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Assistant Principal Dooley

Back to School Night Speech

9/11/13

Thank you Ms. Silvestri. It is my distinct pleasure to present the coastside community, parents,

and staff with an overview of Half Moon Bay High Schools performance data, discuss a

transition to Common Core State Standards, and provide an update on Measure S &

Technology. Looking back at student performance from the last five years, it is very clear there

is much to celebrate. [slide]

As a student body, HMBHS has exhibited substantial growth. The Academic Performance Index,

or API, is a single number, ranging from a low of 200 to a high of 1000, which reflects

performance levels based on the results of statewide assessments. The API target for all schools

to meet in California is 800.

As you can see by the graph,HMBHS API has grown incredibly over five years and has begun to

hover at the 800 target. Also important to note are the Similar School & Statewide Ranks of 7.

The similar schools and statewide ranks allow us to look at our academic performance

compared to other schools, with similar demographic characteristics, that offer similar

opportunities and challenges, throughout California. With 10 being the top percentile, our rank

of 7 demonstrates the increased rigor of our courses and the undeniable growth of student

successes over the past five years. All growth and improvement is unquestionably due to the

Cougar climate and culture, the diligence and hard work of our staff members, the countless

hours of parental support, and most importantly, the ferocious hunger of students to

continuously rise to every academic and extracurricular challenge. [slide]

Why has our API steadily risen? The answer lies in the data; as the White subgroup

performance has made steady gains, all other major subgroups have demonstrated close to

100-point improvements! [slide] The Hispanic subgroup made gains of 88 points,

Socioeconomically Disadvantaged subgroup steadily climbed to +99 points, and English

Learners continued the trend with an 89 point improvement. [slide]

Just as HMBHS is making great strides to improving on statewide assessments, California signed

on in support of the Common Core State Standards. These Standards have been adopted in

English Language Arts, Mathematics, and Literacy in Social Studies, Science, and Technical

Subjects in 45 states. Teachers, parents, and education experts designed these Standards to

prepare students for success in college and the workplace, regardless of the state in which they

receive their education. Cabrillo Unified School District and HMBHS have been working

diligently to transition our curriculum to prepare our students for these new Standards. In

addition, coming next school year will be a new online state assessment called Smarter

Balanced. We have updated our website to reflect these changes, and have provided additional

resources to hopefully answer many of your questions. As more information develops from the

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state, we will be sure to communicate any and all updates to you seamlessly and transparently.

[slide]

At HMBHS, technology has been reinvigorated by staff, students, and the community in support

of the passing of Measure S. This has resulted in eight HMBHS teachers (across all content

areas) having 35 Android Tablets, a Smart Board, and latop in each classroom. Students are

now able to analyze, synthesize, create, and demonstrate their mastery in a way previously

proven impossible. This group of teachers received professional development to help students

use the tablets as an additional instructional tool, not simply as a substitution for the old-

fashion pencil and paper. Continuing to build upon this momentum, over the next two years, all

teachers in every classroom will have access to their own sets of corresponding technology.

All of the above are sure to reinforce our mission to prepare your students to be successful and

lifelong learners in an ever changing 21st

Century global society.

Thank you, now here is Ms. Deanna Tower, HMBHS Leadership and Renaissance Teacher.