At this years St. HOPE Benefit Dinner, PS7 was featured as a school that is doing all the right things to ensure that all 3rd grade students are reading at grade level. Check out this video highlighting PS7′s efforts. The video was shot and produced by Sac High Students Akeallah Blair, Monea Stribling and Jada Broughton.

When: Tues. Dec. 13th, 2011 @ 5:30 PM with Q&A Starting @ 6:30 PM

Where: The Mel Lawson Theater at Sac High

Why: Take advantage of the opportunity to ask your board member questions and hear from him about how his position on St. HOPE

*As you may know, the SCUSD Board is no longer looking at Sac High and West Campus swapping or co-locating next year.

When asked by the Sacramento Bee about his position on Sac High, SCUSD Board Member Patrick Kennedy says the issue of how to best use the Sac High building is separate from whether or not Sacramento Charter High School is a good school. He notes that test scores have gone up at Sac High since it went charter, as have graduation rates and the number of students going on to college. Still, though Kennedy was not on the board at the time of the bitter fight over Sac High’s conversion, he says he would have opposed closing Sacramento High School and turning it over to St. Hope. Of course, Kennedy added, “Once the toothpaste is out of the tube, it’s real hard to get it back in.” Dec. 30th, 2010.

The results of the report show that charter schools are effectively accelerating the performance of African American public school students, and are earning higher Academic Performance Index (API) scores and proficiency rates statewide, in many urban districts and across all subjects when compared with traditional public schools. In addition, African American students are enrolling at higher rates in charter schools than traditional schools at all grade levels, in some cases at close to twice the rate, and are experiencing better outcomes.

“This report has unearthed a wealth of insight into the performance, needs, and possibilities for African American students,” said Jed Wallace, president and CEO of the California Charter Schools Association.”Chartering and Choice as an Achievement Gap-Closing Reform adds to this body of scholarly research, confirming what parents as well as charter teachers and leaders have always known, that African American students can achieve at high levels and deserve quality educational choices.”

“I applaud CCSA for investing in this much needed analysis! Documenting the positive impacts public charter schools have had on closing California’s achievement gap not only helps to dispel a variety of myths, but further empowers African American parents to become informed consumers of the educational options available to their children,” said Ursula Wright, interim president and CEO of the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools. “In many instances, public charter schools are providing pathways to academic success for African American students and these schools should be encouraged accordingly.”

Chartering and Choice as an Achievement Gap-Closing Reform examined performance and enrollment trends in both California charter public and traditional public schools from school years 2006-07 to 2009-10. All enrollment and performance data came from the publicly available Academic Performance Index (API) and the Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) files maintained by the California Department of Education (CDE).

The results show that California charter public schools have consistently earned higher African American API scores and proficiency rates statewide, in many urban districts, and across subjects. From 2007 to 2010, African American student API scores in California charters grew from an average of 678 to 713. This last year, the score was 19 points higherthan the average statewide African American API score for traditional schools.

Using CCSA’s own performance metric, the Similar Students Measure (SSM)¹ , charter public schools serving African American students were more than three times as likely as traditional public schools to consistently outperform their predicted performance in a single year and overtime.

Closing the achievement gap among African American students and their White and Asian peers remains a significant challenge in public education. Indeed, few schools have demonstrated that they are highly effective educators of African Americans; however, charters are much more likely to be in this group. While charters make up only 9% of schools statewide, they represent 39% of highly effective schools for African American students.

The report also includes three case studies of charter public schools serving a high percentage of African American students in three key cities to identify best practices. The schools were Watts Learning Center in Los Angeles, KIPP Bridge in Oakland, and PS7 in Sacramento. Common practices at the three schools included: a clear mission statement focused on academic achievement and developing students, a standards-based curriculum based on critical thinking skills, results-focused instructional practices, among others.

The case studies demonstrated that the best practices implemented by charter schools effectively educating African American students are readily available, having been well documented in scholarly literature.

