ROCKLIN UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT

Our Successes – History, Information, Data, and

Pride  

      

 

Presentation for the Chamber of Commerce

Thursday, December 9, 2010

Serving the Children of Rocklin for 145 years in partnership with our Business Community

1865 K-8 School House Rocklin Elementary

RUSD District Office Whitney High School

Over the past two years, $17 billion has been cut from public schools statewide

Over 30,000 teachers/administrators have been laid off

California schools rank at the very bottom of all 50 states in:

Class size Per-pupil spending ($2,400 less per student)

Election Results

• Proposition 22 – Eliminated tax breaks for corporations

• Proposition 24 – Prohibited the state from borrowing from cities and counties

• Proposition 25 – Reduced the voting passage requirement from 2/3 to a simple majority

• Proposition 26 – Increased the voting passage requirement to 2/3 to levy a fee

Spending Outlook

• Teacher’s Salaries – National Average $54,319

• California Average - $68,093 (2nd in nation)

• California has second highest student to teacher ratio in the nation

• California spends $14 per $1000 in personal income on schools. 45th in the nation.

• California is third in the nation on spending for prisons ($345), police and fire protection ($558), and 11th for health and hospitals ($772).

ROCKLIN ELEMENTARY

1885

ROCKLIN ELEMENTARY - 1922 Pacific Street

Rocklin Elementary 1952ROCKLIN ELEMENTARY

1952

Parker Whitney 1964

PARKER WHITNEY

1964

Spring View 1980

SPRING VIEW 1980

Rocklin High 1993 view from frontROCKLIN HIGH

1993

GRANITE OAKS 1999

Whitney High 2005 overhead viewWHITNEY HIGH SCHOOL

2005

SUNSET ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

2010

Community Facts and Information 

Rocklin has experienced rapid growth over the past ten years, almost doubling in size to approximately 54,000 (projected to reach 60,000 - 65,000 at build-out).

 

Named “65th Best Place to Live” due to many factors, including quality of schools. (Money Magazine, July 2010)

Named “10 Best Towns for Families” especially due to quality schools. (Family Circle Magazine, August 2008)

Residents place a high value on education and are family-oriented.

 

Homeowners expect a return on their investment (G.O. Bonds – Mello Roos).

 

Many families report that they chose to move to Rocklin because of our schools.

 

Median age is 35.2.

 

Median household income is $82,771.

  Median home price is $268,000 (down 12% from 2008).

Unemployment has hit 8.4%. 

Vacancy rates: Office space 32.5%; retail space 12.5%. 

19.87 square miles. 

249 feet above sea level. 

21 inches annual rain fall. 

Average 280 days of mild climate. 

Out of the seismic zone. 

Out of the flood plain.

Mild Climate 280 calendar days.

Overview of District Details

We are proudly celebrating our 145th year serving the children of Rocklin.

Our projected enrollment for 2010-11 is 10,610 students.

We have 1,047 employees (524 certificated, 44 administrators/managers, and 479 classified).

Our total budget is just over $68 million (reduction of $808.00 per student from 2007; 808 x 10,610 = $8,572,880 revenue loss).

We are the largest employer in the city; we have a $48.6 million payroll.

We served 661,000 meals last year.

We transported students over 564,000 miles last year.

We own $500 million worth of assets/facilities.

Currently, we have 16 schools in the district: 11 elementary, 2 middle, and 3 high schools, in addition to one K-12 independent/home study program.

We have one additional elementary school and a third middle school to build. In addition, we opened our new Maintenance and Food Services facilities in October 2009 and completed the modernization of our Transportation Yard as of November 2010.

  At build-out we will have approximately 12,500 students housed in 12 elementary schools,

3 middle schools, 2 comprehensive high schools, and 1 Alternative Education Center (Victory High School and the Rocklin Independent Study Program).

We enjoy tremendous support from our community as evidenced by the passage of three separate General Obligation (G.O.) Bonds, the establishment of three Mello-Roos Districts, and over $150,000 raised by school site Parent-Teacher Clubs annually. We are involved in a variety of business partnerships through our local Chamber of Commerce.

The Rocklin Educational Excellence Foundation (REEF) has been established as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization to support the outstanding programs throughout the district.

We are proud of our unique relationship where we collaborate and work in unison with our

local city council and city staff (e.g., joint use agreement, pools, parks, gym, daycare, pre-school).

