[BHS Etree] ADMIN: BHS Principal's Winter Letter

[BHS etree]

Note from the etree:  please see a message from Principal Scuderi below.
 (For etree *digest* subscribers, you may access the full message, complete
with photos of teachers and tabular information, at the top of the BHS
website home page at http://bhs.berkeleyschools.net/)

Dear BHS Families:

The school year is moving along quickly and when the rare pause emerges I
am deeply thankful for the collective talent and energy of our students and
staff. I am also thankful for the enduring and essential contributions of
our parents and our community. Our school is uncommon in its breadth of
interests and range of talents and for its mirroring of the complex blend
of culture, background, and experiences that are increasingly the hallmarks
of both our local and global communities. Berkeley High School continues to
be a tremendous place to work and learn.

It has been a challenging month to remain optimistic as brutal events from
Newtown, Connecticut to Damascus, Syria have claimed the lives of school
children. As educators, we grieve these events and we relate them to the
pain they surface for many kids at our school, and within neighboring
communities, that have been impacted by young life passing violently and
prematurely.

However, conceding our thoughts exclusively to tragedy would not be the
healthiest thing for our kids or for us as a school community. So we once
again look to our kids, our wonderfully creative and dynamic students, who
reinvigorate our sense of optimism and renew our belief that something
better is always possible.  We regain heart by recognizing their potential
to create a world less likely to produce the sadness we have seen of late,
and that affirms our obligation to invest ourselves in them each and every
day.

Earning the right to call ourselves a great school will require a
continuous determination and commitment to see that all students,
regardless of who they are and how they come to us, leave us better
prepared to meet the next set of life's challenges. Our commitment must
also include the development of the curiosity, character, and
conscientiousness that will prime them not only for personal success, but
for productive and compassionate citizenship as well. This is a charge we
share as a school and a community.

Acknowledging the weight of recent news as well as the pace and
distractions this season always brings about, I pass on some news and views
from Berkeley High School and wish you and yours a relaxing holiday.

Respectfully,

Pasquale Scuderi
Principal
Berkeley High School


*Teaching and Learning*

This year we continue our development of common formative assessments
and assessment techniques and, most importantly, linking the results of
those assessments and techniques to our instruction and lesson design. This
assessment focus in our work constitutes not a focus on creating more
testing, but rather the further refinement of a *way of working *that helps
us analyze and communicate student growth and progress toward established
outcomes and standards. It shifts our focus to what is being *learned* rather
than what is being *taught, *and helps us be more informed and targeted in
terms of what to teach, how to teach or reteach, or what areas to
accelerate based on student performance. Newly adopted common core
standards and a push for increasingly coherent outcomes and skills across
our school reminds us of author and educator Paul Bambrick-Santoyo's
observation
that a standard has little if any value until you determine how progress
toward it or mastery of it will be assessed.

On the formal side we developed and administered teacher-generated, common,
formative pre-assessments in 15 academic subjects this year to students in
all learning communities and will give those students post-assessments in
the spring to look at growth or challenges with regard to specific skills
and content. Developing these types of formal assessments, which include
essays, exams, presentations, and projects, as well as informal assessments
like teacher techniques to check for understanding in class or questioning
techniques, help us pursue what scholar Rick Stiggins calls, "a balance
between assessments *of *learning and classroom assessments *for* learning."


We appreciate deeply the work that led to an increase in our Academic
Performance Index (API) last year. This measure, calculated in large part
by performance on current state tests, did rise from 715 to 734 between
11-12 and 12-13, and we appreciate the hard work of the administrators,
students, and teachers who made this happen. However, our school has
admittedly struggled with getting students to take these state exams
seriously, and while we will continue to encourage and support
participation in these tests, we are also certain that our work of
generating standards-based in-house assessments, along with the continued
development of project and performance-based assessments, will result in a
smarter and more nuanced expansion of how we measure and assess student
growth relative to the multiple valid ways that students convey or express
their intelligence, talent, and creativity.