“What this report shows is that African American students are experiencing better outcomes in charters, and that as laboratories of innovation, California’s highly effective charter public schools can demonstrate proven paths to success that should be replicated nationally,” said Dr. Aisha Toney, Director of Research, CCSA.

Charter schools are public schools that are tuition-free, have open enrollment, serve all students, and enjoy greater flexibility in exchange for higher accountability.

For more information visit www.calcharters.org/AfricanAmericanReport

October 6, 2011:
PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release

Contact: Vicky Waters, CCSA
(415) 505-7575
vwaters@calcharters.org

About the California Charter Schools Association

The California Charter Schools Association is the membership and professional organization serving 912 charter public schools and more than 365,000 students in the state of California. The Vision of the California Charter Schools Association is to usher in a new era in public education so all students attend independent, innovative, accountable schools of choice. The Mission of the California Charter Schools Association is to influence the legislative and policy environments, leverage collective advocacy, and provide resources to support our members in developing and operating high quality, charter schools reflective of California’s student population. For more information, please visit www.calcharters.org.

^{1 For more information on the SSM, visitwww.calcharters.org/advocacy/accountability/portraitofthemovement/index.html}

This year we will graduate our first alumni class from PS7.  PS7 alumni received several offers and many of our PS7 students also received full or partial academic scholarships. This is just a “snapshot” of what students have been offered thus far, check back to see the progress. There are still more offers coming in! Congratulations to our scholars!

PS7 College Acceptance Map

Basic Google Maps Placemarks error: JavaScript and/or CSS files aren't loaded. If you're using do_shortcode() you need to add a filter to your theme first. See the FAQ for details.

• Alabama A&M University

  

  4900 Meridian Street North, Normal, AL 35762

  
   
   

• Alabama State University

  

  915 S. Jackson St., Montgomery, AL 36104

  
   
   

• Alcorn State University

  

  1000 ASU Drive, Alcorn State Mississippi 39096

  
   
   

• Benedict College

  

  1600 Harden St., Columbia, SC

  
   
   

• Bennett College for Women

  

  900 East Washington St., Breensboro, NC, 27401

  
   
   

• Bethune-Cookman University

  

  640 Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune Boulevard, Daytona Beach, FL 32114

  
   
   

• Claflin University

  

  400 Magnolia St., Orangeburg, SC 29115

  
   
   

• Clark-Atlanta University

  

  223 James P. Brawley Dr., SW Atlanta, GA 30314

  
   
   

• Dillard University

  

  2601 Gentilly Boulevard, New Orleans, Louisiana, 70122

  
   
   

• Grambling State University

  

  403 Main St., Grambling, LA

  
   
   

• Hampton University

  

  100 East Queen St., Hampton, VA

  
   
   

• Huston-Tillotson College

  

  900 Chicon St., Austin, Texas, 78702

  
   
   

• Langston University

  

  4205 North Lincoln Blvd., Oklahoma City, OK, 73050

  
   
   

• Lincoln University

  

  1570 Baltimore Pike, Lincoln University, PA 19352

  
   
   

• Morgan State University

  

  1700 East Cold Spring Lane, Baltimore MD 21251

  
   
   

• North Carolina Central University

  

  1801 Fayetteville St., Durham, NC 27707

  
   
   

• Paine College

  

  1235 Fifteenth Street, Augusta, GA 30901

  
   
   

• Philander-Smith College

  

  900 Daisy Bates Dr., Little Rock, Arkansas 72202

  
   
   

• South Carolina State University

  

  300 College Street, Orangeburg, SC 29117

  
   
   

• Texas Southern University

  

  3100 Cleburne St., Houston, TX 77004

  
   
   

• Virginia State University

  

  1 Hayden Dr., Petersburg, VA 23806

  
   
   

• Wilberforce University

  

  1055 N. BICKETT RD. WILBERFORCE, OH 45384-1001

  
   
   

• Wiley College

  

  711 Wiley Avenue, Marshall, Texas 75670

  
   
