ACLC Lead Facilitator Report – David Hoopes
CLCS Board of Directors
May 21st, 2015
ACLC National Rankings Best High Schools
ACLC is back in the US News and World Report list of medal wining schools. The U.S. News rankings include data on more than 21,000 public high schools in 50 states and the District of Columbia. Schools were awarded gold, silver or bronze medals based on their performance on state assessments and how well they prepare students for college. ACLC’s Bronze medal award reflects our model and the calculation used by US News. Bronze is the highest award possible given the high weight they pace on AP courses.
Many different kinds of schools are among those recognized in the 2015 Best High Schools rankings. U.S. News looked at more than 29,000 public high schools in all 50 states and the District of Columbia to determine which schools excelled in each state and nationally. To create the 2015 Best High Schools rankings, U.S. News worked with RTI International, a North Carolina-based research firm. High schools were evaluated in three stages.
First, U.S. News looked at overall student performance on state-required tests. Schools had to perform better than average to pass, but because of a slight change to the methodology this year, more schools qualified for the rankings. Then, U.S. News factored in how effectively schools educated their least-advantaged students -- those of black, Hispanic and low-income backgrounds. Finally, schools were assessed on how well they prepared students for college based on participation in and performance on Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate exams.
In the national rankings, 500 high schools received gold medals, 2,027 schools earned silver and 3,990 took home bronze. Again, it is important to note: A bronze medal school either does not offer any AP or IB courses. We are very proud to be back on the list.
ACLC College Acceptances: Congratulations to our seniors! This has been an exciting year with acceptances from many different colleges:
New York University, Yale, Harvard, Columbia, Stanford, Univ. Of British Columbia, Univ. of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Northeastern, Pratt Institute, Sarah Lawrence College, Northwestern, Mills College, Syracuse, San Francisco Art Institute, Academy of Arts, MCPHS Univ., California College of the Arts, St. Mary’s College, Notre Dame de Lamur, Pudget Sound, CSU Fullerton, San Diego State, Pomona State, Chico State, San Jose State, Humboldt State, CSU Monterey, Sonoma State, San Francisco State, Sacramento State, CSU East Bay, CSU Los Angeles, UC Berkeley, UC Davis, UCLA, UC Santa Barbara, UC Santa Cruz, UC San Diego,
Graduation
OnTuesday June 9ththe entire ACLC community, friends, and family are invited to celebrate the Graduation of the Class of 2015. The graduation will be held from 2-4pmat the Kofman Auditorium located at 2200 Central Avenue in Alameda· At 6pm, an invitation only dinner will be held at the Wedgewood Metropolitan Golf Links at 10051 Doolittle Dr in Oakland (just past the Oakland Airport)
· At8:30,the ACLC community is invited to join the graduates and their families for dessert and dancing. The party will conclude at10pm.
Standardized Smarter Balanced Assessment Update:
ACLC had a strong first few weeks of Smarter Balanced Assessments. Learners were tested as scheduled. Additional testing will take place this week. We expect that learner’s determination and hard work will pay dividends in their results. We are working to create a positive tone around testing this year by:
· Building a positive tone with facilitators in professional development
· Being transparent about the importance of the test to all stakeholders
· Executing the testing in a way that is well organized and showed purpose
Smarter Balanced Assessments are designed to provide mandatory comprehensive accountability measures that include computer adaptive assessments and performance tasks, administered in the last 12 weeks of the school year in grades 3–8 and 11 for English language arts (ELA)/literacy and mathematics. These summative assessments are also designed to provide valid, reliable and fair measures of students’ progress toward and attainment of the knowledge and skills required to be college- and career-ready; Capitalize on the strengths of computer adaptive testing (e.g. efficient and precise measurement across the full range of achievement and quick turnaround of results). The exam will produce composite content area scores, based on the computer adaptive items and performance tasks
What will the Smarter Balanced tests measure?
· Smarter Balanced tests provide one measure of student knowledge of the subject matter, critical thinking, analytical writing, and problem solving skills they need to prepare for and succeed in today’s world.
· These assessments provide important information as to whether students are on track to pursue college and career by the time they graduate from high school. The tests provide timely and actionable student information so that teachers and schools can adjust and improve teaching to ensure students have the knowledge and skills they need to succeed in school and beyond.
