WASC loved our school, other important topics

[prin...@sethigh.org]

Dear Students, Parents, and Guardians,

• WASC loved our school!
• No-Tech Challenge tomorrow (Fri)
• WASC concerned about attendance
• CAASPP testing for Juniors (5/9)
• Minimum Day (5/4) -- out at 1:25 PM
• Prom (5/4)
• No school on 5/5
• Senior Camping Trip (5/17)
• Spring Soiree (5/18)

WASC loved our school!

We just had WASC (our accrediting organization) visit our school for 4 full days (starting on Sunday), and they absolutely loved SET.  They had complete access to our financials, all staff, our board, students, our curriculum, and our classrooms, and while we don't have the final official report yet, the draft report is glowing.  In the presentation that they did to our students before they left, they indicated on multiple occasions that the positive culture at our school is rare to find in any other school.  At one point when talking about the acceptance that permeates our school, WASC said that they had never seen this level of acceptance in any school.  I am so proud of our staff for not only doing the incredible amount of work required to lead up to this visit and doing it with such high fidelity, but also for putting in the work every day to mold our school into the gem that it is today.  I am also proud of our students for being so kind and warm to each other (and to the WASC visiting committee!).  I am so grateful to be a part of this school.

Just about every aspect of our school received the highest score possible (highly effective) and a lot of this is thanks to the entire community.  Our governing board is amazing (highly effective!), our parents and the community involvement are amazing (highly effective!), and the whole staff got rave reviews for consistently caring about the whole student, maintaining high expectations, delivering rigorous content, and collaborating so well with one another (highly effective!).  Most importantly, WASC saw a lot of happy students, and that makes me so happy.

There are some things that we need to work on, of course.  Most were identified by us in our self-study, but some additional ones were noted by the WASC team.  We will begin immediately to work on these new challenges that WASC set for us and we will continue to always strive to be better tomorrow than we are today.  I promise that we will never be satisfied with where we are, and we will never be complacent.  It's just in our DNA.  In case you are curious, the following are the highlights of what we will be working on followed by the highlights of our strengths.

The areas of Schoolwide Areas of Continuous Improvement identified by WASC:

1. School leadership design and implement formal and informal teacher observation and evaluation policies and procedures to assess teacher effectiveness for student learning.
2. School staff draw from multiple sources of data to design PD and measure impact of PD on student performance data and mental health needs.
3. School continue to build capacity of school programming, the school counselor, community partnerships, and engaging alumni to facilitate and improve transitions to college, career, and other post-secondary options.
4. Staff design standardized SET frameworks for developing pacing plans to ensure all departments have a consistent approach to delivering and assessing student achievement of common core state standards.
5. Staff design formalized approaches for all departments to continuously assess data to implement responsive approaches and interventions that support student achievement.
6. Staff build a shared language and schoolwide approach to promote high expectations for active student participation and attendance in all classes.

Note that we are already starting work on item 6 tomorrow.  See the No Tech Challenge and WASC concerned about attendance sections of this email.

The areas of Schoolwide Strengths identified by WASC:

1. Stakeholder knowledge and collaboration on school vision, mission, SLOs, and governance to promote a consistent SET approach to cultivating student learning and achievement.
2. Relevant and culturally diverse curricular and instructional approaches engage most students to pursue various academic interests.
3. Student-centered and personalized learning approach for SLOs that promote academic pathways that are aligned with students’ passions.
4. Design of school building classroom assignments, bell schedules, and course offerings provide all students with various academic and social supports to meet student needs.
5. Student, parent, and community members have a strong sense of belonging and participate in various activities to build a healthy and positive school culture.
6. School leadership supports teacher autonomy to design courses and projects that have real-world applications and extend student learning of classroom objectives.

No-Tech Challenge tomorrow (Fri)

In direct response to one of the concerns addressed by WASC, we are going to have a No-Tech Challenge tomorrow to help all of us (staff included!) try to wean ourselves off of our devices.  We adults have a hard enough time putting away our phones so you can only imagine what every school is dealing with when there is the ever-present excitement of a game, a text message, or a social media post just a swipe away in our students' pockets.  We as teachers at SET are frustrated by it, and WASC noted it, so it is time for us all to work on being more present with those who are next to us and the world around us.

Our challenge will come with a reward, so if your student is a little less responsive tomorrow, it's because they might be trying to win an ice cream by staying off devices during class or the even bigger reward for completely staying off devices during the entire school day (8:30 to 3:30).  Note that since this is last minute, some of the teachers will need the students to use computers in some classes, so in those cases we will be looking for Appropriate Technology Usage.

Join us in the challenge and let us know if you succeed.  There might be some leftover ice cream for you when you pick up your student at 3:30!

