CNMT Weekly Update – 4/16/12

Dear CNMT Community,

We are fast approaching testing season. The month of May brings us STAR testing (CST, CMA, and CAPA), AP testing, and the May CAHSEE makeup for graduating seniors who still need to pass the exam. It’s your chance to “show what you know.”

Allow me to take this opportunity to review how we did last year and to remind the community of our collective and personal goals for this year. As a school we are shooting for more students at proficient and advanced and few students at below basic and far below basic. Individual students should be aiming to improve by at least one performance band.

Let’s start with English Language Arts. Last year, we had 17% proficient or advanced overall, which was a drop from 26% the year before when we were one Roosevelt High School. This year, our goal is to increase the percentage of performance and advanced by 5% to 22%.

In math, last year we had 3% proficient or advanced, which was a drop from 6% as Roosevelt the year before. This year, our goal is to increase by 4% to 7% proficient or advanced.

The science CST counts for 23% of our API, which is quite significant. Last year we had 5.3% P or A in biology, 6.3% in chemistry and 3.5% in integrated science.

We should plan to improve by at least 4% on each of those tests.

The final subject area that is tested on the CST is history. Last year in World History we only had 4.5% of our students are proficient or advanced. U.S. History was just over 10%. I know that our history teachers are excellent and work hard to prepare their students, and I have every expectation that those results will improve by at least 5% this year.

Also in May, we have AP testing, which starts the second week of the month. Ms. Gilmore is coordinating those tests. Students who pass an AP test with a 3, 4 or 5 can earn college credit for the class. We definitely hope that more students will be able to reach this level. I know they have been preparing all year for the tests.

This week CNMT teachers will be meeting on Tuesday for our professional development, and we will be discussing the CSTs and how we can prepare students for them.

The most important thing at this point is that students take the test seriously and do their best. They can get a little tiring after a while, but it really is important for our school that we show improvement, and I encourage all students to do their part.

Educator of the Week:

This week I would like to recognize and congratulate Mr. Casas. Finally, after the month of waiting, our Perkins Grant has been fulfilled. This week Mr. Casas now has a new computer lab with 31 27″ iMacs for his students. He also has the latest version of the Adobe Master Collection, which is something that all of our classes can benefit from.

Mr. Casas teaches four periods of Exploring Computer Science and two periods of Digital Computer Technology 2. He has been one of the pioneers of the Exploring Computer Science program, which is a collaboration of UCLA with different schools in LAUSD. The course was designed to excite students about computer science and to prepare them for college.

UCLA researchers found that Latinos and African Americans are very underrepresented in the field of computer science, and part of this is because they do not have opportunities to study the field in school. Mr. Casas prepares the students through a number of different modules that make computer science engaging and relatable.

Next year I am excited that we will be working with UCLA to start an advanced course, because so many of our middle school students are getting exposure to some of the same material, such as robotics, in middle school. We want to be able to take it to the next level when they get to us in CNMT, and I am grateful that Mr. Casas is willing to take on this challenge.

Upcoming Events:

Monday, April 16