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STATE
OF THE SCHOOL REPORT
2001-2002 School Year |
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Table
of Contents
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| Enrollment | |
| Staffing | |
| Public Relations | |
| Parent Participation | |
| Elective Program | |
| Testing | |
| Financial | |
| Curriculum | |
| Overview of School Year 2001/2002 | |
| Conclusion | |
| Appendices |
| A-1: Ethnicity | |
| B-1:
Stanford Achievement Test Series 2001-02 Link to California Star Site Link to Redding School of the Arts 2002 scores |
| Redding School of the Arts was created to provide those K-8 students in the greater Redding area with an opportunity to incorporate the visual and performing arts with a rigorous academic program. Redding School of the Arts seeks to provide a quality education for all students through a student centered thematic and multicultural experience in which visual and performing arts are incorporated into each educational unit. It is the ultimate goal of Redding School of the Arts to enable students to become literate, self-motivated and life long learners who appreciate, enjoy and respect all aspects of the visual and performing arts. The categories listed below detail where the school started and where it is today. |
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| ENROLLMENT | |||||||||||||
Redding School of the Arts (RSA) strives to reflect the demographics of the elementary schools in Shasta County, both ethnically and economically. According to the Ethnic Distribution records for the CBEDS report in October of 2001, RSA’s student population was as follows:
Twenty-seven percent of our students qualify for free or reduced lunches. On
the first Tuesday in May, RSA held its third public random lottery. There
were about seventy students placed on the waiting list. |
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| STAFFING | |||||||||||||
| During
2001-2002, two new teachers were added to accommodate changes in Redding
School of the Arts’ academic programs and growth in the Shasta County
Special Education Consortium. There are now 12.5 teachers, three paraprofessionals,
a full-time office manager, a full-time assistant, a part-time Special Education
teacher, a .75 Special Education aide, and 1.5 directors. All classes are
self-contained except for math, music, and art. Beginning this year, all
math classes have been grouped by individual student math levels, rather
than by homerooms, which are divided by student reading ability. We continue
to divide kindergarten through fifth grade classes for reading instruction
by using our music instructors, thereby reducing class sizes to approximately
1:10 in kindergarten through third grade classes, and 1:14 in fourth and
fifth grade classes. Students in fourth through eighth grade are in classrooms
of approximately twenty-eight. RSA has expanded its home school program
to include about forty students.
At this time, no expansion of staff is planned for 2002-2003. Due to the financial restrictions of the new block grant funding model, some hours in support staff may be reduced. |
| PUBLIC RELATIONS | ||||||
Redding School of the Arts continues to work hard to establish itself as a positive force for promoting the visual and performing arts. It seeks to establish itself as a model school for others in Shasta County. RSA completed its five community goals established for 2001-02:
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| PARENT PARTICIPATION | |
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Parent Teacher Club continued with two goals:
To meet these goals, the Parent Teacher Club held many activities including skate nights, a back to school picnic, teacher appreciation week, cookie dough sales, and other small fundraisers. The cookie sale brought in $7000 for classroom funds, art supplies, and other items still to be decided. Monies were also given for eighth grade scholarships and Whiskeytown Environmental School Camp Scholarships. Parents are expected to volunteer five hours every month or a total of forty hours a year. Only a few families did not complete their hours. RSA sent letters reminding these families of their commitment and we worked with them to meet this commitment. As always, RSA has many parents who put in more than the expected forty hours. Several parents were recognized for over one hundred and fifty hours of volunteer time.
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| ELECTIVE PROGRAM | |
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School Year 2001-02 The
elective program at RSA continues to be one of its most popular features.
