Friday FYI

A West Contra Costa Unified School District e-update for staff
September 14, 2001

The Roadmap to Success

This year WCCUSD has established five districtwide student achievement goals for 2005 - or "Five by 05" for short. Here they are:

1. 90% of 3^rd graders will read at grade level.

2. 90% of 9^th graders will pass Algebra.

3. 50% of students will pass the Language Arts and Math sections of the High School Exit Examination in 9^th grade; 100% will pass by 12^th grade.

4. The achievement gap in Reading will close with a 50% decrease of African American and Hispanic students scoring in the bottom quartile, and the percentage scoring in the 3^rd and 4^th quartile will double.

5. The achievement gap in Math will close with a 50% decrease of African American and Hispanic students scoring in the bottom quartile, and the percentage scoring in the 3^rd and 4^th quartile will double.

"Five by 05" is part of the colorful "WCCUSD Road Map to Success," which is available from the Curriculum and Accountability Office. Call Cathy Gambucci at 620-2073. Copies will also be available at the September 25 management meeting at the Alvarado campus.

Learning Village events: pass it on.

De Anza High School will hold a presentation called "Making High School Count" for its freshman class on Wednesday, September 19 at 10 a.m. The presentation will help students understand the importance of high school and what they need to do in order to have as many options as possible upon graduation.
KQED's Education Department offers its free Bay Area Mosaics workshop for teachers on Thursday, September 20 from 4 to 6 p.m. at the East Bay Center for the Performing Arts, 339 - 11^th Street in Richmond. Bay Area Mosaic offers films and lessons that reflect the Bay Area's many cultures. This month's film (in connection with Latino Heritage Month): "My American Girls: A Dominican Story." To register, call (415) 553-2293, or visit www.kqed.org/mosaic.
The 3^rd Annual College and Recruitment Fair takes place on Sunday, September 23, 2001 at Richmond High School from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. High school students with a 2.0 GPA and higher may be able to:
receive on the spot admission, scholarships, and financial aid assistance;
receive face to face contact with college admission representatives; and
gain exposure to 44 public and private universities.

Students should see their counselors, and bring copies of their transcripts and SAT or ACT scores. For more information call University Partnerships Coordinator Cathie Kosel at (510) 307-5375.

The Grand Opening of the new Century 16 Cinemas in Richmond on Thursday, September 27 is a benefit for Coronado Elementary School. A preview of a yet-to-be-named PG-13 film and party begins at 6:30 p.m. Tickets are $25; all proceeds go to Coronado School. Call: (510) 233-7800 for ticket purchase information.
Applications for The Ed. Fund mini-grants, school-wide grants, and the special education grant are now available at schools. You may also apply online at www.wccusd.k12.ca.us/edfund. Applications must be postmarked no later than Monday, October 1, 2001. For more information, call Mary Ann Gallagher at 233-1464.

BASRC selects additional schools for reform grants

The Bay Area School Reform Collaborative (BASRC) has awarded new school reform grants totaling $400,000 to three clusters of WCCUSD schools.

The clusters, called Local Collaboratives, consist of the following schools: Castro Elementary, Portola Middle School, El Cerrito High School (the West Contra Costa Collaborative); Dover and Downer elementary schools, Richmond High School (the Center for Educational Leadership); and North Campus High School (the North Campus Collaborative).

Youth Together unveils Richmond program for violence prevention

The "One Land, One People" (OLOP) initiative held a press conference on September 4 at the Kennedy High School cafeteria. The event kicked off a program that aims to empower and develop youth leaders, strengthen multicultural unity in the community, and promote systemic positive change for the welfare of West County young people. OLOP is a project of Youth Together, in partnership with WCCUSD, City of Richmond, Supervisor John Gioia, Opportunity West, Youth Service Bureau, the California Endowment, Levi Strauss Foundation, East Bay Community Foundation, and the National Campaign Against Youth Violence.

United States per pupil spending by state (estimate), 2000-01

1. $10,787 New Jersey

2. 10,252 District of Columbia

3. 10,135 Connecticut

4. 9,935 New York

5. 9,515 Rhode Island

6. 9,188 Massachusetts

7. 9,031 Alaska

8. 8,752 Delaware

9. 8,527 Vermont

10. 8,453 Minnesota

11. 8,363 Wisconsin

12. 8,321 Pennsylvania

13. 8,045 Michigan

14. 7,928 Wyoming

15. 7,773 Maryland

16. 7,754 Indiana

17. 7,660 North Dakota

18. 7,656 Maine

19. 7,565 West Virginia

20. 7,357 Oregon

21. 7,302 New Hampshire

22. 7,190 Illinois

7,079 UNITED STATES

23. 7,050 Nebraska

24. 6,829 Kentucky

25. 6,809 Ohio

26. 6,789 Kansas

27. 6,750 Virginia

28. 6,707 Iowa

29. 6,586 South Carolina

30. 6,496 Washington

31. 6,478 Georgia

32. 6,463 New Mexico

33. 6,391 Hawaii

34. 6,390 Montana

35. 6,384 Texas

36. 6,255 CALIFORNIA

37. 6,115 South Dakota

38. 6,085 Colorado

39. 6,028 North Carolina

40. 6,003 Missouri

41. 5,983 Louisiana

42. 5,982 Florida

43. 5,968 Alabama

44. 5,943 Oklahoma

45. 5,733 Tennessee

46. 5,632 Nevada

48. 5,283 Mississippi

49. 5,269 Arkansas

50. 4,968 Arizona

51. 4,372 Utah

Source: U.S. Dept. of Education, National Center for Education Statistics: "Early Estimates Of Public Elementary and

Secondary Education Statistics, 2000-01"

http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2001/quarterly/spring/q4_3.html

Do you have an item for our next Friday FYI that's related to one of our strategic priorities? E-mail it to: pehara@ wccusd.k12.ca.us. Of course, if you're on the district's GroupWise network, you can just send it to us that way.

Our strategic priorities are: 1) Student Achievement (attendance), 2) Safety (behavior), 3) Personnel Training and Professional Development, 4) Facilities, 5) Family and Community Partnerships, 6) Equity, and 7) Communication.

-Paul Ehara, managing editor