What results can we expect from the Smarter Balanced Tests?
· The new tests are too fundamentally different from the old exams to make any reliable comparisons between old scores and new. This year’s results will establish a new baseline for the progress we expect students to make over time.
· Based on trial runs of the new assessments in California and other states, many if not most students will need to make significant progress to reach the standards set for math and literacy that accompany college and career readiness.
· Over time, as students experience multiple years of instruction related to the skills tested by the new assessments, California’s results will show improved achievement. (In 2002, California’s new Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR) tests also set a new baseline for achievement and student results improved quickly over time.)
· Parents will receive a report of their child’s scores. But no student, parent or teacher should be discouraged by these scores, which will not be used to determine whether a student moves on to the next grade. Rather, the scores will represent an opportunity to focus on the needs of students and support teachers and schools in their work to achieve college and career readiness.
How will this system help improve teaching and learning?
· The Smarter Balanced assessments are an academic check-up, designed to give teachers the feedback they need to improve instruction. The tests measure critical thinking, analytical writing, problem solving, and subject area knowledge, providing teachers with multiple sources of actionable information about student strengths and areas where students need additional support.
· The system provides two types of interim assessments that teachers and schools can use to assess student learning at key points in the instructional year and to measure student preparedness for year-end summative tests. Both of these tests provide information for teachers to adjust and differentiate teaching in response to the results.
· The system provides a Digital Library of professional learning and instructional resources to help teachers assess individual student learning during instruction, provide feedback to students in a timely manner, and adjust teaching and learning as needed.
CCEF Update
CCEF and Leadership combined to once again to lead a school walkathon. A big shout out to Winnie & Isabelle and all the great volunteers, donors, and participants at the walkathon!
Here are some initial participation numbers below for your review.(Note there is a slight discrepancy of $75 in the amount deposited and the amounts recorded on the forms.)
Learners by Grade / Participants / ~~~ Amount Raised6th / 31 / $1,531.00
7th / 30 / $1,563.00
8th / 22 / $1,036.00
9th / 16 / $986.00
10th / 15 / $774.00
11th / 9 / $425.00
12th / 1 / $20.00
$6,335.00
PAC Update
· ACLC Staff would like to express a big thank you to ACLC moms--Dore Sandoval, Jennifer Starling, Connie Carvalho, Beth Hille-Hassan, and Christin Cooper--who arrive faithfully on their designated weekdays to hand out Lunch master lunches to our hungry learners. And thank you to Yuka Lum, who has coordinated this group for two years and still steps up to fill in.
· Last month, we had a fantastic Couch Night. Sara Post started us off thinking about what we communicate to our kids both directly and indirectly. The group of about 10 parents participated, asking questions, supporting each other, telling stories and of course, laughing together. It was a perfect example of what we can do together. Many ideas will come from that night.
· Looking ahead - MAY
o We are closing in on the end of the year and there are many activities to get involved in!
o Keep a look our for the CCEF/ PAC Parent Involvement survey - we need to hear from you and your experience so we can build on what works and improve the things that don't!
o May 27th is our 2nd PAC/CCEF joint meeting - please come join us as we talk about end of the year closure and plan for next year.
May 12th is ACLC's Annual Community Forum!
On May 12th parents learners and community members gathered for our annual forum in the Boys and Girls Club. The event was open to the entire community. The evening was facilitated by Pac Leadership and Lynn Kameny. It was a dynamic dialogue to help shape ACLC moving forward. Groups discussed the following five areas of growth and provided suggestions for future change. Learners led these discussion groups.
· Intramural sports/ arts enrichment
· The Center revisited/ alignment of Center with ACLC model
· Community involvement/ community events
· Physical environment/ beautification/ school spirit
Learner updates
· Rudi Skowronski: Rudy is going to Hong Kong and China with the American Youth Leadership Program (http://www.culturalvistas.org/aylp/index.htm).Rudy recently applied and was accepted to a fully funded environmental study trip to Hong Kong and China for three weeks in July this summer.
