Anzar High School scored very well on a county achievement team
observation report from fall 2003.
At the Aromas-San Juan Unified School District Board meeting
Wednesday night, County Assistant Superintendent Susan Villa
presented the results of classroom observation of teachers. Villa
has observed numerous classes and gave Anzar good marks.
Anzar High School scored very well on a county achievement team observation report from fall 2003.
At the Aromas-San Juan Unified School District Board meeting Wednesday night, County Assistant Superintendent Susan Villa presented the results of classroom observation of teachers. Villa has observed numerous classes and gave Anzar good marks.
“I’ve been in 1,000 classrooms, a wide range of them. You do very well. Scores tend not to be as high as this,” Villa said as she went through a PowerPoint presentation of results.
The county achievement team from the County Office of Education focused on topics including student engagement, cognitive level, teacher activity, student activity, student responses and computer use. The team noticed that students were very engaged in the classroom, the learning environment was positive and that when students had a classwork problem, the teacher did not leave the student, which is “not a typical pattern” at other high schools, Villa said.
“This is not a typical high school. If I had a child (high school age), I’d put them in your high school,” she said.
The team also observed that too much student artwork was displayed, as opposed to math or writing.
Although the observations are not completely scientific, Villa said, the results can be used as discussion items.
“These results can be flawed because we’re taking all the classrooms and grouping them into one school,” she said. “But, it’s a great talking point. You get an idea about what’s going on in classrooms.”
The county achievement team visited Anzar in the fall. Teachers knew they were coming, but did not know when they would visit particular rooms or what items the team members were looking for, Villa said.
Also at the Board meeting, trustees and district staff discussed the 2004-05 school year calendar.
Trustee John Ferreira is not happy about student graduation on a Tuesday – June 14, 2005. Because of the proposed holidays, teacher workdays and teacher contract, there was no other choice. Trustees asked Superintendent Jackie Munoz to try and move some non-mandated holidays and teacher workdays around to see if school could end on a Friday to maximize family participation in graduation ceremonies.
Munoz also attached results of a calendar survey given to district staff and parents of district committees. Results show favor for keeping the three-day Thanksgiving recess, three-week winter break, Cesar Chavez Day as a holiday and the Monday after Easter a day off.
Students must be in school for 180 days and the teacher contract stipulates that they work 184 days. District staff also have to consider a decrease in Average Daily Attendance – thus, lower state revenue – on school days around holidays.
In other business:
– The Anzar High School cheer team performed a short routine to celebrate placing second at a regional competition and an invitation to the national competition in March. The team is raising funds for the trip – around $5,000.
– Munoz updated the Board on the district’s construction projects. Construction workers are gutting a cluster of classroom at San Juan School for renovations. In the process, a gas line was accidentally cut Monday, forcing the evacuation of the school in the rain. Students missed half a day of instruction. On Tuesday, the gas was not turned on until PG&E showed up, so classrooms had no heat for part of the day, reported Principal Joe Hudson. Construction will continue at the school for at least a year, Munoz said.
– There was no public comment.
– The Board approved nine interdistrict transfers out of the district and six to attend school in the district.
The next Board meeting is March 3 at San Juan School at 7 p.m.
