Capital Public Radio & California Museum Present "Passion and Perseverance: A Year At Encina"

CONTACTS:
Belén Torres-Gil | 916.278.8900
Capital Public Radio
[email protected] 

Brenna Hamilton | 916.651.0934
California Museum
[email protected]

 

Exhibit based on CapRadio's 2017 documentary "The View From Here: A Year at Encina" explores a suburban Sacramento high school's challenges & issues facing California public education, including shifting demographics, homelessness & immigration. Open now through June 10th

 

Sacramento, Calif. - Mar. 12, 2018: Capital Public Radio and the California Museum announced the new exhibit "Passion and Perseverance: A Year at Encina" is now open at the California Museum. Based on the yearlong reporting project produced by Capital Public Radio, the exhibit explores the challenges of teachers and students at a suburban Sacramento high school, reflecting issues facing California public education today, including shifting demographics, homelessness and immigration.

"Passion and Perseverance is an example of CapRadio's unique approach to journalism and community connection. Our team spent an extraordinary year at Encina, building relationships, telling stories and training students to tell their own stories," says Chief Content Officer Joe Barr. "We're proud that a whole new audience will able to experience Encina through the exhibit at the California Museum."

"We're thrilled to partner with Capital Public Radio to present a story that reflects the challenges and strengths of modern California in microcosm," said California Museum executive director Amanda Meeker. "This exhibit aligns perfectly with the California Museum's commitment to promoting increased understanding of the differences in backgrounds, beliefs and cultures in our state and to inspiring visitors to take action to improve their communities."

Inspired by a year-long series produced by Capital Public Radio in 2017, "Passion and Perseverance: A Year at Encina," explores how the school reflects California's shifting demographics, education policies, and residential segregation. Through a display of photographs, videos, and artifacts depicting the school's history, the exhibit reveals how Encina's staff and students work together to create a campus where students have the support to achieve their dreams, overcoming numerous challenges.

For example, the school's 2017 population of 1,100 students spoke 25 languages, approximately 50% were English language-learners, 20% were refugees and 96% qualified for free or reduced-cost lunches. Additional challenges included low test scores, high rates of homelessness and the school's location in the Arden-Arcade neighborhood, which had both the fastest rising poverty and highest level of income inequality in California.

The exhibit reveals that the efforts of teachers and staff are paying off: enrollment and test scores are up, while office referrals and suspensions are down. The school's attendance also ranks near the top among district high schools.

"CapRadio put a very human face and voice to the struggle that we as a nation are facing as we work to break the cycle of poverty and poor education that imprisons so many of our kids and their families," said Richard Judge, Principal at Encina Preparatory High School.

"Encina is a window to California's future, where resilience and building relationships across cultures are essential skills, and where equity demands new kinds of teaching and learning within disadvantaged communities," said Capital Public Radio Community Engagement Strategist, jesikah maria ross. "The story of Encina shows that achievement cannot be measured by test scores alone."

On view in the California Museum's community gallery, "Passion and Perseverance: A Year at Encina" continues through June 10, 2018. For more details on the exhibit, visit http://www.californiamuseum.org/encina

For details on Capital Public Radio's "The View from Here" series, visit http://www.capradio.org/encina.