Capistrano Unified School District API Score Rises 13 Points -- Updated
From the District; we'll start sorting through scores when they become public:
SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO—The Capistrano Unified School District remains the state's highest achieving large school district, Academic Performance Index (API) scores released today by the California Department of Education indicate.
The District's API score rose to 875, a 13-point increase from 2010. Of the District's 54 traditional schools, 24 scored better than 900, which is considered an elite score. Another 51 scored above the state goal of 800, and every school in the District scored above 775.
"I can't describe how proud I am of our students and their teachers," Board President Jack R. Brick said. "These results validate the intense focus on instruction the Board has demanded. Under the leadership of Superintendent Joe Farley and with the support of our entire community, Capistrano Unified continues to be a leader in preparing students for success after graduation."
When compared to other districts in the state, CUSD fared quite well. Among large districts, those with more than 35,000 students, CUSD has the top API score. Among the largest 100 school districts in the state, there are just six that scored higher.
"These numbers prove that this is one of the top school systems in the state," Superintendent Joe Farley said. "We cannot succeed without the fantastic support our schools and students receive from the community. While we expect great results, these numbers are truly an indication of the hard work our teachers and instructional leaders have put into the development, design, and delivery of instruction."
Chaparral Elementary School had an API of 948, the highest score in the District. For middle schools, Ladera Ranch earned the highest score with a 935. Tesoro was the highest scoring high school with an 883. Again, all of the District's high schools surpassed the 800 mark; and, for the first time, all of the district's middle schools surpassed 800.
Several schools saw large increases in their scores, led by Wood Canyon Elementary School in Aliso Viejo with a 44-point gain from 2010. Wood Canyon raised its API from 802 to 846. At the middle school level, Shorecliffs Middle School in San Clemente saw its score increase by 40 points, from 817 to 857. San Juan Hills High School experienced a 25-point increase, moving its score from 810 to 835. Just three schools saw a decrease.
Statewide, 55 percent of elementary schools, 43 percent of middle schools and 28 percent of high schools met or surpassed the state API target of 800
The API is a single number, ranging from a low of 200 to a high of 1000, which reflects performance level, based on the results of statewide testing. Its purpose is to measure the academic performance and growth of schools. The API was established in 1999 by legislation that created a new academic accountability system for K-12 public education in California. The API is calculated by converting a student's performance on statewide assessments across multiple content areas into points on the API scale. These points are then averaged across all students and all tests. The result is the API.
Here's a link to finding the scores for your own school
Here's a list of the three cities we cover - some impressive gains in English-learning ...
Download South API Scores
Posted by Jonathan Volzke at 11:45 AM in Current Affairs, Elementary School, Employees, High School, Honors and Awards, Middle School, Students, Superintendent, Trustees, Volunteers | Permalink | Comments (23) | TrackBack (0)
BAM! Big Honors for Bernice Ayer
From Capistrano Unified School District:
Bernice Ayer Middle School in San Clemente has been re-designated as a state and national "School to Watch" by the California Schools to Watch-Taking Center Stage program, which identifies high-performing middle grade schools.
Bernice Ayer was first selected as a School to Watch in 2005 and is one of 32 middle schools in California with the designation. Seven middle schools were selected for re-designation this year.
"We are thrilled to have received this recognition," Principal Holly Feldt said. "Our staff and students have worked very hard in an exciting and challenging middle school program to demonstrate strong student achievement. This re-designation is an affirmation of the fine work so many have done in the school, District, and larger community."
The school will receive its official state re-designation at a ceremony to take place in Sacramento on Feb. 24, 2011 and receive its national recognition in Washington, D.C. on June 24, 2011.
Since 2007, the school's Academic Performance Index has increased from 823 to 894 in 2010. Dual language immersion classes, integrated academic technology projects and rigorous standards-based, hands-on projects are some of the practices program officials say other middle schools can replicate.
"Bernice Ayer Middle School is a model of what an outstanding middle school can be," Dr. Irvin Howard, director of California's Schools to Watch-Taking Center Stage program, said. "School leaders from across the state will now turn to Bernice Ayer Middle School for guidance on improving their programs to better serve their students."
California's Schools to Watch-Taking Center Stage program uses a competitive, rigorous review process to identify high performing, high impact middle schools so that all middle schools may have models of real-world success. The program, which first began recognizing schools in 2003, is provided by the California Middle Grades Alliance, which includes the California League of Middle Schools (CLMS; the lead agency), California Department of Education, and other statewide educational organizations.
Posted by Jonathan Volzke at 09:55 AM in Middle School | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBack (0)
LA Unified Considering Changing School Calendar: No Talk of Earlier Start in CUSD
Los Angeles Unified School District is considering starting the school year in mid-August, with the idea of ending semester before the long holiday break.
Some parents are pushing back, saying it's too hot in Los Angeles to start school in mid-August, when temperatures hit the 100s.
Here's the Los Angeles Times' story on the discussion.
Marcus Walton, Capistrano Unified School District's spokesman, said staffers are pulling together the 2011-2012 calendar now, but there's no talk of starting school before Labor Day.