We have a dedicated and committed Board of Trustees that is active in developing the district’s Strategic Priorities, setting policies, and ensuring accountability.

Our Programs for Students

Instrumental Music (band and orchestra) is offered in Grades 5-12.

First through sixth grade students regularly participate in our Visual and Performing Arts (VAPA) Program taught by credentialed teachers.

First through sixth grade students receive Physical Education instruction

from credentialed teachers.

International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme (Sierra Elementary).

Unique learning clusters called “Academies” in Grades 7-8 at both Spring View and Granite Oaks Middle Schools.

Our high schools offer extensive career-focused education in culinary arts, forensic science, computer aided drafting, television broadcasting (Channel 18), construction technology, digital photography, animation, web design, journalism, and theater production.

All high schools are fully accredited by the Western Association of Colleges (WASC).

Eighteen Advanced Placement (AP) courses are offered for students to earn college credits prior to graduating. Of the 1,284 AP tests taken, 73% of our students earned a score of three or higher, enabling them to receive automatic college credit.

Service Learning - students in grades K-12 apply their classroom knowledge in real world applications throughout the community and district.

Both comprehensive high schools utilize a prescribed period of time (30 minutes) during the school day to provide academic support for students who are not meeting the expected learning results in the core subjects. (Rocklin High School calls it Plus Period, and MASH and Whitney High School calls it Intervention Period.) There are similar programs offered during the school day and after-school in our elementary and middle schools.

The Whitney High School Air Force Jr. ROTC Cadet Drill Team has won --- for 2 consecutive years -- the NORCAL Overall Sweepstakes 1st Place Drill Meet.

  We are leading the way in technology with “Smart Classrooms” (overhead LCD, surround sound, document camera, DVD, VHS, and a computer all connected to a receiver for multi- media instruction). Our teachers receive training to assist them with the use of technology.

Parents can remain actively involved and informed of their children’s progress through technological access to homework, progress, and grades.

Victory High School will be nominated to be recognized as a “Model Continuation High School” in Winter, 2011.

Our Many Successes

The District is the only K-12 district in the Sacramento region with all schools scoring over 856 on the Academic Performance Index (API).

 

Overall district API is 874. Rocklin High (65) and Whitney High (104) are ranked in the top 3.5% of all high schools in the state. (2009-10) (2,453 high schools in the state)

 

Rocklin and Whitney High Schools ranked in the top six high schools in the Sacramento region and were the top two high schools in Placer County.

(2008-09, 2009-10)

 

On average, 90% of our graduates go on to post secondary education (44% to 4-year institutions).

On average, 90% of our graduates go on to post secondary education (44% to 4-year institutions).

 

Seven Rocklin elementary schools have been recognized as California Distinguished Schools. They joined our two middle schools and both Rocklin High and Whitney High Schools, which also have received this distinction. A total of 11 schools out of 14 eligible schools have received this recognition.

Sierra Elementary School was authorized in 2010 as an International Baccalaureate (IB) World School; one of only three in Northern California.

 

Granite Oaks Middle School was recognized as a National Blue Ribbon School in 2008-09. It is the top performing middle school in Placer County.

 

Rocklin High School has been recognized as one of the top 400 high schools in the United States (US News & World Report).

 

Our 1,077 students in our Gifted and Talented Education (GATE) program have an average API score of 988 on a state API scale of 200-1,000.

Our special needs children, English Language Learners, and social-economically disadvantaged children have all exceeded NCLB proficient targets for the past three years.

 

A total of 97% of our sophomores passed the California High School Exit Exam (CAHSEE) on their first attempt. This was the highest pass rate in Placer County and among the highest in the state.

 

We are 1 of 52 districts in the state (over 1,000 districts) to be recognized as a “Model Arts District.”

Concluding Statistics and Beliefs

1. RUSD ranks 2nd in Northern California and 27th in the state based on our Academic Performance Index. (400 unified school districts)

2. We offer a wide array of learning opportunities including visual and performing arts, career technical education, and a rigorous college preparatory academic program.

3. Through community service, service learning, and responding to crisis around the globe, our students demonstrate patriotism, citizenship, concern for their fellow man, and responsibility.

4. We believe all children can achieve and that “Failure is Not an Option.”

5. We are a very good district that wants to be better.

6. Our goal is to have all students become:

self-directed learners constructive thinkers

effective communicators collaborative workers

quality producers/performers responsible citizens