Cheers: to the Morgan Hill Unified School District for
increasing, albeit ever so slightly, API scores.
Cheers: to the Morgan Hill Unified School District for increasing, albeit ever so slightly, API scores. The annual “Academic Performance Index” report released Friday shows the district improved by 10 points to a base number of 766. The goal for California schools is a score of 800 or higher.
The base API ranking is calculated using the test results of the previous year from the STAR test and California High School Exit Exam for older students.
“I was very pleased with the district’s API improving by double digits,” Superintendent Wes Smith told reporter Lindsay Bryant, adding the district will continue to strive to increase ranking in comparison with schools with similar demographics.
And work still needs to be done. Hispanic students, who make up about 40 percent of the district, still remain below proficient with a score of 679, just a one point increase since last year.
It’s a start, but a long way from ensuring each and every student has the chance to reach their potential.
Jeers: to the Santa Clara Valley Water District for the way they handled the redrawing of district boundaries. They convened a committee that spent more than four months meeting with the public to gather input, then rejected all three maps that committee recommended, including Map S, which kept the region together and limited the influence of San Jose.
Then at the 11th hour of an April 27 public meeting in which no members of the public were still in attendance, the board drew a new map that split Morgan Hill and Gilroy, at the behest of mayors Steve Tate and Al Pinheiro, who said they submitted letters at the request of Supervisor Don Gage, who may or may not run for the South County seat on the water board in November.
Ultimately, May 14, the board selected a map that includes about 140,000 San Jose residents, again limiting South County’s ability to elect a local representative.
Cheers: to the Morgan Hill Chamber of Commerce for throwing one heck of a barbecue. Despite running out of People’s Choice tickets just before 2 p.m., the first-ever No Bull BBQ was a huge success. Hoping for 5,000 people, the event drew an estimated 10,000, who wandered the grounds and parking lot of the Community and Cultural Center on a pleasant Saturday afternoon enjoying live music and camaraderie.
The sweet smell of barbecue sauce, beer and snow cones formed a tangible smoky cloud in the parking lot as thousands in sunglasses and sandals walked up and down the lines of barbecuers.
More than 50 meat-grilling specialists participated in the fiercely competitive state championship barbecue competition. Sanctioned by the Kansas City Barbecue Society, the cook-off is the first of its kind in Morgan Hill, and organizer Morgan Hill Chamber of Commerce hopes to make it an annual event. Good idea. But next year, make sure there are enough food vendors to sate everyone.
Cheers: to local officers honored during the Exchange Club of Gilroy’s annual Blue and Gold Awards ceremony that honored a slew of public servants, including Morgan Hill police Detective Carson Thomas who was honored for his dedication in solving crimes. Thomas tracked down the accused molester of a 16-year-old boy in November 2009, arresting him at a McDonald’s in Gilroy. He helped extradite a man in Spokane, Wash., who allegedly killed his baby in Morgan Hill.
Congratulations to the other winners: Fire Capt. Brian Glass of the Santa Clara County Fire Department, Gilroy Police Department officer Mark Tarasco, Gilroy firefighter Steven Hayes, Gilroy Sgt. Joseph Deras and his K-9 partner “Gus,” Gilroy Fire Department honored Firefighter Paramedic Jim Dempsey, Deputy Steve Tyler Fernandes of the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Department, officer Eric Locke of the California Highway Patrol, Cal Fire Capt. Paramedic Scott Palmer and Anchorpoint High School dean of discipline and football coach K.C. Adams, received the Book of Golden Deeds Award, which “honors the quiet deeds of an unsung hero in our community.”
