The school is bordered by chain link fences 8-feet high. On one corner of the fence, a plastic shopping bag waves in the wind like a flag. Enclosed are sixth graders on a field, kicking around a deflated soccer ball until one boy kicks it all the way over the fence and onto the sidewalk.
"Why'd you do that?" one girl says in broken English before climbing the fence, picking up the ball and climbing back over.
Soon, the sixth period bell rings and in the halls the smell of a stink bomb is slowly making its way from classroom to classroom. No one really seems to notice. An administrator is overheard saying, "They've been going off all day."
This is John Adams Middle School and to any outsider, it may seem like the worst of the worst. But enter the daunting 8-foot-tall fences and murals of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and numerous Olympians adorn the walls.
Despite the looks of it, John Adams is quickly becoming one of the best middle schools in the state.
"The school is going up," said assistant principal Jorge Calderon. "Last year, we had the highest improvement on California's state tests. We grew by 44 points; that means the school's getting better."
And indeed it is. Adams is now only two points away from reaching California's academic performance average of 700 and that much closer to the state's target of 800. Two years ago, it was 46 points away from the 700 performance average.
Though it may not sound very substantial, but compare it to expectations: the school's expected growth from spring 2009 to spring 2010 was a mere seven points.
"I can see a difference in the quality of the education," said Maria Lopez, parent of a seventh grader and herself an Adams alum. "I received a good education, but my son is in the school's magnet program and I always stop and think to myself, 'Wow, I didn't learn this when I was his age.'"
Built in 1923, Adams is one of the oldest middle schools in California. Once an overcrowded urban school that packed 2,400 students on a campus built for 1,600, Calderon boasts that the largest class size now is only 24 students and the total number of students enrolled is exactly 1,603.
"The administration is supportive [of the growth]," said Anna Melkumyan, a math and science teacher. "Everybody, they all put everything they can, whatever necessary, into making sure students do well."
Despite the school's progression, ensuring students do well is still difficult, given cultural and language barriers. Ninety-nine to 100 percent of the student body is Hispanic, according to administrators, and students' median household income is just over $17,500. Many students are immigrants, or the children of immigrants.
Understanding the children's cultural background is integral to their success in school, said Anais Mercado, parent of an Adams sixth grader.
"I can talk to the people," Mercado said. "When I have questions, the administrators speak Spanish and that's really important."
A majority of the faculty speak Spanish as well, but even those who don't understand the importance of being able to communicate with students, no matter which language they speak.
"They are teaching me Spanish now," Melkumyan laughed. "When I go back to Russia, I can tell all my friends and family that I finally speak Spanish."
Melkumyan incorporates language into a special type of arithmetic called Singapore Math, a technique that helps those who don't fully understand English understand it better as they learn. This technique mimics those used in high performing countries like Singapore.
"It's more pictorial, visual representations of the problems," Melkumyan said. "And, it's all about word problems. It helps them build up vocabulary, words like 'twice,' 'double,' 'out of,' 'percentage.' They're all part of the problems."
Singapore Math emphasizes problem solving and model drawing and is especially useful for children who speak English as a second language because of its simple wording. Accompanying pictures often help children understand difficult concepts.
Ultimately, students recognize the commitment the school puts toward their education.
"I do, I like it here," said sixth-grader Jose Ruiz. "I like the fun classes more, like art and P.E., but I've been doing well in my math class so I keep doing it."
Encouraging student engagement is tough, Melkumyan said, so she focuses on interaction and positive reinforcement, which she says instills confidence in her students.
"My [math] teacher puts my work up on the wall so that's cool," Ruiz said. "My friends are jealous."