WASC concerned about attendance

The other WASC concern that we want to try to address right away has to do with attendance.  We cannot effectively teach students if they are not present.  You may have noticed that we are back to enforcing the 10-day-max-absence policy in classes that we let slip during the COVID-19 crisis.  We have already been getting push-back from students and parents about this requirement, and WASC was actually concerned that 10 days was too lenient considering the accelerated nature of our classes.  Since we offer 10 virtual days per school year (which do not count as an absence), there is no reason for students to be coming even close to the 10 day absence mark.  I am a SET parent myself, and I have been closely monitoring the absences of my own daughter to make sure that we were being reasonable with our expectations.  Even with a COVID-19 isolation, several other illnesses, and an unexpected trip out of town, she still has 100% attendance thanks to the virtual days.  There are always extreme exceptions and we will continue to be as accommodating as we can with these, but everyone should have 100% attendance as a goal.  Absences in our accelerated environment not only make it difficult for your own child to learn, but also impact the education of all of the other students in the classroom.  Your students voice in Socratic Seminars and class discussions is vital to everyone's learning, and it is difficult to make progress on projects when a key member is not present.

Please do your part to help us make the school even better by ensuring that you report absences on Core Competency so that virtual attendance is an option for you student, and by helping your student get to school every day when they do not have a contagious illness.  If you are curious what your student's attendance rate is, you can see it on the Core Competency dashboard.  The overall attendance rate for the school and for each grade is also displayed.  Please don't get excited if you beat our overall attendance rate.  That number is not good!  100% is what you're looking for!

CAASPP testing for Juniors (5/9)

The standardized tests that our 11th graders take are super important for the health of our school.  WASC just analyzed our test results, future parents use test results to decide whether to send their students to SET, and our Charter Authorizers use the test data (almost exclusively) to decide whether our school gets to stay open.  Even with an amazing WASC report, poor test scores over the next 5 years will lead to the closing of SET.  I cannot emphasize enough how important these scores are to the health of our school.  We are now in year 3 of a seven year renewal cycle and the only reason that we were allowed to stay open 3 years ago when we were up for renewal is because of the hard work of the 11th graders back in 2019.  11th graders, please pay it forward to the future students of SET by getting a good night's sleep and trying your best on May 9th!  The following is the mandatory notification email that we need to give to you:

Dear Parent/Guardian:

There are many ways to measure your child’s learning. Your child’s teacher uses report card grades, classroom work, teacher observations, and end-of-year statewide test results to get a complete picture of your child’s learning. Students participate in the California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (CAASPP) each year. Your child will take the following tests, depending on their grade level or instructional program:

• • Smarter Balanced Summative Assessments for English language arts and math, required tests in grade 11 (May 9-10, 2023)

SET High School administers the summative assessments in person and on campus. All students must be in attendance. 

For more information on remote administration, visit http://caaspp.org/resources/parent-resources/  

You are an essential part of your child’s education. To make sure your child feels comfortable taking tests, you can:

• • Explain to your child that these tests are tools to help them learn, and they should not be anxious or scared.
  • Explore the practice tests with your child at caaspp.org/practice-and-training/index.html so they can become familiar with the platform and setup of the tests.
  • Remind your child that you and their teachers want them to try their best and are there to help every step of the way.

You will receive your child’s results at or before the beginning of the next school year. The results will identify where your child is doing well or needs more help, so you can better support their learning at home, and teachers can better support their learning in the classroom.

To learn more about these tests, visit the Starting Smarter web page at http://ca.startingsmarter.org/, or review the Parent Guides to Understanding at http://cde.ca.gov/ta/tg/ca/parentguidetounderstand.asp 

If you have questions, please contact Chelsea Burge/ Jessica Romero at chelse...@sethigh.org / jessica...@sethigh.org .

Sincerely,

The Testing Coordinating Team 

Senior Camping Trip (5/17)

The annual Senior Camping Trip will be on May 17th this year.  A few staff members and I take the Seniors camping to South Carlsbad State Beach.  It's always a lot of fun and usually one of the most memorable student experiences from SET.  In addition to the camping and beach play, many of our Seniors choose to do their Senior ROK (Reflection of Knowledge) presentation around the camp fire.  Some of my best memories from my years at SET are of being a witness to these honest and heartfelt reflections of youth.  Seniors and Senior parents, we will get you permission slips soon.  There is no cost for the trip.

Spring Soiree (5/18)

This is a reminder about the Spring Soiree for parents.  In addition to it being a very important fundraiser event for our SET PA (and by extension SET High), it also promises to be a great night out.  The students shouldn't be the only ones to get to enjoy a prom.  Come relive your prom with the SET community!

Here is a note from the SET PA:

I hope this email finds you well. As you may already know, our school will be holding a fundraising event at Ballast Point Miramar on May 18th at 6:30 pm.  All proceeds raised at this event will support various programs and initiatives that benefit all our students. We would be grateful for your support.  I wanted to remind you that if you purchase tickets prior to April 30th, you will receive 5 free raffle tickets. Shockingly April 30th is this Sunday!! Click this link to buy your tickets now!

https://www.socalmakersmarket.com/setspringsoiree/ 

I understand that everyone has their own priorities and commitments, and I wanted to emphasize how much this fundraiser means to our school community. Your attendance would not only contribute to a great cause but also allow you to have a fun evening filled with music, food, and socializing with other parents and teachers from our school. So please consider purchasing a ticket before it's too late. We appreciate your support and hope to see you at the event!

 

Thanks everyone!

Dr. McCurdy