The last time the district considered that, he said, parents pushed back because of vacations and other concerns.
The final decision, of course, rests with the Board of Trustees. The calendars are expected to be on the February or March agenda.
Posted by Jonathan Volzke at 12:09 PM in Elementary School, High School, Middle School | Permalink | Comments (33) | TrackBack (0)
Preliminary Stats Show Strike Cuts CUSD Deeply
The Capistrano Unified School District on Thursday afternoon released preliminary information about attendance—by students and teachers—on the first day of a teacher's strike.
According to the district:
* 1 in 8 classroom teachers reported to work (12 percent of the district's 2,200 teachers)
* 600 qualified and vetted substitute teachers reported for duty.
* 48 percent of elementary students attended school
* 41 percent of middle school students attended school
* 24 percent of high school students were at school.
District negotiators and Capistrano Unified Education Association representatives were due to meet at 2 p.m. on Thursday, although union officials called the meeting a "discussion," not negotiations. Teachers walked out over whether cuts imposed on them by the Board of Trustees were permanent or temporary, and when, if ever, their salaries and benefits could be restored.
Posted by Jonathan Volzke at 02:38 PM in Employees, High School, Middle School | Permalink | Comments (27) | TrackBack (0)
Stanford Study: Charter Schools Not as Good as You Think
The Los Angeles Times is reporting on a Stanford study that found California charter schools do better in reading than public schols, but fall way short on math. Natonally, only 15 percent of charters do better than public schools.
California charter schools outperform traditional public schools in reading but significantly lag in math, according to a national study released Monday by researchers at Stanford University.
The study of charter schools in 15 states and the District of Columbia found that, nationally, only 17% of charter schools do better academically than their traditional counterparts, and more than a third "deliver learning results that are significantly worse than their student[s] would have realized had they remained in traditional public schools."
"We find that a pretty sobering finding," said lead researcher Margaret Raymond, director of the Center for Research on Education Outcomes.
Here's the full story.
Here's the report's executive summary
Here's the full report
Here's the California report
Posted by Jonathan Volzke at 07:09 AM in Current Affairs, Elementary School, High School, Middle School, Pollitics | Permalink | Comments (16) | TrackBack (0)
Bullying Claim Filed Against CUSD
James Traut, an attorney representing the Mendez family, announced this week the family is filing a claim against the Capistrano Unified School District , alleging school officials did not act to stem the bullying.
Traut said the family will likely also file lawsuits against the bullies themselves, when they identify them. That will ensure the individuals are held accountable, he said, while the suit against the district will hopefully spur new policies.
"We want to show that there's consequences to bad behavior," said Traut, who said the bullying cases are rare. He noted bullying can be difficult to define, but in his mind, ongoing, persistent problems rise to that level.
The claim, a mandatory precursor before a lawsuit can be filed, seeks $3 million—but for the Orangewood Children's Home, not the Mendez family. Orangewood is the county's youth shelter.
A copy of the claim provided by his office adds new details to Mendez's May 1 death.
"For the last several years (Mendez) was relentlessly bullied by certain students," the claim states. "The bullying intensified during the week of 4-27-09 and crested on Friday, 5-1-09. It was obvious to numerous classmates during afternoon classes that Daniel was deeply distressed. Promptly after his last class, Daniel committed suicide by shooting himself in the head."
The claim says the district failed to follow state law and its own policies.
"Though [Capistrano Unified] was or should have been aware of the ongoing and ruthless taunting of Daniel, it took no action to intervene or to impose disciplinary sanctions on the bullies, as specified in the regulations. Consequently, Danny and Anna Mendez, who necessarily had to entrust the welfare of their child to [Capistrano Unified] during the school day, lost their only son.
If the Mendez family follows the claim with a lawsuit, the case would appear similar to one in Georgia, where the family of an 11-year-old boy sued the school district after the youth hanged himself in his home on April 16.
Masika Bermudez, the mother of Jaheem Herrera, said her son took his life after repeated incidents of bullying in the DeKalb County School System went unchecked. School officials there commissioned a study contending the boy got into a couple of scraps with other kids, but wasn't the victim of repeated bullying.
The family denounced the review, and has filed paperwork that is a precursor to a lawsuit there. According to published reports, Bermudez said she had complained repeatedly to officials at her son's school, Dunaire Elementary in Stone Mountain, Georgia.
In another case of alleged bullying, federal appellate judges have restored a lawsuit against a Michigan school district that contended the Hudson Area Schools did not do enough to protect a middle school student.
According to reports, a judge there tossed out the case because the district took some action against those who teased the student, but an appellate panel reversed that decision, saying some action isn't enough if the behavior continues.
"Even though a school district takes some action in response to known harassment, if further harassment continues, a jury is not precluded by law from finding that the school district's response is clearly unreasonable," federal Circuit Judge Karen Nelson Moore said in that decision.
Posted by Jonathan Volzke at 11:31 AM in Current Affairs, High School, Middle School | Permalink | Comments (79) | TrackBack (0)