Green Elementary students run their way to $33k

Green Elementary School's students have run their way to $33,481.11 in donations from the school's supporters during the PTA's annual Jog-A-Thon.

"This is a fantastic amount of support from the PTA and our school community," said Principal Bruce Ferguson. "And we have to congratulate the kids and our staff, who did the running."

Green, an academic and athletic themed school in the San Carlos neighborhood, receives support from the PTA for the school's art and music program, as well as hosting events during the year. The Jog-A-Thon is one of the signature events during the school year and was held in April. The traditional Jog-A-Thon fundraiser collects pledges for how far students run.

"It was a voluntary event where all fundraising was done after school and the running was coordinated with Green’s physical education department to be part of their curriculum," said Ferguson. "This year, in addition to every student participating, teachers, local fireman, and parents also joined in."

For more information, check out the school's website or contact Principal Ferguson at bferguson@sandi.net.

Jackie Robinson YMCA scholarships go to 11 District students

The Jackie Robinson Family YMCA, located in the Mountain View neighborhood less than a mile from Lincoln High School, has provided eleven San Diego Unified students with $1,000 scholarships.

The Jackie Robinson Tribute and Scholarship was established to honor the anniversary of Jackie Robinson breaking the color barrier in baseball. According to the organization's website, "since the first event in 1997, the Jackie Robinson Family YMCA has awarded over $100,000 to more than 150 students in Southeastern San Diego to help them pursue their dreams of higher education."

Receiving scholarships are: Jessica Aguilar, Limna Lio Hernandez, Natalia Shaw, Point Loma; Radhiya Bryant, Kristoff Liilliard, High Tech High International Charter; Lydiette DeJesus, Carolina Leon, Javier Mendez, Gompers Prep Academy Charter; Malcolm Foster, San Diego Met; Gabriela Mejia, Patrick Henry; Mayra Rodriguez, Lincoln.

For more information, see the Jackie Robinson Family YMCA website.

School districts gain flexibility in governor’s budget proposal

Big changes may be afoot for school districts if Gov. Jerry Brown’s proposed 2013-14 budget comes to fruition. Read more: San Diego Community News Group - School districts gain flexibility in governor’s budget proposal

District employees' giving honored by Salvation Army

The Salvation Army Kroc Center honored San Diego Unified's employee charitable arm, the Community Services Association, as Partner In Education Donor of the Year at their dinner to recognize volunteers and donors.

The Community Services Association of San Diego Unified School District was founded in 1956 as the employee charitable association for classified and certificated employees. It supports educational, health and human services in San Diego County.

Since 1982, the association has provided more than $60,000 in charitable contributions to various Salvation Army Programs in San Diego. The Kroc Center Free Family Arts and Literacy Program has received $6,000 in grant funding from the association since 2004. The program includes monthly events that engage the whole family in arts and literacy, and each child leaves with a free book! The grant funding has provided 2,400 books to children in the community, building their home libraries and promoting a love for reading. For many, this was the first brand new book they have ever received.

Michele Fettig, CSA Secretary/Treasurer, accepted the award on behalf of the association's Board of Directors.

In other CSA news, the winning sites of the contest for the highest percentage increase in new CSA members this school year are: Balboa for elementary schools; Muirlands, middle schools; and SCPA, atypical schools.  Mental Health Resource Center is the winner in the central office category. Each school  received a check from CSA in the amount of $100 made payable to their ASB accounts; Mental Health Resource Center augmented its training budget with the $100.

For more information about CSA, please visit its website.

La Jolla High welcomes Bird Rock council students

IN THE NEWS: La Jolla High School’s Associated Student Body members welcomed fellow student council members visiting from Bird Rock Elementary for a morning of shared experiences. Read more from the La Jolla Light»

'Successful strategies' for raising African-American student college tests cited

The successful strategies used by the San Diego Unified School District and five other urban school systems across the country to boost African-American student participation in and performance on Advanced Placement tests are detailed in a new report released today by The Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation.

The report, "The Road to Equity: Expanding AP Access and Success for African-American Students," details how the following school systems are increasing college readiness of African-American students by improving their AP passing rates quickly enough to gain on their white peers while increasing or keeping participation rates steady:

• San Diego Unified School District
• Cobb County School District, Ga.
• Fulton County School System, Ga.
• Garland Independent School District, Tx.
• Jefferson County Public Schools, Ky.
• Orange County Public Schools, Fla.

In looking to identify urban school districts with promising trends in student achievement and college-readiness, The Broad Foundation analyzed four years of AP exam participation and passing rates for students in the 75 districts whose demographics qualify them for consideration for the annual Broad Prize for Urban Education. Of the six examined, only San Diego Unified is one of the four finalists for the 2013 prize.