Elsewhere we are focused on the continued development of academic language
for all students, while accelerating gains in this area for
African-American, Latino, and English Learners. We broadly define academic
language as the academic writing, oral language, and reading skills that
will boost students' abilities to engage in the myriad communication tasks
required of college, career, and active citizenship. Emerging as a critical
academic need from our accreditation process' recent self-study, our focus
in this area thus far has seen nearly 80 teachers receive additional
training in the teaching of explicit academic language skills. Ultimately
these efforts, in combination with the newly adopted Common Core State
Standards, which outline literacy standards for science, social studies,
and a variety of technical subjects, will bring our school-wide practices
around academic or collegiate literacy in line with what author Mike
Schmoker advocates for, a program where kids are engaged in "far more
purposeful reading and writing in every discipline."

I stand by the curricular benefits of these focus areas, yet I also
recognize that this is not the sum of our work. Organizationally we can
work to create and support systems and procedures that focus on outcomes,
but we are equally dependent on relationships, the working relationships
between students and teachers in particular, to make the path to those
outcomes vibrant, memorable, and instructive.

Sarah Green, a blogger and podcast host recently summarized the importance
and power of leading students to not only be successful on school-related
tasks, but to also lead them to appreciate and enjoy the *process* of
learning.  She writes, "A student who has learned to love the process of
learning will never be redundant, her labor never commoditized. It's the
one skill that will serve us best in an economy that is uncertain, a world
that is volatile, and a future that is anything but predictable." With
cultural, economic, and technological currents shifting more rapidly than
at any time in history it is difficult to predict precisely what our kids
will need in both the near and distant futures, yet if we instill in them a
genuine affinity for the process of learning itself, we may well have
prepared them to adapt to any situation and acquire whatever skills they
need to be successful in a variety of possible futures.

The work of defining outcomes and objectives, using common assessment
tools, ensuring the deepening of academic language skills, and employing
research-based instructional strategies is hardly at odds with an
imaginative teaching culture that fosters a love for learning and a deep
appreciation for creativity and reflection. As educators we are *most*
effective
when we combine these technical and relational aspects of our work, when we
combine coherent curriculum and common assessments with highly innovative
and personally engaging teachers and creative lesson design. The
intersection of these two dimensions of education is where I truly believe
that the best preparation for productive and passionate futures for our
kids resides. It is a challenging balance to strike, but one well within
our reach as a staff and as a community, and so the work continues.


*Teacher Spotlight*
BHS is extremely proud of Ms. Tamara Friedman of the English Language
Learners and World Language Departments as well as Mr. Bill Pratt of
Communication Arts and Sciences (CAS) for completing National Board
Certification. The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards gives
National Board Certification to teachers who meet rigorous standards
throughout a challenging and completely voluntary assessment process. Ms.
Friedman and Mr. Pratt are to be commended for their work and their
continued development of their craft should serve as a model for students
and colleagues alike.

*
*
*Emergency Preparedness*
A little over a month ago, on November 9, a day that students had off and
staff was assigned professional development time, our Dean of Students,
Ardarius McDonald, worked with members of the Berkeley Fire Department, and
parent members of the safety committee to organize disaster training
sessions for BHS Staff.

In the event of a large-scale, city-wide or county-wide disaster, Berkeley
High School could potentially be left to fend for itself and its students
for an extended period of time, and while this is never a scenario one
likes to imagine, it is critical that staff continue to develop some basic
capacity and basic competency in the areas of first-aid, light search and
rescue, and fire suppression.

While there is much work to do, the trainings we received will become part
of our annual professional development scheme. Following our participation
in the Great California Shake Out in October, we also continue to develop
and refine plans for student/parent reunification and communication in the
wake of a major emergency.

[image: Inline image 1]
*Under the supervision of the Berkeley Fire Department, AHA science teacher
Devon Brewer practices fire suppression during emergency response training
for the staff at Berkeley High School.*

*Campus Safety and Culture*

Our On Campus Intervention Staff (OCI), safety officers, intervention team,
attendance staff, counselors, campus monitors, teachers, and administrators
have all in various ways made contributions to what we believe are
significant improvements in campus culture this year as measured by
year-to-year reductions in the number of suspensions and incidents we have
logged.

"Total Incidents" which we define as disciplinary referrals, suspensions,
or any other walk-in issues to OCI, totalled 939 from the beginning of
school through winter break in 2011-2012 while for the same period of time
this year, 2012-2013, we have logged 610 incidents. This means total
incidents have dropped 35% from where they were last year at this time.

