Unity students are participating in Spring “College Tours” this week.  An important part of our college going program are college tours that expose students to various colleges and universities.  Students tour the campus, meet with Unity alumni, and conduct interview with college students.  9th graders are visiting UC Davis this week.  10th graders are visiting Stanford University.  11th graders are visiting UC Santa Barbara and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.

This week the California Charter Schools Association (CCSA) highlighted Unity’s “sharp focus on enhancing its data-driven culture” with a Featured School Story  on Unity’s use of ZOOM! Data Source to increase teacher effectiveness and student learning.

ZOOM! Data Source is a tool that benefits teachers, administrators, and students alike..Prior to using ZOOM!, Unity had little more than annual STAR results to inform its understanding of student progress…As teachers began collaborating with one another more frequently through their use of ZOOM!, the overall data culture at Oakland Unity evolved…ZOOM! Data Source was an invaluable tool as Unity rolled out its quarterly benchmarks in every subject area.

Read the full CCSA article, here.

Every year, 10th graders across California take the California High School Exit Exam.  Unity 10th graders take the exam in March.  Once again, our 10th graders have improved their passing rates for both Math and English Language Arts (ELA). For the March 2010 test administration, 84% of students passed the ELA exam, and an astounding 91% passed the Math exam.  Congratulations to you, and thank you for your hard work!

Unity 9th graders visited the Lawrence Hall of Science “RACE: Are We So Different” exhibit on Friday, April 30, 2010.  The exhibit is currently on a nationwide tour.  More information about the exhibit can be found at http://www.understandingrace.org/home.html.  Unity students also spent time with CA Assemblymember Sandre Swanson during their visit. Thanks to the 9th grade team for organizing this important “study tour”.

Fecha: Lunes, 26 de abril del 2010

Para familias y la comunidad de Unity:

Estudiantes de secundaria (grados 9-11) tendrán la prueba STAR el Lunes 17 de mayo 2010 – Jueves, 20 de mayo 2010. La prueba comenzará a las 8:10 en punto, por favor asegúrense de que sus hijos lleguen a tiempo. Todos los estudiantes saldrán a las 12 del día todos los días durante los exámenes del STAR. Todas las estudiantes en el 12 grado tendrán un día corto pero tendrán que reportarse a la escuela en preparación para sus proyectos finales. No habrá programa después de clases durante las pruebas STAR, incluyendo el Viernes, 21 de mayo 2010. El programa después de clases reanudara el Lunes, 26 de mayo 2010.

No hay escuela el viernes, 28 de mayo y Lunes, 31 de mayo 2010. No habrá clases y la escuela estará cerrada en estos días.

Aquí hay alguna información importante con respecto a los resultados de las pruebas en Unity High School:
La puntuación de Unity de API fue 595 para el año escolar 2006-2007
La puntuación de Unity de API fue 624 (crecimiento de 29 puntos) para el año escolar 2007-2008
La puntuación de Unity de API fue 677 (crecimiento de 53 puntos!) para el año escolar 2008-2009

Por favor anime a su hijo a hacer bien en los exámenes STAR. Los maestros de Unity han estado preparando a los estudiantes para estos exámenes importantes y estamos muy seguros de que nuestros estudiantes obtendrán buenas calificaciones.

Éstos son algunas sugerencias para apoyar a los estudiantes durante las pruebas STAR:

• Por favor anime a su hijo a hacer bien en los exámenes STAR.
• Por favor, asegúrese de que los estudiantes llegan a las 8:00 de la mañana del día de la prueba STAR. Un bocadillo pequeño estará disponible a partir de las 07:45 de la mañana el día de la prueba STAR.
• Los estudiantes deben tener una noche completa de sueño en los días de prueba.
• Los estudiantes deberán traer su propio lápiz # 2 para usar durante el examen de STAR
• Lunes, 17 de mayo – Jueves, 20 de mayo 2010 => Pruebas de la Unidad STAR (todos los estudiantes salen a las 12 horas)
• Viernes, 21 de mayo 2010 => días regular a la escuela (no de grado noveno programa después de clases)
• Viernes, 28 de mayo 2010 => No hay clases en conmemoración del Día de la Unity
• Lunes, 31 de mayo 2010 => No hay clases en conmemoración de Memorial Day

Date: Monday, April 26, 2010

Unity Families and Community:

Unity High School students (Grades 9 – 11) will be STAR testing Monday May 17, 2010 – Thursday, May 20, 2010. Testing will begin at 08:10 am sharp, so please ensure that students arrive on time. All students will be released at 12 noon on all testing days. All 12th grade seniors will have minimum days as well, but do have to report to school in preparation of their final projects. There will be no after school program during STAR testing, including Friday, May 21, 2010. The 9th grade after school program will resume on Monday, May 26, 2010.

There is no school on Friday, May 28 and Monday, May 31, 2010. No classes will be held and the school will be closed on these days.

Here is some important information regarding test scores at Unity High School:
Unity’s API score was 595 for the 2006-2007 school year
Unity’s API score was 624 (growth of 29 points) for the 2007-2008 school year
Unity’s API score was 677 (growth of 53 points!) for the 2008-2009 school year

Please encourage your student to do well on STAR exams. Unity teachers have been preparing students for these important exams and we are very confident that our students will excel.

Here are some important reminders to help support students during STAR testing:

• Please encourage your student to do well on STAR exams.
• Please make sure students arrive by 0800 am on testing days. A small breakfast snack will be available starting at 07:45 am on testing days.
• Students should get a full night of sleep on testing days.
• Students should bring their own #2 pencil on testing days.
• Monday, May 17 – Thursday, May 20, 2010 => Unity STAR Testing (all students dismissed at 12 noon)
• Friday, May 21, 2010 => Regular school day (no 9th grade after school program)
• Friday, May 28, 2010 => No school in observance of Unity Day
• Monday, May 31, 2010 => No school in observance of Memorial Day