Welcome Back to School 2012-2013

There are always going to be changes in schools. Some good and some more challenging, but let's see what's happened to those coming back to school this fall. The staff will be happy to see Sonia Wong back from her year long tour. She took a sabbatical to learn more about Asian world. Sonia visited Taiwan, China, Vietnam, Cambodia, South Korea and more.

Taiwan

     
Cathy Hampton is back from her summer "Great Americana"  train trip to see some of the US National Parks. Visiting every national park is on her bucket list.  She went to Tucson, Saguaro National Park; San Antonio, the Alamo; New Orleans; and Monticello, Shenandoah National Park. Shenandoah was her 31st national park to visit.  She also visited Boston, Philadelphia, New York, and in Maine, Acadia National Park. Going on she went to Niagara Falls, Lake Michigan, and in Montana, Glacier National Park.

Liberty Bell

Brooklyn Bridge

These staff members took a short but fabulous vacation.  Here is Maureen Tecson, Vince Lindain, and Letty Munoz-Gonzales snorkeling on their holiday in Bermuda.

Maureen, Vince, Letty

Greg Snelling has returned from his first family backpacking trip in the Eastern Sierras, Inyo National Forest, John Muir Wilderness, enduring mosquito bites and rain, but enjoying the beautiful lakes and valleys.

Greg Snelling and family

Betty Silva is ready to go back to work after returning from her Yosemite trip with her grandson, Michael.  They had a great time enjoying the beauty of the park.

Sukhy Gill spent a wonderful family vacation in India and visited some of India's famous landmarks.

Suhky Gill and family

Dave Trier and Rachel Saucedo Jones both had babies. Dave's wife actually had the baby. Dave's son, Luke, was born on June 27th and Rachel's son, Xavier, was born on Aug. 12th. Congratulations to both of you!

Someone reminded me that AE's 4th grade teacher, Laurie Koehler, got married in Hawaii at the beginning of the summer. How could I forget?  What a lovely bride! Best wishes to you and your new husband.

Now its back to work. School begins on Wednesday August 29th.  The Alvarado Family Potluck is on Monday, the 27th of August. 

Program Improvement AYP/API 2010-2011

In the 2010-2011 school year, Alvarado Elementary was placed in Program Improvement. Although increasing our API (Academic Performance Index) score from 816 in 2008, to 826 in 2009, we missed meeting our 2009 goal for our Socio-economically disadvantaged population AYP (Adequate Yearly Progress). Again, in 2010, although increasing our overall score to 835, AES did not make our Latino student goal. Since goals were missed two years in a row, we were placed in Program Improvement. Letters were sent out to our Alvarado Families informing them of this and, as per law, offered these families a transfer to another school in the district. Less than .025% opted to transfer while the remaining families stayed at AES.

Teachers and staff took the PI rating hard, especially with a 9 point increase in API. Staff morale took a hit, especially with the grim economic environment, and, given little or no help from the District office, Alvarado Elementary staff formed a cohesive group to address these issues and provide staff development. Our focus has been on the seven comprehension strategies: Connections, Questioning, Inferring, Visualizing, Determining Importance, Monitoring Meaning, and Synthesizing, and in the year 2011-2012 staff will be trained on "Critical Literacy".

The 2011 data is due out in a few weeks and we are anxiously waiting to hear the results. This post was written by Laurie Koehler, a respected third grade teacher and former Literature Leader at Alvarado. Keep in mind that API is the State of California Index. AYP is the No Child Left Behind federally mandated standard.

No Child Left Behind

Staff Photos 2009-2010 or Memories

Tracie Noriega, Principal
Cheri Benefield, Assistant Principal
2009-2010
Click on the photo to enlarge

Jeff Pickering on end of the year on Facebook: year-end assessments, report cards, Ocean Night, pink and blues, cum's, DRAs for far and below basic, NWEA, enter Data Director, finish up Writers Workshop, year-end picnic, field day, "Oceans" field trip, clean out room and walls. I'm forgetting something... Other than that, the rest of the year is pretty kick-back.

Happy Retirement ManYee
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