Awards recognize steps taken in the past few years toward Common Core standards
Published in the May 27-June 9, 2015 issue of Morgan Hill Life
By Marty Cheek
Photo by Melissa Ledwell, senior
Live Oak High School Rally Commissioners Adam Mito and Chris McHenry, both seniors, amp up the quad on Green and Gold day during homecoming week Nov. 14, 2014.
The Morgan Hill Unified School District is ending its school year on a golden gleam. All four of its comprehensive secondary schools — Britton and Martin Murphy middle schools and Sobrato and Live Oak High schools — will receive the high honor of a 2015 California Gold Ribbon Award Friday May 29 at a ceremony lunch at the San Francisco Marriott Marquis.
“What’s nice is that the award recognizes the progressive activities that the district has been taking in the last few years in the movement toward the new (Common Core) standards,” said MHUSD Superintendent Steve Betando. “It also represents how the community has seen the staff come together to support changes and development either in re-establishing what we’re doing is working or analyzing what’s not working and putting plans in place to change those things.”
On Monday May 4, the principals of the four schools — Debbie Padilla of Sobrato, Glen Webb of Britton, Heather Griffin of Martin Murphy, and Lloyd Webb of Live Oak — learned from State Superintendent Tom Torlakson that their schools were being recognized among a total of 373 California Gold Ribbon Schools awardees. There are 9,971 schools in the state and 413 in Santa Clara County.
In the county, 20 out of a total 156 middle and high schools in the public education sector received the honor. Morgan Hill schools make up 20 percent of all the county schools receiving the Gold Ribbon, Betando said.
The Gold Ribbon Program replaces the California Distinguished School Program which used the now defunct Academic Performance Index as a measuring tool for schools. The new award features model programs that include standards-based activities, projects, strategies, and practices that schools have adopted and can be replicated by other schools, Betando said.
Three Live Oak High School students walk through the campus.
Because this is the first year of the Gold Ribbon Program, the state gave every secondary school a “reset” so that all could apply if they qualified, he said. With the Distinguished School Program, schools that applied could not re-apply for several years.
After the applications were submitted, an evaluation team visited each school, talked to community members, students, parents and teachers and read the documents and analyzed the data supporting the application. They then made their recommendations to the state which made the final selection.
“The awards themselves are affirming to the direction that we are heading from the state’s perspective,” Betando said. “We’re constantly on a course to a vision, and it’s one more marker as a district to see that we’re going on the right course. The fact that we qualified based on our performance standards, based on our implementation of Common Core, to our broad rates of graduation and success in keeping students in school and moving on to four-year universities — all those things apply.”
President of the MHUSD Board of Trustees Bob Benevento said he could not be happier nor more proud of the four schools for earning the award. Each school site is unique but common threads weave through them, he said.
“The first and perhaps foremost thread is the caliber of the work being done by our students. They have responded in a very positive fashion to the changing dynamic of our schools,” he said. “I believe they recognize the tremendous efforts being put forth by their teachers and are more engaged than ever.”
Photo courtesy Principal Heather Griffin
Martin Murphy Middle School students work with their Chromebooks. The school was one of four to take home the California Gold Ribbon Award.
A second similarity is the creativity and energy being put forth by the principals and counselors in innovative ways of education. Each site is achieving success in unique ways, but the collaborative efforts of the site administrators is vital to success, he said.
“You can’t discount the hard work being put forth by the teachers as well as the classified staff from each school either. That’s a third common thread,” Benevento said. “All teachers and staffers know that their work, no matter what the assignment, is important to the success of the school. From the front office to the furthest reaches of the school grounds, they all play a part in this woven tapestry of success.”
Benevento said he believes the fourth common thread is the leadership from the district office. Under Superintendent Betando, his assistant superintendents, directors and managers, a standard has been set and mission articulated in the district’s LCAP (Local Control and Accountability Plan), he said.
