On Jan. 17 during a faculty meeting, Bonita Vista High (BVH) Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) coordinator and teacher Jessica Vargas and counselors released data on the 2023-2024 senior class’s Grade Point Average (GPA) and graduation expectations. It was released that out of 555 seniors, 364 of them are A-G eligible and 320 of them have an unweighted GPA of 3.0 or higher.
Vargas and many of the counselors are a part of the CARPE program, a college access network in the Sweetwater Union High School District (SUHSD) that provides information about college. This is where they collected the data using data insights from SUHSD where all of the students’ grades are inputted and arranged to present to the faculty at BVH. Vargas explains how she perceives the data and what it represents for BVH.
“Having a pretty high A-G [percentage], to me as a teacher, shows me [that] we’re doing something right here. We’re offering support to make sure students either learn the material the first time or there are interventions, tutoring or support to help them to make sure they can maintain high GPAs,” Vargas said.
BVH is known as a prestigious school that provides a variety of high level classes. Vargas emphasizes how this data adds to this idea and represents the academics that many students are engaged in at BVH.
“There’s definitely an expectation at BVH for high academics, this data supports it. I do think teachers from other schools send their kids [to BVH] for the [International Baccalaureate (IB)] program or AVID,” Vargas said.
Since Vargas deals with assisting students in going to college through AVID, she is very involved in creating plans and solving problems for students that may struggle to meet the A-G requirements or with having a GPA of 3.0 or higher. BVH Principal Lee Romero adds on the importance of students meeting these requirements when it comes to choosing where to attend college.
“If you have anything less than a [GPA of] 3.0, you limit your options when you graduate from high school. The higher your GPA and meeting the A-G requirements, [it] is going to give you a lot more options than it would if you’re just [at a 3.0 or lower],” Romero said.
Vargas and the counselors are also in charge of assisting the students that need support in reaching their goals for graduation. Students like senior John Metoyer have worked with school faculty like the counselors in order to make a plan on what he can do after he graduates regarding his current situation.
“My counselor [Lorena Mata] talked to me many times about what I’m going to do after high school considering my grades. She was helpful in telling me what I could do [after I graduate],” Metoyer said.
Metoyer is just one of the many seniors that seek out help from staff at BVH. Vargas has assisted students throughout her time as AVID coordinator since she is experienced in the topic of college and the routes students can take no matter their situation. She explains how even though BVH offers rigorous classes, many seniors may choose not to attend a four year college.“
Having the IB program supports a school to push rigor and to push college. Same with having AP (Advanced Placement) classes offered. What I am surprised by are the number of students who have really high GPAs and maybe choose not to go to a four year [college]. That always shocks me,” Vargas said.
The data that the CARPE program provides, allows teachers and staff within schools to adapt to students and their needs depending on their success or need for assistance. However, there are always other options for students that may not be able to reach the goal of that kind of college.
“They run the program and that program focuses on data that helps drive what we do every single day. When it does, the data provides information to the counselors and the administration team to determine what we need to push to get more of our kids [to the goal of CARPE]. The goal of this program is to get more kids an opportunity to go straight to a four year university,” Romero said.
Throughout many students’ senior year, there may be challenges they face that make it difficult for them to meet the requirements of graduation. If they seek out help they can find what is best for them and their success.
“I am only focusing on the classes I need to pass like English and Spanish, pushing myself [to] work on those classes. I challenged myself by taking AP Literature this year and realizing that it was not for me, I switched out of it in the second semester,” Metoyer said.
With Southwestern College across the street from BVH, it makes it easier for seniors to decide where they want to attend college. Vargas explains how although they may encourage other routes, there is a large cost difference between the two options and may present many financial challenges.
“I think part of the difficulty is that we live across the street from a junior college. To add to that, there’s [the] California Promise [if you go directly out of high school to any junior college in California, it is free for two years] which is wonderful. So you’re looking at a 35,000 dollar a year school versus [a free one]. A lot of teachers here push for students to go to 4 year colleges, but I also [think] there’s this feeling that maybe we should just send them across the street,” Vargas said.
Students have access to numerous different resources at BVH that can help them to find solutions to their challenges they face especially during senior year. Vargas hopes that while it continues to increase, they will also continue to share this information with staff in order to help students excel.
“Next year I’d like to share this data and say look at where we were last year, and look where we are now. In essence, it’s a point for us to discuss and a point of conversation. I hope to be able to share more of the data [we collect],” Vargas said.
