/ American Indian Model Schools
October 2015 Newsletter
sUPERIENTENDENT maya woods-cadiz
/American Indian Model Schools October 2015 Newsletter | Issue # 1 / 7
It is hard to believe that I have just completed my first full year at AIMS. This year has been full of challenges and successes, and I am pleased to say that AIMS is in better condition than when I came to it last October. I would like to thank all of the wonderful people with whom I have had a chance to interact. AIMS faculty and staff are the top in their field and the students are wonderful and come to school daily ready to learn.
This year we will be facing the challenge of charter renewal, it will take all of our efforts to make sure that we pass renewal and continue to serve 1200 families and students. You can start supporting your AIMS students by writing letters to Oakland Unified’s Board stating that you have a child here and you are requesting that they approval our renewal petition. The more they hear from you, the better our casefor renewal is.
The theme for the new school year is building on success. AIMS has a history of successful performance, and we are poised to do even greater things.
In Service,
Superintendent Woods-Cadiz
Figure 1 Head poof AIPCS I and II, David Chiu, Superintendent Maya Woods-Cadiz and two sixth grade students.
My name is Steven Leung and I am the president of the AIMS School Board. It’s wonderful to see the sparkle in the eyes of children as they prepare to learn new things and meet new friends. Of course, the staff and the board are also excited.
SCAR test scores are in and although we haven’t had a chance to rank ourselves against other schools in the state, we can tell you that once again, the test scores of AIMS students are above the local, state, and national averages. A trend that has continued now for several years and one of the reasons parents all over the east bay want their kids to attend our schools.
Of course, success can lead to unintended consequences. As a result of our popularity, we now have 5 eighth grade classes! The board is working hard to identify a facility large enough for all those students so they can attend AIPHS, our high school, which by the way is still the number one high school in the state of California.
We’re also excited because we keep improving ourselves each year. This year, for the first time in our history, ALL teachers have permanent teaching credentials. This instills confidence in students and parents and promotes stability within the teaching ranks.
You can also be sure your kids are in a safe and protected learning environment. We’ve added safer measures at both of our campuses. For instance, at 12th Street, access to our building from the garage, requires a key card to access the elevator. The door to the stairs from the garage to the first floor is locked at all times.
Finally, please see our website www.aimschools.org. More than a hundred of our students recently attended the Chinese Independence Day celebration in Frank Ogawa Plaza in Oakland. It was a colorful event that shows our students revere and respect our neighbors here in Chinatown. Please feel free to visit our website for more information on any subject. You can submit questions through the site, and your questions will be promptly answered.
再见
AIPHS
By Joel Julien
At AIPHS, I am here serving as support to the AIMS administration, while taking on the responsibilities of Head of School at the Lakeview campus. In addition to providing support on-site, I am working together with staff and the superintendent to help smooth the transition to the Lakeview site as well as to provide effective feedback to teachers. I appreciate the support given to help make sure the change in pick up and drop off went quickly and smoothly, which is a testiment to the families and staff who made it all happen. The AIMS community is extraordinary and there are many great things happening that can only get better. Teachers and students are working hard each and every day to ensure high achievement for all. I am very excited to be a part of the community and look forward to helping AIMS continue to reach its mission.
Shoo the Flu
Two AIMS parents volunteer to help workers during “Shoo the Flu,” a county wide program aimed at keeping the flu away during the flu season.
AIPHS students
From the testing grounds
By Marisa Schulman
The 3rd -8th grade and 11th grade students at AIMS took the Smarter Balanced Assessments (SBAC) last spring. SBAC measures students' grade-level learning and progress toward college and career readiness. The summative assessments are aligned with the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) for ELA and mathematics. The tests capitalize on the strengths of computer adaptive testing—efficient and precise measurement across the full range of achievement and timely turnaround of results. Performance tasks challenge students to apply their knowledge and skills to respond to real-world problems. They can best be described as collections of questions and activities that are coherently connected to a single theme or scenario. These activities are meant to measure capacities such as depth of understanding, research skills, and complex analysis, which cannot be adequately assessed with selected- or constructed-response items.
Individual student reports have been sent home. As a whole, the overwhelming majority AIMS students "Met or Exceeded Standards" in both ELA and Math. We are extremely proud of our scores, which indicate that our students score above the state and county averages.
American Indian Model Schools October 2015 Newsletter | Issue # 1 / 7By David Chiu/AIPCS & AIPCS II
A little over a year ago I was getting a haircut from a local barber shop. My barber asked me where I worked and I told her, “American Indian Public Charter School”. Enthusiastically she responded, “my friends and I know your school! You guys are known to be…” At that moment I thought she was going to say "strict, academically rigorous", or something of that nature which is indeed characteristic of our school, but instead she said “caring”.
My name is David Chiu, and I am the current Head of School for AIPCS and AIPCSII.This is my first year serving as the Head of School for AIPCS, 3rdyear serving as the Head of School for AIPCS II, and 5thyear working for American Indian Model Schools (AIMS). Since I first set foot into AIMS, I have witnessed a great deal happen to this organization. I started working at AIMS as a middle school teacher when AIPCS II had a student body of under 200 students. Since then, AIMS has gone through renewal, expanded its services to grades K-5, fought through the threat of revocation, and pushed for dramatic growth. Each year the demands for services at our school increase, with 400 anticipating families on our last waiting list.
AIMS is a vehicle to serve children, and it belongs to the community-families and staff members alike. Behind the name of American Indian Public Charter School, are resilient, bold, committed, and caring people who make it what is. It is my privilege and honor to be part of American Indian Model Schools.