The first two weeks of school at Aromas School have gone better
than expected, but the school’s new principal knows there is still
a lot of work to do to improve falling test scores and increase
community involvement at the school.
After a scant three weeks on the job, new Principal Stephanie
Siddens said she has been too busy to be anxious about her new
job.
Aromas – The first two weeks of school at Aromas School have gone better than expected, but the school’s new principal knows there is still a lot of work to do to improve falling test scores and increase community involvement at the school.
After a scant three weeks on the job, new Principal Stephanie Siddens said she has been too busy to be anxious about her new job.
“I’ve never been busier in my entire life, but I feel good,” she said.
Siddens, a former second and third grade teacher at the Soquel School District in Santa Cruz County, was unfamiliar with the majority of the school’s more than 450 kindergarten through eighth grade students, but was able to get know many of them during her first week at school by doing lunch yard duty every day. She even had the opportunity to teach this week when a substitute teacher couldn’t make it to a sixth grade science class in time.
“I was happy just getting to spend time with the students,” Siddens said. “That’s what makes me smile.”
Siddens, who has 19 years of experience as a teacher, has big plans for the school. Her vision is to make Aromas the school that every parent wants to send their child to.
But, in order to make that vision a reality she faces several challenges. The first challenge will be to garner widespread support for the school from both English and Spanish-speaking parents, teachers, students and other members of the community, Siddens said.
The second challenge will be to improve test scores. Aromas School dropped eight points – from 713 to 705 – on the state Academic Performance Index (API) during the 2004-2005 school year. API scores are used by the state to make sure schools continue to increase academic achievement of all students. Aromas School is 31 points behind the 731 statewide median API score for all schools.
Aromas School also failed to meet the federal Adequate Yearly Progress standards established by the 2001 No Child Left Behind Act. However, Aromas School has not been slated for Program Improvement by the federal government.
Siddens and other Aromas School teachers and staff members will be looking closely at API and AYP results in the coming weeks. School officials hope to get a clear picture of what Aromas School is doing right and what needs to be improved, Siddens said. After analyzing the results, Siddens and others will develop a plan for improvement.
Aromas-San Juan Unified School District Superintendent Jackie Muñoz is confident that Siddens will be able to improve the school’s performance across the board this year with help from teachers and staff members. Muñoz has visited the school several times in the last two weeks and is convinced Siddens is leading the school in the right direction.
“Part of any new administrators job is to build relationships with staff, students and community members,” Muñoz said. “And (Siddens) is doing a great job (building those relationships).”
Brett Rowland covers education for the Free Lance. He can be reached at 831-637-5566 ext. 330 or br******@fr***********.com.
