One example is Live Oak High School, which was named an
Asset Champion in 2015 for its Caring High School Climate in
which students brought to life the school’s motto: United at the
roots, we are all different branches of the same tree.
As a Live Oak graduating student put it, “If there’s one word
that I can describe Live Oak with, it would be ‘accepting.’”
When it comes to academics, Neal said teachers are cultivating
a new mindset among their students. “We are teaching students to
be responsible for their own learning and the works they produce.
We advise students, ‘Do your best; don’t just do the minimum’.
We want to build competent, confident students, and we’re
encouraging parents to support the process at home by asking
their students, ‘Is this your best work?’”
at Eliot Elementary School. Patricia Pelino, the school’s principal,
said that through Los Dichos, Spanish-speaking parents can
become involved in their children’s education and instill a sense of
positive cultural identity in their children. Volunteers are trained
by a bilingual Project Cornerstone staffer in the principles of
positive youth development. Afterward, they visit classrooms to
read books aloud and lead discussions and activities about topics
including tolerance, family pride, peaceful conflict resolution and
other core values.
To further cultivate this mindset, Brownell Middle School
Principal Greg Camacho-Light said the old days of parent-teacher
conferences have given way to student-led conferences.
“Students reflect on one or two assignments per subject area
and address the objective, standards, grading criteria, successes,
and areas in need of improvement for each assignment. They
are expected to use these reflections as evidence to demonstrate
academic growth and to set goals for the upcoming school year.”
This is not to say that schools don’t appreciate parental support.
On the contrary, educators are acutely aware of the benefits that a
nurturing family and home environment convey to their students.
Programs such as the Parent Institute for Quality Education
(PIQE) help parents connect with the schools and learning
experiences of their students and get up to speed on everything
from understanding Common Core to cyber safety and substance
abuse awareness.
Another example of this partnership is the Los Dichos Program
14
GILROY • MORGAN HILL • SAN MARTIN
During the 2014-15 school year, South County schools and
students went above and beyond to win acclaim on many fronts.
Here are just a few highlights.
Graduating seniors include National Merit Scholars
representing multiple high schools in Morgan Hill and Gilroy.
They have been accepted into top colleges and universities
including Dartmouth, Stanford, UC Berkeley and UCLA as well
as the U.S. Marine Corps Officer Candidates School.
Local public schools were a beacon of achievement, earning
recognition from the State of California in its Gold Ribbon Awards
Program (replacing the California Distinguished Schools Program).
Among the winners were Brownell Middle School, Christopher
High School, Dr. TJ Owens Gilroy Early College Academy
(GECA), Ann Sobrato High School, Britton Middle School, Martin
Murphy Middle School, and Live Oak High School.
In addition to being chosen as a Gold Ribbon School,
Christopher High was also selected as having an Exemplary
Program in Arts Education. Brownell received additional
recognition as a Title I Academic Achieving School.
When it comes to Math, South County schools enjoy a creative
partnership with the American Institute of Mathematics for extra-
curricular math enrichment programs, competitions and clubs
open to 4th through 12th Graders. For example, in this year’s
MATHCOUNTS chapter competition, 8th Graders Brian Ho
(Martin Murphy School) won first place and Michael Pham
(Britton School) placed sixth. Pham went on to compete at the
state level.
Science also had a great run this year. In the annual Future
City competition for Northern California, Jeremy Esch, Chance
Bowman and Austin Gonzales of Martin Murphy School took
fourth place. The challenge, called “Tomorrow’s Transit,” was to
design an eco-friendly way to move people in and around our
city. The team conducted research, built a model, wrote a
supporting essay, and presented their work to a panel of
professional engineers.
JULY / AUGUST 2015
gmhtoday.com
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