8th grade student, “Friendship is a big thing at TAS. Here almost everyone are friends and that’s what makes TAS special.” When asked to identify the heart of the school, 7th grader, Noemi responded, “The heart of TAS is in everyone…. When every single person working in TAS is united we have a completed heart.” Celeste, an 8th grader, elaborates: “The heart of TAS is in students. The heart is also in the classroom because that is where everything happens and we learn so many great things. It is also in the teachers because they make you want to learn more.”
The Accelerated School does not “cream” or academically screen its students, yet it does treat them all as gifted—grounded by the belief that students rise to high expectations. More than 90% of TAS’s students qualify for free or reduced price meals; 60% are Latino and 40% are African-American. Many of their peers in other local public schools are not expected to attend college. In contrast, TAS students know the adults in the school expect them to excel. As Jonathon, an 8th grader, explains, “Teachers teach me all they can.” 7th grade student, Kyra, adds, “TAS is preparing me to be successful and do something positive with my life.” Jose, an 8th grader agrees, “TAS is preparing us to have a good future.”
Eventually, these soon-to-be high school students will belong to one of three small schools that will comprise the pre-K-12 educational multiplex—an award-winning, land-efficient structure designed to maximize both vertical and horizontal space for 1000 students and the surrounding community. A design overview of TAS’s new “urban village” at the Museum of Contemporary Art sums up the possibilities that lie ahead: “the school glows like a beacon for the community.”
Karen Hunter Quartz is the assistant director of research for UCLA's Institute for Democracy, Education, & Access and a regular contributor to Teaching to Change LA. Cris Gutierrez, high school teacher-scholar and peace educator, has worked with young people for twenty years to help students understand how schools can help them become powerful thinkers and activists in a democratic society.
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