March 25, 2019
EDCAL 5
Whole system collaboration shows good
results for San Benito High School District
Last summer, the San Benito High
School Board of Trustees approved the
whole system collaboration model that de-
fines how the district operates and lays out
what’s important to student success. Specif-
ic indicators of success are used to hold the
district’s efforts accountable by indicating
areas of focus such as attendance, school
climate, inclusion, graduation and more.
Together, these guidelines provide
a template as the district continues the
momentum generated by the creation of
its board-approved Strategic Plan, a living
document that guides planning and deci-
sion-making for the next half-decade.
Whole system collaboration
This model of cooperation and collabo-
ration begins by acknowledging the value
of shared leadership, which is the practice
of governing San Benito High School by
expanding the number of people involved
in making decisions related to the school’s
organization, operation and academics. On
this campus, shared leadership provides
leadership roles and/or decision-making
opportunities for teachers, staff, students,
parents and the community.
When schools actively involve parents
and engage community resources, they
are able to respond more effectively to
the needs of students. Through a focused
communication strategy, SBHS strives to
involve parents and the community in the
educational process
The spirit of collaborative profession-
alism permeates campus, as teachers, staff
and administrators work to help students
develop fulfilling lives that have meaning,
purpose and success.
AWARDS
Continued from page 1
California Distinguished Schools Program
webpage on the California Department of
Education’s website, www.cde.ca.gov.
Exemplary Arts Education
Program Award
Anaheim Union High: Lexington Junior
High School. Carmel Unified: Carmel
The San Benito High School curricu-
lum uses essential, or prioritized, academic
standards that provide engaging courses
and learning
“Encouraging regular
experiences
school attendance is
with a focus on
one of the most powerful rigor, relevance,
inclusion and
ways you can prepare
relationships.
your child for success –
• Rigor
both in school and in life. involves using
When you make school
inquiry-based,
attendance a priority, you collaborative
strategies to
help your child earn bet-
challenge and
ter grades and develop
engage stu-
dents, resulting
healthy life habits.”
Shawn Tennenbaum in increasingly
complex levels of
Superintendent
understanding.
• Relevance refers to learning experienc-
es that are connected to real-world issues,
problems and contexts.
• Inclusion allows students to be inte-
grated in a school community that places
value on diversity and ensures a high quali-
ty of education for each student.
• Relationships are focused on the idea
that building relationships with students
contributes to a positive school climate and
increased academic success.
SBHS continues its piloted grading
practices in ninth- and 10th-grade class-
es, acknowledging that grading is a form
of feedback that documents progress and
informs instructional decisions. These prac-
tices offer students multiple opportunities
to demonstrate mastery as grades reflect
competency (performance) over compliance
(practice/turning work in). The piloted rubric grading practice reduces the unre-
coverable effect a zero has in a gradebook
by providing students with the opportunity
to meet the requirements of the rubric.
The newly-implemented Academic
Focus Time sessions offered each Tuesday,
Wednesday and Friday provide academic
support and enrichment opportunities as
well as sessions on college planning, admin-
istrative feedback and more.
High School. El Segundo Unified: El
Segundo High School. Huntington Beach
City Elementary: Ethel Dwyer Middle
School. Los Angeles Unified: Renaissance
Arts Academy. San Francisco Unified:
Lowell High School. Torrance Unified:
West High School. Tustin Unified: Arnold
O. Beckman High School. Walnut Valley
Unified: South Pointe Middle School.
Glendale Unified: Crescenta Valley High
School. Career Technical Education
Clear your calendars now to attend one
of the summer residential programs for
school leaders, held at UCLA each summer.
Participants have said their experience was
life-changing, and have said it helped them
achieve a clear vision of their leadership
path and how to get others to follow in their
journey. These events sell out each summer so
be sure to sign up early.
Register today at acsa.org/summerprograms
Principals’ Summer Institute
June 23-29, 2019
Institute for New & Aspiring Principals
June 24-28, 2019
Indicators of success
Success at any school involves ensuring
that students attend school regularly and
are engaged in the classroom.
“Encouraging regular school attendance
is one of the most powerful ways you can
prepare your child for success – both in
school and in life,” said Superintendent
Shawn Tennenbaum. “When you make
school attendance a priority, you help
your child earn better grades and develop
healthy life habits.”
At SBHS, the average daily attendance
has averaged above 96 percent in the 2018-
19 academic year.
When students are on campus, there
are multiple measures by which success is
fostered and measured, such as completion
of one of the two graduation pathways
available to SBHS students: University and
Career Technical Education. The University
Pathway is designed to support students
who plan on attending college in the future.
The CTE Pathway supports students who
would like to explore courses that prepare
them for specific careers after high school.
Co-teaching is the practice of pairing
teachers together in a classroom to share
the responsibilities of planning, instructing
Anaheim Union High: Oxford Acade-
my. Glendale Unified: Anderson W. Clark
Magnet High School. Huntington Beach
Union High: Marina High School. Los
Angeles Unified: Sherman Oaks Center for
Enriched Studies. Los Molinos Unified:
Los Molinos High School. Oak Park
Unified: Oak Park High School. Pleasan-
ton Unified: Foothill High School. Temple
City Unified: Temple City High School.
and assessing students. In a co-teaching
setting, the teachers are considered equal-
ly responsible and accountable for the
classroom. Co-teaching at SBHS is often
implemented with General and Special
Education teachers paired together as part
of an initiative to create a more meaningful
and inclusive classroom.
Students who are English learners work
toward language proficiency standards that
define progressive levels of competence in
the acquisition of the language. These stan-
dards are derived from the four language
domains of speaking, listening, reading and
writing. The Smarter Balanced Assessment
Consortium tests administered between
March and June support high-quality
teaching, improving learning for all stu-
dents, and preparing students for life after
high school.
The AVID program at SBHS, anoth-
er of the school’s Indicators of Success,
provides scaffolded support for students to
encourage college and career readiness and
success, while the Advanced Placement
program provides challenging, immersive
courses that prepare students for tests
that can earn students college credit and/
or qualify them for more advanced classes
when they begin college.
The Indicators of Success also address
school climate, the graduation rate, and
awarding of the State Seal of Biliteracy to
students who have attained proficiency in
two or more languages upon graduation
from high school.
More information about the San Benito
HSD can be found at http://sbhsd.k12.ca.us.
Vallejo City Unified: MIT Academy.
Exemplary Physical Activity and
Nutrition Education Program Award
Glendale Unified: Crescenta Val-
ley High School. Hermosa Beach City
Elementary: Hermosa Valley Elementary
School. Placer Hills Union Elementary:
Weimar Hills. Rosedale Union Elementary:
Rosedale Middle School.
2019 NASS/ACSA Federal Advocacy Conference
September 15-17, 2019
Hotel Palomar | 2121 P Street, NW | Washington, D.C.
register today | www.nass.us/ignited