Principal challenges transient students

Osborne High School junior Charlie Santiago has moved so many times since kindergarten, it gets hard to explain.

“It’s really complicated,” he said, after a pickup soccer game at the south Cobb school. Santiago started kindergarten in Cobb, and since then has split time between living with his aunt and uncle in Marietta and his parents in Acapulco, Mexico. He spent his ninth-grade year in Mexico before starting his sophomore year at Osborne.

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Bob Andres /bandres@ajc.com

Steven Miletto is principal of Osborne High School, where nearly 13 percent of the students are in the ESOL program, and the transient rate is about 64 percent. He’s in his sixth year of the job.

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Students come and go throughout the school year at Osborne, as migratory families move — often in search of work. The school’s transient rate is about 64 percent. Estimated family income levels in the school’s ZIP code show that 45 percent of households have a yearly income of $35,000 or less. The school didn’t make Adequate Yearly Progress under federal No Child Left Behind guidelines, and is on the “Needs Improvement” list.

But principal Steven Miletto doesn’t believe in making excuses. And his mission of uniting a school with a less than stellar reputation is paying off.

“He’s really cool, and he knows everybody,” Santiago said. “He treats people like you want to be treated.”

He’s inspiring staff and students, and celebrating successes. Miletto encourages average students to take challenging courses.

“Don’t tell me you can’t,” he tells them.

This fall, 87 percent of Osborne’s juniors met or exceeded expectations on the writing portion of the state graduation test, including an 83 percent pass rate among students whose native language is not English. Statewide, only 65 percent of test-takers classified as English learners passed.

Teachers and staff stand behind Miletto’s vision, and alumni are becoming more involved with the 1,600-student school. Others are noticing, too. In the spring, Newsweek magazine recognized the school for its efforts.

Now in his sixth year as principal, Miletto, 45, is the first to say his work isn’t done. But the school is on a path to improvement. “I’m an agent of change,” he says.

A different student body

When Jennifer Glendenning started teaching math at Osborne 24 years ago, the school was smaller, with less than 1,000 students, and majority white. She has seen the school change over the years, and remembers a time when alumni tried to disassociate themselves from the school. Now, even the staff is different.

“Since Mr. Miletto’s been here hiring has changed,” Glendenning said. “He challenges them to leave their baggage at the door.”

The school’s diversity — Osborne is 48 percent black; 37 percent Hispanic; 8 percent white — and economic conditions make the county’s oldest high school very different than others.

“We’re the only high school in Cobb with a population like ours,” said Miletto.

Nearly 13 percent of the student body are in the English to speakers of other languages (ESOL) program. At Pope High in east Cobb, 1 percent of students are in ESOL classes.

More than 78 percent of Osborne students qualify for free and reduced-price lunch. The average free and reduced rate for county high schools is 30 percent.

Apartments and other rental units in the school’s attendance zone often serve as temporary homes for families.

“Half of your kids are gone and another half replaces them,” said Annette Hansard, in her 40th year teaching in Cobb schools. Hansard teaches social studies at Osborne, and is working on her certification to teach ESOL classes.

A high transient rate affects the school’s graduation rate, which was at 63 percent in the spring, compared to 82 percent countywide. For students who have attended Osborne all four years, the graduation rate is above 80 percent.

“If they’ll stay in school, we’ll get them through,” said Cobb superintendent Fred Sanderson. “We can embrace the diversity.”

A plan for success

Part of Miletto’s plan for Osborne is raising expectations. Students are encouraged to take one of 19 advanced placement courses offered.

In the 2007-08 school year, 477 AP exams were taken, an increase of 25 percent from the previous year. Five years ago, Osborne students took 76 AP exams. If the $86 exam cost is a problem, he helps find a way to pay for it. The demographics of students in AP classes mirror those in the school.

Last spring, Newsweek magazine named Osborne among the top 5 percent of U.S. public high schools for the school’s efforts to get average students to take AP classes and exams. Osborne ranked 951 on this list of 1,300 schools.

Extracurricular activities have seen renewed interest, too. The marching band has tripled in size, said director Michael Reid. This winter, the varsity wrestling team has three girls.

“Our kids can teach tolerance,” said assistant principal Gail Johnson. “They live diversity.”

Miletto takes a laid-back approach to leading and gets involved with students.

Some afternoons, he joins impromptu soccer games behind the school. “I’m like this tank out there,” he said. After a recent game, Miletto changed clothes and headed to the gym to watch basketball games. He has been known to play the trumpet and wear a kilt. He allows graduating seniors to paint their handprints on the walls.

“He dances at graduation,” said Sarah Jourdan, a junior.

Above all, Miletto is helping unite a community.

“We’ve come a long way in six years,” Miletto said. “We’ve got the school focused on education. The culture is no longer toxic.”

Santiago, the Osborne junior who has moved several times, hopes to finish his education there.

“It’s a small school,” he said. “You meet different kinds of people and everybody is really friendly.”

MORE ABOUT OSBORNE HIGH SCHOOL

• Enrollment: 1,600; 48 percent black; 37 percent Hispanic; 8 percent white

• Principal: Steven Miletto

• Address: 2451 Favor Road, Marietta

• History: Established as Olive Springs Community School in 1881. The school moved to its current location in 1964.

• 2008 average SAT score: 1237, compared with a Cobb average of 1524

Highlights

• The horticulture program, in its second year, has been recognized at a state meeting.

• The drama program won the one-act play competition this year for the region.

• The school has five AP scholars.

• The after-school program provides enrichment activities for more than 100 students. Classes include African drumming, business education and break dancing.

• A mentoring group works with elementary students from LaBelle and Brown elementary schools.