“Resorting to sports jargon, this recognition is a Grand Slam clearing all the bases. For the district to have all four secondary schools recognized at the same time is, I believe, a first for MHUSD,” Benevento said. “The recognition is a testament to the hard work of all the players, from parents to students, from administrators to teachers, from managers to staff. The students are proud of their schools, the teachers are proud of their students and the parents are pleased to see their kids getting a quality education.”
Photo courtesy Principal Heather Griffin
Martin Murphy Middle School students work with their teacher during a recent class.
In earning the award, Martin Murphy showed itself to be a model in education technology and a positive school climate. Griffin said that the students and staff members at Martin Murphy worked hard to pursue quality education and an effective learning environment, contributing to the middle school which is located in south San Jose.
“This recognition is a validation of our efforts to provide our students with a rigorous academic experience as well as a safe and positive learning environment,” she said. “In addition, the Gold Ribbon Award is an acknowledgment that Martin Murphy is continuing to progress as a great school with the continued efforts of the staff and support of the parents and school community…. Our kids are awesome and inspiring to all who visit this campus.”
One reason for Martin Murphy receiving the award is that the staff has worked hard to implement Common Core instruction and integrate classroom technology with full fidelity, Griffin said.
“The students of Martin Murphy are prepared for college and career because of the 21st century skills they develop during their years as a Mustang,” she said.
Britton was recognized for its comprehensive program, specifically using student assessments to design strategic interventions and enrichment programs, said Principal Glen Webb. As a result, some of its struggling students have improved as much as five grade levels in reading in a single year while its most outgoing students are laying the foundation in mathematics to take up to two years of calculus before graduation, enjoying educational travel to Hawaii and Washington, D.C., or challenging themselves with student enrichment activities offered at the middle school.
Britton also earned its award by being a model in connecting students and families with the school through activities, outreach and community service.
“By having a comprehensive approach to our program that includes student, parents, and the community working in concert with our school, Britton is one of just a handful of schools state-wide to experience double digit student achievement growth in every subgroup prior to the state discontinuing the API program while successfully retooling for the Common Core and Smarter Balanced assessments,” Glen said. “Our (district) schools are providing a high quality education and are completely committed to constant improvement. And the truth is in the numbers….student for student, Morgan Hill Schools are not only outperforming the competition, we’re sweeping it.”
Sobrato’s award application focused on how to use its Equal Opportunity Advisory Program to give all students access to information regarding college and career readiness, which includes AP classes, said Principal Padilla. The program is now in its tenth year and was introduced when the school opened. The Equal Opportunity addition started two years ago.
“Without Advisory, it would be a challenge to ensure all students had the information they needed and to encourage all students to take the most rigorous courses possible,” she said. “Our teachers are dedicated to equity, and Advisory is one of the main ways we give personalized support to all students. Sobrato continues to use current research and data to implement programs like Advisory that best support students in college and career readiness.”
Live Oak earned its award by having a comprehensive developmental guidance and counseling program as well as a Career Technical Education program. Principal Lloyd Webb said that what makes the high school unique is the way students truly accept and care about each other, and know the staff cares deeply for them, helping in receiving the Gold Ribbon Award.
“We have a phenomenally supportive community as well. We have excellent college prep academic programs with extensive AP courses (the most in the district), and extraordinarily successful CTE courses that strengthen college prep level learning skills, as well as provide direct access to industry employment in technology, cabinetmaking, fashion design and culinary arts,” he said. “Our graduation rates are among the highest in the county and state. Our staff is very professional and collaborative, working together to improve our services for the kids.”
One benefit of the Gold Ribbon Award is that by going through the application process, the schools further formed their identity and saw their weaknesses and strengths, Betando said.
“The award is great, but going through the process for the staff enabled them to be reflective to say, ‘Yes, we are doing great things and this is how we measure that we’re doing great things.’ So it helped formalize all those activities,” he said.
Rather than just collecting data on processes that school administrators think are going to work, it actually validates many of the things that have been put in place that actually are working.
“Then as we move forward, we can say this is effective, this may not have been effective,” Betando said. “So it’s a continuous intent of improving what we’ve been doing.”