The foundation found that the districts were able to simultaneously raise performance on AP tests without losing ground on participation by employing many of the following practices and strategies:

• Offer a rigorous curriculum beginning in elementary grades;
• Expand access to gifted programs;
• Analyze student results on precursors to college entrance exams -- like PSAT and EXPLORE -- to identify potential AP students and actively recruit them to enroll in AP courses;
• Provide extra academic and social support to students;
• Dramatically increase the number of AP course offerings;
• Offer additional teacher training and professional development;
• Instill confidence in students about their college-going potential;
• Educate parents about the benefits of AP.

The College Board's Advanced Placement program is a benchmark for academic rigor and offers high school students the opportunity to earn college credit, thus saving students time and money. Enrollment in AP courses has tripled since 2000 as districts moved to increase course offerings and broaden student recruits in the challenging courses.

"AP is an important predictor of college success when teachers and students use AP's standards as an inspiration, developing through practice the most important academic skills needed in college," said Trevor Packer, the College Board's senior vice president for AP and instruction. "Data identify thousands of minority and low-income students who have the academic potential to succeed in Advanced Placement courses, but lack access or encouragement to pursue such opportunities. We celebrate the AP teachers and students of these six urban districts for their extraordinary accomplishments. Their successes show that with the right support systems and best practices, broader access to AP can provide a diversity of students with a stronger foundation for college and career success."

The report found that in nearly all of the 75 Broad Prize-eligible school districts, the gap in both AP passing rates and participation rates between African-American students and their white counterparts is significant.

"This report underscores the need for districts to actively work to increase access to and success on AP tests," said Rebecca Wolf DiBiase, managing director of programs for The Broad Foundation. "We are highlighting the practices in these six districts to demonstrate that improvement is possible. But progress needs to happen much faster and in all schools before we can truly ensure that all students have access to and the necessary preparation for success in college."

The Education Trust also released the findings today of new research that low-income and students of color do not have equal access to AP and International Baccalaureate programs. The report, "Finding America's Missing AP and IB Students," reveals that most national participation gaps could be eliminated if every school with an AP program focused on encouraging and enrolling its low-income and students of color in the college preparatory courses.

The $1 million Broad Prize, established in 2002, is the largest education award in the country given to school districts. The Broad Prize is awarded each year to honor urban school districts that demonstrate the greatest overall performance and improvement in student achievement while reducing achievement gaps among students from low-income families and students of color.

Founded by entrepreneur Eli Broad and his wife Edythe, both graduates of Detroit Public Schools, The Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation is a philanthropy that seeks to ensure that every student in an urban public school has the opportunity to succeed. Bringing together top education experts and practitioners, the foundation funds system-wide programs and policies that strengthen public schools by creating environments that allow good teachers to do great work and enable students of all backgrounds to learn and thrive. For more information, visit www.broadeducation.org, and updates are available on Facebook and Twitter @broadfoundation. For more information about The Broad Prize, visit www.broadprize.org.

JROTC cadets complete a successful year

Thousands of JROTC cadets, parents, District administrators and members from various San Diego military and veterans groups participated in the 67th annual JROTC Awards Ceremony at Morse High School's John Shacklett Stadium. The ceremony is designed to recognize the individual, team and unit achievements in the areas of academic excellence, physical fitness and precision drill competitions.


JROTC boasted a very successful year as enrollment increased for the third consecutive year, topping more than 2,400 cadets.

Most noteworthy, for the fifth consecutive year, JROTC had a cadet recognized as a valedictorian or salutatorian in one of their 13 high school programs. This year, two cadets will be the Senior Class valedictorians and two salutatorians. This summer, the Scripps Ranch High School JROTC Academic Team will compete in the National Academic Championship in Washington, D.C.; the team was national runner-up in 2012.

Throughout the entire school year, JROTC programs participate in numerous competitive events which award placement points. The overall unit recognition awards and final standings were determined by assessing the most cumulative points attained by each unit during the year-long competitions. This year’s winner is the Army JROTC program from San Diego High School, Scripps Ranch Air Force JROTC was second, and in third was the Mira Mesa Air Force JROTC.

The event was highlighted by a Pass and Review as the graduating seniors led their units for the final time. This year’s JROTC Commander Jordan Robertson from Patrick Henry High School officially passed the organizational flag and responsibility to the incoming 2013-14 JROTC Commander, Julia Sterling from San Diego High School.

For more information on the program, contact David Guzman, Program Manager, at dguzman1@sandi.net.