Officials are looking for input from parents and from the
community on a 9-12 grade high school configuration.
As the Morgan Hill School District is preparing to open a second high school – Sobrato High, located on Barrett Avenue at the north end of town – officials are looking for input from parents and from the community on a 9-12 grade high school configuration.
A series of forums will be held to review the work of two district committees and to collect feedback from parents and community members.
“This is something that our district has been waiting for for a long time,” said former Live Oak High/future Sobrato High Principal Rich Knapp, referring to including the ninth grade in the high schools, instead of the middle schools. “Now we have the opportunity to create two great schools.”
To prepare for the change, the district set up an Education Specifications committee (Ed Spec) and a Teacher Leadership committee to study research and make recommendations.
The Ed Spec committee, made up of parents, community members and district staff, is charged with identifying criteria for evaluating student achievement and program success, creating a set of guiding principles and reviewing programs, systems and practices in light of the guiding principles.
Now, the committees will present their work to the rest of the parents and the community in a series of forums. The committees are also seeking feedback from those attending the forums.
The first forum will focus on the question, “What are the features and practices in a good high school?” and will include a survey on good practices and features for the forum attendees to fill out. The first forum will be held at 7 p.m. on Sept. 23 at Britton Middle School, at 7 p.m. on Sept. 24 at Murphy Middle School and in Spanish at 7 p.m. on Sept. 30 at El Toro Elementary.
The second forum will focus on the question, “What criteria do we use to measure students’ academic success?” and the survey to complete will focus on student success. The second forum will be held at 7 p.m. on Oct. 15 at Britton Middle School, at 7 p.m. on Oct. 16 at Murphy Middle School and in Spanish at 7 p.m. on Oct. 14 at El Toro Elementary.
The third forum will ask the question, “What might Live Oak High School and Sobrato High School look like, in terms of features, practices and evaluation?” with a parent/community survey on the design of our high schools. The third forum will be held at 7 p.m. on Nov. 6 at Britton Middle School, at 7 p.m. on Nov. 5 at Murphy Middle School and in Spanish at 7 p.m. on Nov. 4 at El Toro Elementary.
