Both McAuliffe Middle School and Los Al Elementary scored higher in state math and English Language Arts tests this year than in the previous year.
Data was reported at the Los Alamitos Unified School District board meeting on Nov.1 during an annual report on academic programs and gains in performance.
As part of McAuliffe Principal Ann Allen’s annual report to the board on school progress, Allen spelled out the following levels of students meeting or exceeding state standards:
Both McAuliffe Middle School and Los Al Elementary scored higher in state math and English Language Arts tests this year than in the previous year.
Data was reported at the Los Alamitos Unified School District board meeting on Nov.1 during an annual report on academic programs and gains in performance.
As part of McAuliffe Principal Ann Allen’s annual report to the board on school progress, Allen spelled out the following levels of students meeting or exceeding state standards:
• 6th grade English language arts (ELA): 79 percent, up four percentage points
• 6th grade math: 74 percent, up eight points
• 7th grade ELA: 81 percent, up six points
• 7th grade math: 72 percent, up 12 points
• 8th grade ELA: 82 percent, up one point
• 8th grade math: 72 percent, up three points
“Of course, we want all of our students to meet or exceed standards, but I think we are on the path, and I’m thrilled to be there,” Allen said. She attributed the growth not only to rigorous classroom instruction but to a wide range of intervention strategies the school is pursuing, such as co-teachers (one general education, one special education) in some classrooms, math intervention programs in grades 6-8 and redesigned summer school “bridge” classes.
Allen also described campus-wide modernization efforts including a redesigned outdoor amphitheater, newly painted lockers and landscaping. “The whole campus is beautiful. It just looks stunning,” Allen said. Allen also told the board about security improvements at the campus including window film, restricted access points, and two campus security supervisors.
Los Alamitos Elementary Principal Dr. Sunghie Okino said, during her report, that The percentage of grades 3-5 students meeting or exceeding standards in math increased by 15 percentage points to 74 percent from 2015 to 2016. In English language arts, 72 percent of students met or exceeded standards, up from 69 percent. Okino said the test results are used to design intervention programs targeting those still working to meet the standards. These programs include reading clinics for grades K-3, intensive reading and writing support for English-learners, and after-school math clinics for grades 3-5.
Okino also described how the school is integrating critical, creative, engineering and design thinking through the curriculum, assisted by an expanded use of technology. The school has 12 iPads per classroom in grades K-3, a Chromebook tablet for each student in grades 1-3, and a Dell laptop for each student in grades 4-5. She described a school wide program in which students seek to gauge the impact of their choices on the world around them. Every grade level from TK-5 is engaged in studying some aspect of plastics pollution and devising a solution. For example, fifth-grade students partnered with the environmental organization Algalita to analyze sand collected from Seal Beach to determine what kinds of plastic particles are present. They will use that data to propose ideas for reducing the contamination, Okino said.