   

• Xavier University

  

  1 Drexel Drive New Orleans, LA 70125

  
   
   

For the seventh consecutive year PS7 showed gains on the CST, both overall and relative to their peers.  PS7 students were the highest performing students in the Sacramento City Unified School District on ten of seventeen CSTs and they were the second, third or fourth highest performing on three additional exams.  This means that PS7 students had the highest percent of their grade level proficient or advanced in a particular subject when compared to all district schools on 59% of the 2-8 grade CSTs administered.  Furthermore, as shown at the bottom of the table below, when compared with students across the state, PS7 students are scoring 23 percentage points higher in ELA and 36 points higher in math.

PS7 CST Results, 2011*

*Table does not include results or rankings for PS7 results on the CSTs for science (5^th and 8^th grade) or History (8^th grade).

          SCUSD Average: ELA 49%, Math 49%            CA Average: ELA 54%, Math 50%

In addition to strong results on the CSTs, PS7 also remained steady with an API of 911.  This leaves PS7 with the fourth highest API in the school district for the second year in a row.  In regards to AYP PS7 met 13 out of 13 criteria and students continue to perform well above minimum targets set under the No Child Left Behind criteria.  Further analysis reflects that PS7 students continue to out-perform their peers across the state when compared to similar groups of students as the chart of API scores below demonstrates.

*all grades

PS7 students continue to prove that when provided a high quality, college-prep education, all students can rise to the challenge and the achievement gap can be closed.  In addition, PS7 is proving that students from traditionally underserved backgrounds can perform as well as or better than their more affluent peers given proper support, more time and the high expectations that all students will leave prepared to succeed in college.  “We set an ambitious goal at St. HOPE Public Schools to eventually see 100% of our students graduate from four-year university. These results are undeniable proof that, while we still have work to do, we are on a trajectory to achieve that goal,” says Jim Scheible, the recently named superintendent of St. HOPE.

St. HOPE’s results mark a contrast to the overall trend among California schools as the state works to close the achievement gap. Despite state reforms over the past decades, the gap between minority students and white students across California has narrowed slightly. PS7 has shown just the opposite and over the course of the last eight years has not just closed the achievement gap, but reversed it.  PS7, with a student population that is well over 90% African American and Latino, and has over 70% of students qualifying for free or reduced lunch, has shown a 273 point increase in its API since opening in the 2003-04 school year, compared to an average API increase in California of 86 points in that same period.  Based on last year’s results PS7 earned a 10/10 ranking by the state, the highest possible score.  A preliminary review of this year’s results suggests that this ranking will be maintained.

Other recent results for PS7:

-       Title 1 Academic Achievement Award for school years 08-09 and 09-10

-       California Distinguished School based on results for the 08-09 school year

-       Only school in Sacramento County nominated for a Blue Ribbon Award in 2010

-       Ranked a 10/10 school by the state for 09-10 results

-       Ranked the 8^th highest performing charter school in California by the USC School Performance Dashboard released in the Spring of 2011

# # # #
About St. HOPE Public Schools
St. HOPE (SHPS) Public Schools is a public charter school system that focuses on students from low-income and minority backgrounds, providing them with a high-quality, rigorous college preparatory education. PS7 (grades K-8) and Sacramento Charter High School (grades 9-12) provide personalized attention to their students, committing more time with an extended school day to achieve academic results. SHPS also operates Triumph Center for Early Childhood Education, a public preschool providing unique early childhood education to approximately 65 children. The three schools serve approximately 1,500 students.

Click here to download this Press Release as a PDF.

Where: The Serna Center, 5735 47 Ave. Sacramento, CA 95824

Currently, Oak Park has no stand-alone middle school.  Students attending one of the seven elementary schools zoned for Oak Park must travel outside of their community to attend one of four South Sacramento middle schools – all of which have been deemed academically low performing by the state of California.  Oak Park Prep is a proposed high performing, college prep charter middle school for the community of Oak Park.

