The Voyage of the Eagle

 

All Systems - Go!

 

At the recent Governing Board Meeting held in March, the Board Chair, Ted Meriam, asked administration to speak to four key issues: student safety and success data; labor relations practices; fiscal management systems; and collaborative decision-making opportunities. The following is a summary of information shared by key administrators of how effectively CVCHS operates in these four areas. The Board thanked the staff for all of their hard work and success in the journey of CVCHS "from Good to Great!"

 

Student Safety and Success

The first and foremost priority for CVCHS is student safety and success. Students need to feel safe at school so they can focus upon learning and enjoying their lives as members of the CVCHS student body. There is so much to be proud of in regards to the highly effective safety measures that are in place which include:

 

  • School administrators out on campus and visible during the school day, especially at brunch, lunch and after school. We know that administrative presence deters misconduct.

  • Five campus security assistants out on campus throughout the day - monitoring student behavior, enforcing dress code, tardiness and safety rules.

  • Teachers and staff members who have a concern about students' wellbeing. The quality and nurturing relationships between teachers and students is the foundation for an effective classroom.

  • Four School Counselors (including our Career Center Counselor) and a School Psychologist who support students' needs, concerns and academic as well as social/emotional difficulties.

     

    CVCHS has developed a multitude of intervention programs to ensure all of our students have support for their academic needs. Various programs include tutoring afterschool in the Library, Credit recovery coursework offerings, Saturday Bridge to Success Program, Summer Bridge Program for credit recovery, Enrichment courses available for incoming 9th grade students, and our Freshman Transition Program. Further we offer our exemplary AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination) 9th grade support program, California High School Exit Exam support classes (CAHSEE), and our English Language Development Program to support our second language students.

     

    Mr. Miguel Romo, Director of Student Services, shared with the Board the following results from all of our efforts:

     

  • Graduation rate increased from pre-charter rate of 83% to 96%

  • Serious disciplinary problems decreased significantly due to our firm disciplinary approach and zero tolerance policy towards drug and alcohol possession and distribution

  • Reputation in the business community and local neighborhood improved significantly as we have staff in the neighborhood and at the local plaza after school

  • Grades of "F" decreased by over 50% from pre-charter rates

  • Campus grounds and cleanliness improved greatly

  • College admissions rates increased significantly as approximately 95% of graduates are admitted to college

     

    Effective Labor Relations

    Charter schools are designed to be focused upon student safety and success as their priority. CVCHS is no exception to this mission. Our vision is "to create first class citizens with a world class education." We know that a highly effective workforce is the key to gaining great results from our students. Having staff members who are empowered with high quality professional development has been a key strategy to our success thus far. We offer more professional development opportunities to our teachers than most any other school in the region and possibly one of the top professional development schools in the state!

     

    Mr. Dylan Perreira, Director of Curriculum and Guidance, shared with the Board that CVCHS offers the following Professional Development (PD) programs for our teachers:

     

  • Summer Curriculum Institute - 4 days

  • Summer Character Counts Symposium - 2 days

  • Summer Ed Tech Institute - 3 days

  • Summer Model Schools Conference

  • Advanced Placement Course Workshops - 4 days

  • Summer Math Workshops

  • Bi-weekly Department planning time and Professional Learning Community (PLC) meetings on Wednesdays (early student release time)

  • Monthly PD sessions on Wednesday (early student release time)

     

    We are so proud of our teachers and staff members for the diligent work they perform on a daily basis caring for and educating our students. Our school attorney shared with the Board how there have been no lawsuits against CVCHS by employees, nor any judgments for personnel violations. Our two employee associations have some of the best protections of any charter school in the state. This past year we were able to offer a 6% salary increase to all of our staff members and significantly increase their health and medical benefits. We know that taking care of our staff is a priority and a key to making CVCHS a great place to work.

     

    Fiscal Management Practices

    Mr. Miles Denniston, the Chief Financial Official for CVCHS, reported out the highly effective fiscal management practices we use to ensure financial accountability. Mr. Denniston complemented the school for the wise use of funds to improve CVCHS. He noted that our "back office company" - Charter School Management Corporation (CSMC) - works with hundreds of charter schools throughout the state and nation and refer to CVCHS as the example of strong fiscal management. The following are a few examples of the conservative fiscal policies and procedures that we operate by:

  • Oversight from multiple layers of personnel to ensure funds are approved appropriately

  • Payroll being operated by CSMC

  • Site procedures which provide key oversight for expenditures

  • The most transparent fiscal expenditure oversight system in place

     

    The Governing Board approved the 2nd Interim Budget Report and we are proud to state that the CVCHS budget is very stable with a strong reserve.

     

    Collaborative Leadership

    Mr. Dylan Perreira, Director of Curriculum and Guidance, reported out on the various measures we use to collaborate and communicate with our key stakeholders. CVCHS is committed to a partnership with parents in the education of our students. Key measures for collaboration include:

  • Governing Board is comprised of the various stakeholder groups including teachers, classified staff, administration, parents and community members. All significant policies and decisions are made at the board level that is inclusive and representative of all stakeholders.

  • Parent Faculty Club (PFC) is an active partner with administration and work supportively with teachers and parents to support our school.

  • Department Chairs - The faculty operates in subject specific departments and their chair manages their budgets and makes key decisions regarding instructional materials, etc. Each department has an administrator assigned to them for collaboration, communication and problem solving.

  • Athletic Boosters - The Athletic Boosters are a key support system to our athletic programs as they raise funds to support the various athletic needs.

  • Music Boosters - They are a great support system to our music programs at CVCHS.

  • Communication - Via "Voyage of the Eagle" and "School Messenger" email/auto dialing system. The administration communicates regularly with our community and stakeholders through various avenues to keep everyone informed about important information, events and school related incidents.

  • Newspaper and Website - We work diligently to keep our website updated so our stakeholders are well informed. We are updating it with a FAQ section. We post key information on our Home page as well as our "Governance" page.

  • We are proud to say we try our best to return calls and emails within 24 hours in regards to student concerns. Our teachers and staff attempt to be responsive to all related concerns. We know that parents are a vital partner to the success of all of our students; we welcome their partnership.

     

    In closing, I am so grateful to have a competent and stellar staff.  Together, we are moving CVCHS forward "from Good to Great"! Thank you to our Board who tirelessly give of their time, talent and energy at a great sacrifice to their personal lives, because of their commitment to making CVCHS a school that we all are proud of!

     

    "All systems - Go! The Eagle is soaring ...

      

    In Your Service,

     

    David Linzey

    CVCHS Executive Director