Projects and Learning
Cardboard Boat Races
· The annual Jim Richards Cardboard Boat Races will be held at the Emma Hood Swim Center at Alameda High School Wednesday May 27th at 1:15 pm. (Please note the change in venue this year...) The culminating project for ACLC's 8th Grade Science and Nea's 9th grade Physics classes, the Cardboard Boat Project tasks learners to use their knowledge of density, buoyancy, and other physical science topics to design and construct two-person boats made only of cardboard and small amounts of tape, glue, and paint.
· An ACLC annual event, this year, to honor S.E. Hinton's classic novel, the ninth grade class will be presenting, "Romeo and Juliet The Ultimate Outsiders." Set in the 1950s, the Freshman class will be re-writing, casting, staging and directing their re-visioning of the classic tale of star-crossed lovers.
The annual Jim Richards Cardboard Boat Races will be held at the Emma Hood Swim Center at Alameda High School Wednesday May 27th at 1:15 pm.(Please note the change of venue this year...) http://alamedaca.gov/locations/271/emma-hood-swim-center
The culminating project for ACLC's 8th Grade Science and Nea's 9th grade Physics classes, the Cardboard Boat Project, tasks learners to use their knowledge of density, buoyancy, and other physical science topics to design and construct two-person boats made only of cardboard and small amounts of tape, glue, and paint. During the actual Boat Races event on the 27th, learner teams will compete in exciting pool length races vying for the coveted Gold, Silver, and Bronze Paddle Awards (for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd places in the races), as well as other various honors, including the Golden Bulb Award (for most creative design) and the Bronze Bucket Award (for the fastest sinking boat.)
Please come out to see a fine example of our programs' creative project-based curricula, and to cheer our learners on.
Please share this link with those you think might be interested in attending:
http://patch.com/california/alameda/aclc-nea-invite-public-17th-annual-cardboard-boat-race-0
For newbies, or those who need a reminder of how much fun this event is, here is a video from last year:
· https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MBW-Hpqrdas
Earth Day at ACLCSometimes a trashy photo and a clever hashtag are all that's needed to start a global movement. Inspired by his daughter's concern for the environment, Oakland resident Jeff Kirschner started a clean-up campaign in 2012 by taking photos of trash he picked up in his neighborhood and posting them on Instagram with the hashtag "#litterati" along with a geo-tag showing the litter's location.
Soon other litter picker-uppers joined the effort by posting images of their geo-tagged trash using #litterati, and the Litterati movement went viral. Kirschner followed-up by launching "The Digital Landfill" website to showcase the #litterati Instagram feed, along with a Google map displaying the geo-tagged and time-stamped images of litter picked up around the world.
The Alameda Community Learning Center (ACLC) was fortunate to have Kirschner as the keynote speaker at their first ever school-wide Earth Day Celebration, held on April 22. Kirschner's talk about the Litterati movement and other earth-friendly activities were the focus of the daylong celebration to create greater environmental awareness at the school.
"Jeff showed us how easy it is to make our world a better place," said ACLC sophomore, Avalon Cassard. "He explained that Litterati not only inspires people to pick up trash, but that they use the geo-tags to help cities put trash and recycling containers where the most litter is found. The photos of trash with brand names also encourage those companies to be more environmentally aware. It's cool that something so simple can make such a big difference!"
Besides Kirschner's keynote presentation, ACLC's Earth Day event featured a variety of environmental educational sessions run by other guest environmental experts, students in ACLC's Environmental Leadership class and ACLC facilitators (teachers). Sessions included: making pillows out of recycled fabrics, making glassware out of recycled glass bottles, making chair mats out of recycled T-shirts, planting trees and other foliage around the school, and how to use solar and other alternative sources of energy. The day wrapped up with small group sessions to exchange ideas on how to be more environmentally conscious at home.
The Earth Day event was planned and run by ACLC's Environmental Leadership class consisting of seniors, Michelle Cossette, Michelle Luo, Taylor Tran, Chloe Feng, and junior, Kasilena Gonzales, and facilitated by ACLC teacher, Patricia Williamson.
"We wanted to make the environmental message real to our fellow learners," said Michelle Cossette. "That's why we planned hands-on activities they'd have fun making, be able to take home and use, or give as gifts. Each time they see or use the item they made from recycled materials, they'll be reminded to take care of the earth."
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