 
SACRAMENTO, CA—August 18, 2011—St. HOPE Public Schools (SHPS) announces the hiring of Jim Scheible as Superintendent in addition to a new leadership team at PS7.  PS7 will use a co-principal model starting this year with Audria Johnson heading up the elementary campus for grades K-5 and Kristen Coates leading the middle school campus for grades 6-8.

 
Jim Scheible, who was born and raised in Curtis Park, took over as Superintendent June 9^th, 2011.  After graduating from U.C. San Diego with a degree in American History and Economics, Scheible joined Teach for America and taught elementary school in the Bronx. He returned to Sacramento in 2006, joining PS7 as a 6th grade teacher. The following year, he became the middle school’s lead teacher, a position he held for three years.  Jim was the principal of PS7 last year.

 
“Jim is an exceptional leader with a passion for academic excellence. His leadership is directly validated by the strong academic gains at PS7. His appointment to Superintendent will ensure that the academic growth and culture of excellence will remain on an upward trajectory for all St. HOPE Public Schools.” said outgoing superintendent, Ed Manansala, who will remain with St. HOPE in the position of Director of Strategic Partnerships.
“I’m excited to take the St. HOPE program to the next level and make a university degree a reality for 100% of our students.  Our results at all levels are indicating that we are on track to accomplish this goal and ensure that our students graduate from college ready to make a positive impact in their communities.” Jim Scheible stated when asked about his new role.

 
When asked about the new leaders at PS7, Jim Scheible remarked, “Both Audria Johnson and Kristen Coates have been with the PS7 families for several years.  They are instructional leaders who are fully prepared for their new roles and I am confident they will take our students to the new heights and levels of academic success.”

 
Audria Johnson is originally from Atlanta, Georgia.  She graduated from Oglethorpe University in Atlanta with a degree in Early Childhood Education in 2001.  Mrs. Johnson taught elementary school for five years in Atlanta before moving to Sacramento in 2006.  She joined the PS7 family that year as a first grade teacher, and held that position for four years.  In 2010, she earned her MA degree in Curriculum and Instruction from California State University Sacramento.  Last year, she held the lead teacher role for the elementary campus.  She is entering her sixth year with St. HOPE and this position marks her debut as a principal.

&npsb;
“It is truly a privilege and honor for me to serve the students, families, teachers and staff of PS7 in this capacity.  I am looking forward to continuing to build upon the success that PS7 has seen over the past 8 years,” said Mrs. Johnson.

 
Kristen Coates took on the position as PS7 Middle School Principal after serving as a Lead Teacher during the 2010-11 school year. Mrs. Coates has been with St. HOPE since 2008, serving as an instructional leader in the classroom and as a support to other teachers. In addition, she served as an instructional coach across multiple schools, literacy clinician, and reading specialist prior to joining St. HOPE. Coates is completing her doctorate degree at U.C. Davis, with an emphasis in Leadership and Policy.

 
“I’m excited to be taking on this new role. PS7 has been a wonderful community to become a part of the last few years. I’m looking forward to raising the bar at PS7 to ensure that students are both academically prepared and emerging as leaders among their peers,” stated Kristen Coates.
“Ultimately these transitions allow us to work more strategically with limited resources, further St. HOPE’s mission and increase our impact to ensure that all our students are college bound,” stated Superintendent Scheible as a summary of the recent staffing adjustments.

 
# # # #
About St. HOPE Public Schools:
St. HOPE Public Schools (SHPS) is a public charter management organization that focuses on serving students from Oak Park and South Sacramento with a majority of students coming from low-income and minority backgrounds.  St. HOPE provides all students with a high-quality, rigorous college preparatory education. PS7 (grades K-8) and Sacramento Charter High School (grades 9-12) provide personalized attention to their students and commit more time to learning with an extended school day.  In eight years the program has experienced remarkable academic results. SHPS also operates Triumph Center for Early Childhood Education, a public preschool providing unique early childhood education to approximately 65 children. The three schools serve approximately 1,500 students.  Visit www.sthopepublicschools.org for more information.

