La Jolla principal presents student‑achievement gains and seeks board backing to pursue International Baccalaureate

Dr. Bill Sorensen, principal of La Jolla Community High School, told the Tolleson Union High School District governing board in January 2025 that the campus has shown measurable gains in classroom observations, ACT and AP participation and lower failure rates, and he outlined a plan to pursue authorization as an International Baccalaureate (IB) World School.

Sorensen said the school’s mission — “post secondary success through high levels of learning” — drives teacher collaboration, classroom visits and unit planning that he credited for recent improvements. He asked the board for support to begin community outreach as part of the IB application and candidacy process but did not request an immediate vote.

Sorensen presented specific measures he said show progress: La Jolla aims to conduct more than 1,800 classroom observations this year and had completed about 705 as of Dec. 15 (about 40 percent of the goal); the school reported reductions in failure rates for several teachers from the 2021–22 school year…