Suspensions, those incidents generally pertaining to more serious issues
like physical altercations, alcohol or substance issues, or
vandalism, totaled 165 from the beginning of school through winter break in
2011-2012, while for the same period of time this year we have logged 104.
This means suspensions have dropped by almost 37% from where they were last
year at this time.

We see this in no way as a reason to become complacent, but the trend is
encouraging. Reducing referrals and suspensions thoughtfully and without
compromising or altering our expectations for students means that school
culture improves in some aspects and elsewhere translates to more students
who need to be in class actually being in class.

*Holiday Meal*
We are very proud of all the kids in student leadership who, under the
supervision of Activities Director, John Villavicencio, served nearly 300
meals to folks who were hungry and in need last Saturday. The student
efforts in organizing and executing the event combined with parents who
were extremely generous with time and donations made for positive and
community-minded holiday event.

[image: Inline image 1]
*Amelia Archer, **Jawharrah** Cabral, and Marina Rosenberg were among the
many student leaders at the helm of the annual Holiday Meal. *


*Attendance*
In attendance, this year BHS has continued with our push to decrease
unexcused absences, and we've also incorporated a focus on tardies. So far
the numbers are encouraging.  For example, in period four we've seen a
slight decrease in students arriving late, as well as unexcused absences.
 Historically, period four has been our toughest period for attendance
because it comes directly after lunch.  Chart below shows the percentage of
BHS students arriving late or missing fourth period:

*Two-year Comparison of Tardies and Unexcused Absences in BHS’ period 4.*





*Aug** 30 – Dec 16*

*2011/12*

*Aug** 29 – Dec 16*

*2012/13*

*percentage point*

*improvement*

*unexcused *

*tardies*

* *

1.9%

1.7%

*0.2*

*unexcused absences*



1.8%

1.4%

*0.4*

This is an enduring challenge for us with so many of our students eating
lunch off campus so please take a moment and remind students that it is
critical to be on time for every class period every day.

*True Student-Athletes*
The North Coast Section (NCS) acknowledges student athletes with Scholastic
Championship Team Awards which are awarded to teams whose team Grade Point
Averages are commendable.

Congratulations to our Girls Cross Country team (team GPA 3.69) and our
Girls Tennis Team (team GPA 3.81). We are very proud of their efforts
inside the classroom and out.

*Semester 1 Finals*
Hard to imagine that soon after our return from winter break we will be
headed toward the end of the first semester. Below is the calendar for the
week of finals. January 21 is a school holiday to recognize Dr. King's
Birthday, and Tuesday, January 22 will be a regular schedule, while the
schedule for the remainder of the week is provided below.

  *January 23rd *

* *

*Time*

*Minutes*

Period 1

8:30-10:30

120

Period 2

10:40-12:40

120

Lunch

12:40 -1:20

40

Finals Prep

1:26-2:47

81







*January 24th*

* *

*Time*

*Minutes*

Period 3

8:30-10:30

120

Period 4

10:40-12:40

120

Lunch

12:40 -1:20

40

Finals Prep

1:26-2:47

81

*January 25**th*

* *

*Time *

*Minutes*

Period 5

8:30-10:30

120

Period 6

10:40-12:40

120















*
*
*Counseling and College and Career News*
On January 23rd BHS will host "Cash for College," a financial aid workshop
where seniors and their families receive hands-on support with completing
financial aid applications.

If you are planning on applying for financial aid, you should sign up for a
PIN# at www.fafsa.ed.gov  Counseling staff strongly recommends submitting
your FAFSA as soon after January 1 as possible!

*Parent Resource Center*
Save the date. On February 13, the BHS Parent Resource Center is sponsoring
and organizing a workshop called Phoenix Rising, this workshop will focus
on implementing positive solutions to eliminate disparities and inequities
for African-American students in the educational setting. Time and details
will be forthcoming.

*Registrar News *
Seniors planning on completing their studies by the end of fall semester
need to file a "Petition for Early Graduation" with the Registrar's Office.
This also applies to Juniors looking to graduate in June of 2013. Forms are
located in the Registrar's Office which is located in the main office
building.

*Library *
The Library staff asked me to pass along thanks to all the donations that
came to the BHS library through Mrs. Dalloway's Bookstore!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!
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