CONTACT: ED MANANSALA FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(916) 649-7900
emanansala@sthopepublicschools.org

Click here to download this Press Release as a PDF.

Google Apps Portal for SHPS:  http://www.google.com/a/sthopepublicschools.org

Powerschool Teacher’s Portal: https://sthope.powerschool.com/teachers

Email for Ticketing System: ithelpdesk@sthopepublicschools.org

The fifth annual “USC School Performance Dashboard” (formerly CSI-USC) was released Wednesday by the Center on Educational Governance at the USC Rossier School of Education.

“It’s a way to take the data collected for accountability purposes and transform it into information that will help parents, teachers and investors,” said lead author Priscilla Wohlstetter, director of the Center on Educational Governance.

“We were really struck by the diversity of the schools in the top 10,” Wohlstetter said. “There’s not one model of schooling that is dominant: they are large and small, urban and suburban, high schools and elementary schools.”

While most of the top 10 schools are stand-alone campuses, three are affiliated with a charter management organization – Aspire Public Schools.

The top charter schools were chosen based on academic ratings – including an index based on various state test scores – and school productivity indicators that rate a school’s academic success based on its per-student spending.

For a full copy of the report and an accompanying interactive database, go to school-performance.usc.edu.

The top 10 California charter school performers are (listed in order):

1. Heritage K-8 Charter School, Escondido (San Diego County)
2. Rocklin Academy, Rocklin (Placer County)
3. Temecula Valley Charter School, Winchester (Riverside County)
4. Aspire Vincent Shalvey Academy, Stockton (San Joaquin County)
5. Aspire River Oaks Charter School, Stockton (San Joaquin County)
6. Willow Creek Academy, Sausalito (Marin County)
7. Orange County High School of the Arts, Santa Ana (Orange County)
8. St. HOPE Public School 7, Sacramento (Sacramento County)
9. Aspire East Palo Alto Charter School, East Palo Alto (San Mateo County)
10. Wilder’s Preparatory Academy Charter, Inglewood (Los Angeles County)

Across the United States, the number of charter schools has continued to grow. In fall 2010, California – home to 807 charters, more than any other state – opened 90 new charter schools: an 8 percent growth.

At the same time, organizations that authorize charter school campuses have raised their standards, closing 160 charter schools nationally during the 2009-10 school year due to problems with finance, management or poor student performance.

“This kind of report can provide some early warning signs for schools that may not be as stable or healthy financially or academically as they need to be,” Wohlstetter said.

The report also includes snapshots comparing charter and non-charter public campuses during the 2009-10 school year. Among the most notable findings are:

- Charter schools have nearly twice as many black students (13.1 percent) than non-charter public schools (6.8 percent). Still, the majority of charter school staff members are white (65.7 percent), with only 5.4 percent of staffers who identify as black.

- Charter schools’ average enrollment (398 students) is smaller than that of non-charter public schools (610 students). Enrollment on charter campuses has increased from last year’s average of 382 students.

- St. HOPE Public School 7 was one of only 2 out of 800 charter schools to have a perfect score of 10 in each of the 6 academic results categories.

- Non-charter public schools have a higher student to computer ratio – 11.4 students per computer – than do charter schools (9.3 students per computer). Last year, charter schools had about seven students per computer.

Major funding for the “USC School Performance Dashboard 2011″ was provided by the Los Angeles-based Ahmanson Foundation, Ralph M. Parsons Foundation and the Weingart Foundation.

The Center on Educational Governance researches the linkages between policy, governance and the improvement of urban schools and systems. Its interdisciplinary approach offers policy solutions to the educational challenges posed by an increasingly global society.

Current Center on Educational Governance research includes education reform, school and district governance and public-private partnerships, improving the quality of school systems, increasing accountability, and spreading innovation across states, districts, and between traditional public and charter schools.

SOURCE USC Rossier School of Education