After many adjustments, the 2001-02 elective program seems to have worked
the best. Each student in first through eighth grade was allowed to choose
two electives. One class was held on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays;
the other class was held on Thursdays and Fridays. This schedule allowed
for more academic time. The electives included Spanish/cooking, ballet,
jazz, tap, swing, art, choir, computers, drama, violin, physical education,
sculpture, instrumental music, creative writing, and as well as several
others. SCHOOL YEAR 2002-2003: In future years, we plan to offer more advanced classes of certain core electives. Students will be required to obtain teacher permission to be enrolled in these advanced classes. Most core elective classes will remain the same with articulation occurring between like classes |
| TESTING | |
| School
Year 2001-02
Based on the 2000-01 STAR 9 testing results, math was taught for the first time in leveled groups. Our STAR 9 scores continue to improve. RSA
continues to exceed county, state, and national averages on the SAT 9
and API scores. Our first API for 2000-01 was 790, which was one of the
highest in the country. The state gave the school a goal of 791 for the
following year. The STAR test results by grade levels are included as
an addendum. These test results show student growth. The school continues
to post-test all students individually to monitor progress and for placement
the next year. Most all students are achieving at or above grade level. |
| FINANCIAL | |
| School
Year 2001-02
Redding School of the Arts continues to run with our reserve exceeding the five percent required by law. This year we will have an independent audit as suggested by the State. Increasingly, RSA staff is taking control of our financial management. We received a Nell Soto grant this year enabling teachers to visit in the homes of their students. RSA pursued other grants, as well. RSA continues to work with Jim Cerreta, Shasta Union High School District’s Business Services/Associate Superintendent. School Year 2002-03 Redding
School of the Arts has been receiving high school ADA funding for the
past three years. As of July 2002, we reverted to the block grant funding
model, which funds most charter schools. This will result in about an
$80,000 reduction in annual revenue for RSA. This funding change has been
anticipated for several years; therefore budget plans are already in place
to absorb this change. RSA will continue to pursue grants that further
our goals and mission. Also, RSA continues to explore different ways of
pursuing a building project. |
| CURRICULUM | |
| School
Year 2001-02
Redding School of the Arts utilizes thematic teaching. All kindergarten through eighth grades are immersed in the study of the same cultures at the same time. During the 2001-02 school year, the theme was ancient civilizations, which included Greece, Rome, Mesopotamia, and Egypt. We had three theme days in which students rotated through activities. These theme days included a Science/Simple Machine Day, an Olympic Day, and an Egyptian Day. The musical was also related to the study of ancient civilizations. In addition to school theme days, we had two school-wide field trips. In the fall, students and their families traveled to Patrick’s Point where students visited various science museums, participated in ocean units, and were addressed by special speakers. In April, students traveled to San Jose, where trips to the Children’s Discovery Museum, the Egyptian Museum, an IMAX film, and a play about Egypt were included. As has been the pattern in the past, a lot of the language arts activities; reading, science and social studies, were centered on the history units. All students were working at their instruction level. Students were divided according to their math scores in Saxon. School Year 2002-03 Redding
School of the Arts is completing its last rotation of a four-year cycle
to meet the State Frameworks. During the upcoming year, students will
be studying California history and the Mayan/Mexican civilizations.
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| OVERVIEW of School Year 2001/2002 | |
| This
was the third year of operation for Redding School of the Arts. Students,
parents, staff, and administrators continue to work toward the mission and
vision of the school. All staff returned and three new teachers were hired.
One was hired for a combined seventh and eighth grade class, one for a kindergarten
class, and the third was hired for an expanded home school program. The
Shasta County Special Education Consortium now includes three schools: RSA, Monarch Learning Center, and North Woods Discovery Charter School. Students being served by the Consortium continue to make impressive progress. Due to the cutback in space availability, RSA’s library had to be moved into the hallway. Nonetheless, the library committee worked hard and the library grew. The students checked out books on a weekly basis. Many books were purchased through funds available in state categoricals. It remains the goal of the library committee to move the library into a room and hire a library technician. Technology
continues to grow at RSA. The five-year plan was finalized and brought
to the governing board. Several grants were written, but as of this time,
none have been granted. In the meantime, the students were able to use
the computer lab at Shasta Learning Center for their computer electives.
It is hoped that through the renovations this summer and fall all classrooms
will be wired for Internet access so that several computers in each class
can be used for research purposes. RSA continues to purchase computers
as funds become available. The staff was given the opportunity to participate
in the C-TAP training on-line at Shasta Learning Center; 50% of the staff
worked towards the C-TAP certification. |
| CONCLUSION | |
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Redding School of the Arts has successfully completed its third year. This was well documented through our most recent API scores, our Star 9 test results, eighth grade exit exams, and our traditional post-testing of students. Our second graduating class was larger than our first and many students were accepted into Honors Programs at their respective high schools. Many scholarships were given in academics, citizenship, and visual and performing arts. The school continues to be committed to meeting the academic needs of its students while encouraging an appreciation for visual and performing arts. As a result, there continues to be a waiting list of applicants wishing to be admitted. Redding School of the Arts remains strong within its financial limits and committed to continuing its interest within the Redding community. |
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