Schools

Morgan Hill Unified School District leaders and its Board of Trustees will schedule three public hearings to allow for comments and input into the Local Control Accountability Plan, the 2018-19 budget and district reserves as part of the June 5 meeting.

A surprising casualty of the unprecedented Bay Area housing market, Morgan Hill Unified School District Board President Tom Arnett resigned from his post and is moving to Southern California.

Ann Sobrato High School was among the top 100 high schools in California, according to recently released U.S. News & World Report’s 2018 Best High School Rankings.The Morgan Hill Unified School District school was awarded a silver medal for its accomplishment as the 99th best in the state out of a pool of 2,100. Sobrato was also ranked 585th among 20,500 public high schools evaluated across the country by the U.S. News & World Report.“This recognition means a lot to our staff and students who work so hard every day,” Sobrato Principal Courtney Macko said. “Increasing our rank from No. 130 to No. 99 is an enormous accomplishment and illustrates the commitment of our students to achieving their academic goals with the support of an amazing staff.”Live Oak High School, which went unranked, did not crack the top 500.In Gilroy, Dr. TJ Owens Gilroy Early College Academy earned a gold medal with rankings of 23rd in state and 172nd nationally; Gilroy High School got a silver medal with rankings of 480th in state and 2,451st nationally; and Christopher High School went unranked. San Benito High School also did not make the list.The purpose of the rankings was “to identify schools that best serve all of their students – including historically underserved populations—and assess the degree to which students are prepared for college-level coursework,” according to the report.Schools are awarded gold, silver or bronze medals based on their performance on state assessments, graduation rates and how well they prepare students for college.Sobrato, which opened in 2004, serves 1,477 ninth through 12th grade students with a 23 to 1 teacher-to-student ratio, according to the report. The student body is made up of 52 percent male and 48 percent female with 63 percent minority enrollment.The school received a “College Readiness Score” of 55.3 out of 100 with 74 percent Advanced Placement participation rate, according to the findings. It has a 94 percent graduation rate.The top four high schools in the U.S. News & World Report state rankings were Whitney High School in Cerritos, Oxford Academy in Cypress, Stockton Collegiate International Secondary and KIPP San Jose Collegiate.“Top-ranked schools succeed in three main areas: exceeding expectations on state proficiency tests, offering challenging coursework and graduating their students,” said Anita Narayan, managing editor of Education at U.S. News. “We encourage parents to use the Best High Schools rankings and data to research which schools in their state and nationwide are ensuring students are well-equipped for the future.”The rankings, which can be viewed online at usnews.com, feature data on a number of factors, including enrollment, graduation rates, diversity, participation in free and reduced-price lunch programs and the results of state assessments, as well as Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate test data.

Sobrato Future Farmers of America were awarded a $1,000 grant from Tractor Supply Company to fund the student group’s chicken coop project, according to a May 8 announcement.

Morgan Hill resident Kayla Womach, a ninth grader at Valley Christian High School, (second from left in photo) was part of a four-person team to win the President’s Business Challenge, a Business & Entrepeneurship Initiative at the San Jose private school. