Sierra Linda High reports rising college acceptances, expands freshman supports
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Summary
Principal Randy Camacho told the Tolleson Union High School District board that Sierra Linda High increased college acceptances to 91%, showed recent ACT gains after a 26-day targeted FLEX intervention, and will launch a freshman "familia" initiative and several facility upgrades next year.
Principal Randy Camacho of Sierra Linda High School told the Tolleson Union High School District Governing Board that the school’s college acceptance rate rose from 88% last year to 91% this year and that recent targeted interventions produced measurable ACT gains.
Camacho said the school used a 30-minute daily academic intervention block called FLEX and a focused group of 81 students — described in the presentation as “game changers” — to deliver 26 days of ACT-focused instruction. "We had .62 percent growth in math and 9.53 percent growth in English," Camacho said, attributing the results to staff work and PLT collaboration.
The presentation emphasized student safety and climate changes the campus has adopted. Camacho noted the school recorded four physical altercations across the year and zero during the second semester. He credited a stricter cell-phone policy, expanded passing time between classes and increased adult supports — interventionists, counselors and social workers — with helping reduce incidents.
Camacho outlined a package of new and continuing initiatives. The freshman "familia" will group incoming ninth-graders into three houses of about 50 students each, each house staffed by core-content teachers and a dedicated freshman counselor aimed at increasing freshmen on-track rates. Camacho said Sierra Linda will also adopt an academic-success class, weekly PLT data meetings and partner with the Center for High School Success to support the model.
The presentation included personnel recognitions and student awards: Araya Clark and Alex (last name given as Alex Pond in the presentation) were honored as student-of-the-year recipients; Caitlin Savinsky was named teacher of the year; and Aurelia Aguilar was recognized as classified employee of the year.
Camacho also described capital projects underway or approved at the campus: a media center renovation with a near-complete recording studio for media production and guitar classes, courtyard modernization including solar-powered canopies, and new cafeteria furniture. He said these projects are intended to improve campus climate and support extracurricular programming.
Board members responded with congratulations and questions. Vice President Chapman called the freshman-familia “an awesome idea” and asked for more detail in follow-up. Board members asked for data on the cell-phone policy to see whether elements could be adapted districtwide in anticipation of upcoming state rules.
Camacho closed by thanking staff and the district for support and saying he looked forward to reporting back on the programs’ results.
