Sacramento City Unified School District announced plans Friday to expand a 6-year-old program to reform its high schools, despite signs that the effort is struggling.

Enrollment at a handful of small high schools the district began opening in 2003 has fallen short of projections. Dropout rates at three of the schools are among the highest in the region.

And last week, trustees voted to close one of the six small schools due to budget cuts.

But on Friday morning, with culinary arts students serving savory omelettes and a school color guard leading the Pledge of Allegiance, interim Superintendent Susan Miller announced that the district will expand the thematic approach of its small schools and work harder to recruit prospective students.

"We really believe that while we have a long way to go to connect all students, we feel we are making progress," Miller said. "We would love for it to be larger bits of progress, but we'll take the progress and begin to build on it."

The small schools are designed for no more than 500 students and are centered around unique themes such as health and engineering.

The new initiative, called Multiple Pathways, calls for the district to incorporate those themes not just in elective classes, but also in the basics, such as English and math.

State Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg called the work "profound for the future of California" but acknowledged there is a steep learning curve when it comes to changing the model of education.

"I am convinced that over the long term, offering multiple pathways is the key to keeping young people in school and creating more success," he said.

The district launched the small high school program – called "Education for the 21st Century" or e21 – as an alternative to large, comprehensive campuses where some students were feeling lost. Multiple Pathways is considered the next step.

The small high schools effort has struggled. Three of the e21 schools have among the highest dropout rates in the region, according to figures released by the state last year for the 2006-07 school year.

At America's Choice High School, which has been renamed George Washington Carver School, the dropout rate was 66 percent. That is more than twice the state's average.

At Genesis High School, which is aligned with the California National Guard's Cadet Corps, the dropout rate was 38 percent. Genesis also has one of the lowest enrollments among the small schools and is, therefore, one of four schools the district recently voted to close due to budget cuts.

Only 220 students are enrolled at Genesis; by this year, the district had hoped to have 332.

Recruiting has been an issue at nearly all of the small schools, although attendance overall is up over last year. Arthur A. Benjamin Health Professions has the highest enrollment with 467 students, which is up from 372 last year. New Technology High School saw its attendance drop from 345 students last year to 305 this year.

"We certainly have learned a lot in the last few years about marketing and the need to do more of it," Miller said.

Through Multiple Pathways, the district plans to enhance curriculum at each of the schools and use that as a recruiting tool. The district has applied for a grant from ConnectEd, a Bay Area group that tries to expand programs that link college and career preparation.

Kel Webster, 17, is among those who say the smaller schools make learning more accessible. The 11th-grader attends the Met Sacramento, one of the small schools that specializes in personalized education for its 165 students.

"Met allows you to go at your own pace, and you're more self-sufficient here," said Webster, who used to go to Kennedy High School. "I feel like that worked better for me."

And that's the kind of experience ConnectEd President Gary Hoachlander wants schools to create. Hoachlander said he sees Sacramento City Unified's struggles with dropout rates and the closing of Genesis as growing pains.

"But, I think we have learned a lot along the way," Hoachlander said. "I'm sure there will be failures. We aren't going to get it right immediately, and frankly, none of us yet have all the answers."

Call The Bee's Melody Gutierrez, (916) 326-5521.