Dear CNMT Community,

This is an amazing time of year, that little sliver of time between the CSTs and graduation. The weather is warm and thoughts have already turned to summer. We are all looking forward to time off to pursue interests, spend time with loved ones, and relax, possibly all at once.

Of course my first comment would be that we should all try to stay focused on getting as much out of these last three weeks as we possibly can. Let’s get in as much learning, as much grade improvement, as much credit recovery. Whatever we have put off or are tempted to slack off on, now is the time to make a last push and give our best effort, so that we can enjoy vacation knowing we have truly earned it. Continue reading →

CNMT boys holding it down at the RHS Prom.

Dear CNMT Community,

I am convinced that we rise to the level of our expectations. As a school, Roosevelt has begun to raise its collective expectations for our students, but there is still much ground to cover.

I am also convinced that as a large, complex organization, Roosevelt needs to have trust and leadership to improve. When I hear about a school that has turned around, the message is always the same. The whole school community got behind a common vision and worked to achieve it. They reset the expectations and rebuilt the school culture. This is always dependent on trust.

We must trust that our students want to be successful and that they are as brilliant as we think they are. We must believe that they can and will achieve at high levels if we truly expect that of them.

We must also trust that all teachers are sending the same message. Of course every teacher has their own style, and that is part of the beauty of the art of teaching, but a successful school must come together around a common philosophy and set of expectations.

Continue reading →

Dear CNMT Community,

This past week I had an opportunity to attend the Coalition for Community Schools National Forum in San Francisco. The California Endowment has made a 10-year investment in 14 communities across the state, including Boyle Heights, sponsoring a number of people to attend this conference.

Although I only went for two days because I didn’t want to miss too many days of school, I was able to attend four very informative workshops and see a few inspiring speakers as well.

I was especially impressed by the panelists from Oakland and San Francisco who talked about what they’re doing at their schools to support their students in these times of dwindling budgets. Continue reading →

Dear CNMT Community,

I am happy to be able to share some good news. The results of the March CAHSEE are in, and we have improved our passing rate for first-time test takers. We had 113 10th grade students take both math and English, and 58 of those passed both, which is 51.3%.

Using the same parameters with last year’s results, we had 107 students take both math and English for the first time, and 44 passed. This was 41.1%.

In other words, we had a 10% improvement in our overall passing rate for first-time test takers.

Although we have a long way to go, it is great to see some improvement this year. I do think that our efforts are paying off, and I am confident that we will continue to see improvement as we develop our focus on preparing students to pass and earn proficient on the CAHSEE the first time.

Continue reading →