Napa school administrators are proposing a bold move to prepare more public school children for college.

Noting a troubling statistic that less than one-third of Napa Valley Unified School District graduates are considered qualified for four-year colleges, the district passed a resolution requiring students to take college prep courses.

Whether a student is interested in carpentry or pursuing a master's degree in sociology, all will have to complete a sequence of college prep courses in order to graduate.

Earlier this month, the NVUSD board unanimously voted to pass a resolution that would make the district's curriculum for all grades more rigorous and standards-based. The resolution states that its goals are to "close the achievement gap, increase high school graduation and reduce drop out rates."

According to the resolution, less than one-third of last year's school district graduating seniors who were enrolled in Napa schools all four years were eligible for admission into four-year colleges.

"In our community we can do much better than that," said Napa High Principal Barbara Franco.

NVUSD Superintendent John Glaser said the resolution is designed to make sure schools "do a better job" of preparing students for college and "the world of work, advance vocational training and military careers."

The new curriculum will be phased in over the next three years, and district officials are planning rounds of focus groups and meetings with parents.

Several principals in the school district say teachers and parents support the resolution and the changes it will bring. Eric Schneider, principal at Vintage High School, said that parents "are thrilled," and that teachers have become more excited about their jobs.

"There's a sense that there's been a lowering of expectations ... that's not why (teachers) went into this business," said Schneider.

The strategy

The college prep curriculum requires students to start taking science and geography as early as ninth-grade. It also requires higher-level math courses, eliminates classes such as pre-algebra, and no longer allows students to take courses below their grade level.

Elena Toscano, assistant superintendent of instructional support services, said that to ease the process for students, "interventions" -- such as tutoring, online courses, shadow classes and weekend academies for student preparing for required state tests -- are essential.

"Students need more time to become proficient in skills ... we provide more time through interventions," she said.

"The key to this (curriculum change) is to build really strong safety nets," said Schneider. "When kids start to struggle they (need) to get help right away."

Because several other districts in the Bay Area are also on the college prep track, such as the San Mateo Union High School District, administrators plan to collaborate with them to share ideas and strategies.

What students can expect

With the increase in graduation requirements, high schools need to adjust the amount of classes students attend each day. As a result, new period might be added to each school day.

At Napa and Vintage high schools, officials are discussing ways to change their bell schedule to accommodate the extra courses. Schneider said he would like to see the district support a seven-period day.

Other district schools also plan to be more academic. The resolution states that "students entering the sixth-grade (in Fall 2006) will be expected to be ready to access a college preparatory curriculum when they enroll in the ninth-grade."

Although the high schools have three years to change the curriculum, middle schools have already begun to prepare students.

Michael Mansuy, principal at Silverado Middle School, said his school is in the process of becoming more rigorous. Students are only taking classes that teach at their grade level, and Silverado is trying to put in place a support system for students.

"Our goal is to prepare kids so they have the option of going to college," said Mansuy. "We want (students) to have doors open to them by the time they graduate high school, and we feel we play an important part in that."

Toscano noted that students entering U.S. high schools with limited English might require more time to prepare for their diploma.

"I believe the kids can do anything they put in front of them, if we have high expectations for them they'll raise to them," said Franco.