September 9, 2005

HIGH SCHOOL SCENE

Register by Sept. 16

ESUHSD Parent Empowerment Conference Oct. 1

The fifth annual Parent Empowerment Conference and Resource Fair will be held Saturday, Oct. 1, at Oak Grove High School, located at 285 Blossom Hill Road.

Sponsored by East Side Union High School District, the conference intends to empower parents with tools and resources to better support their children in the improvement of their education.

Research has shown, conclusively, that parent involvement in their children’s education improves student achievement.

Participants will have the opportunity to attend a number of workshops and peruse a resource fair covering scholarship information, graduation requirements, magnet and academy school programs, college/careers, special education, academic supplemental support and tutoring, college education systems, self esteem for parents and kids, communication and discipline, parents in healthy families, outreach programs and more.

Kicking off the event is keynote speaker Leon Beauchman, president of the Santa Clara County Board of Education, who oversees 1,600 employees, 250,000 students and a budget of more than $200 million.

He is also the president of the Santa Clara County Alliance of Black Educators. As an advocate of quality education for all students, he has worked with other community leaders to develop a “covenant” between the East Side Union High School District and the African-American community.

Beauchman is employed by SBC, where he serves as area manager of External Affairs for Santa Clara County. In this capacity he supports numerous education and community organizations.

The deadline to register for the conference is Friday, Sept. 16. Lunch will be provided, and many of the workshops will be available in English, Spanish and Vietnamese. For more information and to register, go to the district’s Web site, www.esuhsd.org.

EVHS seeks nominations for school site council

Election at Back-to-School Night Sept. 20

Concerned about the challenges facing Evergreen Valley High School and the entire East Side Union High School District in general? Here’s your opportunity to become a part of the solution.

EVHS is seeking nominations for members interested in serving on the school site council for the 2005-06 school year.

The site council is a state-mandated committee made up of parents, staff and students. There are four seats open for parent and community members for this term, as well as two alternate positions. 

The term of office, for the parent/community members, is two years with four of the eight parent members elected every year. Alternates serve a term of one year.

The election for the parent and community members will take place on Tuesday evening, Sept. 20, during the Back-To-School Night event. Nominees are elected by the parents of the students attending the school.

If you are interested in being a member of the EVHS School Site Council, please submit your self-nomination at the following Web site: http://ev.ca.campusgrid.net/home/School+Site+Council/School+Site+Council+Elections+05-06.

East Side Adult Education offers Community Education Program

Reiki-Japanese Healing Art first EVHS offering

The East Side Community Education Program offers a variety of opportunities for recreation, creativity and personal and professional growth. 

Classes are offered during four sessions of six weeks each. This fall, Session I runs from Sept. 7 to Oct. 18 and Session II runs form Oct. 26 to Dec. 12. With locations throughout the East Side Union High School District of San Jose, the program offers convenient, affordable courses in an array of subjects from Hula to Business Accounting. 

Traditional categories of instruction include business and careers, computers, cooking, creative arts, dance, health and fitness, home and auto, languages, money management, music and performing arts, photography and sports.

Practical new classes added to the roster this fall include Canning, Wireless Network Configuration for Home or Office, Notary Public Exam Preparation Class, Building Your Notary Public Business and How to Improve Your Credit Rating to Buy a House.

Spanish for Educators, Arabic Level I and Japanese Level 1 are the new language classes offered this year.

To develop potential creative talents, you can explore new classes in Web Design-Creating a Family Website, Interior Design Without Fear, Beadazzled Level 1 and 2 and Creative Expressions on Paper, Crochet, Cross Stitch, Decorative Painting Garden Varieties, Drums and Percussion Level 1, Gifts from the Kitchen.

New health and wellness classes include Wedding Dances, Cardio Kickboxing, Horse Management and Care, Tahitian Dance and Reiki-Japanese Healing Art.

Reiki-Japanese Healing Art
Reiki (pronounced ray key) is an ancient natural healing modality that promotes complete wellness in the mind, body and spirit. It is simple to learn.

Evergreen resident Kathy Satterwhite offers this one-class introduction to the history, uses and benefits of this powerful healing method. Learn how Reiki can bring balance and stress reduction to your life.

Satterwhite will be teaching this class locally at Evergreen Valley High School on Sept. 20 and Silver Creek High School on Nov. 14 from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. She will also be offering this introduction at Piedmont Hills High School on Oct. 6 from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. and at Independence Adult Center on Nov. 15 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Community Education Program classes can range from one to six sessions, so it’s not to late to investigate the Session I offerings. For more information, go to http://aenet.esuhsd.org/.

High School Exit Exam results improve

The California High School Exit Exam, which was first introduced in 2003 under a hail of controversy, is administered to 10th-grade students each year. According to the latest data, an estimated 88 percent of the class of 2006 has passed the English-language arts portion of the test and an estimated 88 percent has passed the math portion of the test.

The class of 2006 is the first graduating class in the state required to pass the CAHSEE in order to receive a diploma.

The 2004-05 CAHSEE results look positive for the class of 2007. About three-fourths of participating 10th-graders passed each part of the test: 75 percent in English language arts and 74 percent in mathematics. These scores show students in the class of 2007 performing as well or better than the class of 2006.

The California High School Exit Exam is one of the cornerstones of California’s accountability system,” O’Connell said. “I knew that our students could rise to the challenge of higher expectations, and I am proud of the rate of student success thus far on the exam.”

The CAHSEE tests a student’s knowledge of California state content standards in English language arts and mathematics. High school students are given up to five additional opportunities to pass the exam, and are supported with state-provided study guides.

“We’re seeing solid improvement each year,” said Lynda Remley, testing and evaluation coordinator for East Side Union High School District.  “It’s a slow process, especially when some of our students enter high school with a second- to fourth-grade reading level.

“Moreover,” she continued, “there are approximately 56 different languages spoken by students in the district, and many of the Limited English Proficiency students lack the Cognitive Academic Linguistic Proficiency in their native language to transfer their learning to English.” 

She noted that 27.5 percent of the students in the district are considered Limited English Proficiency.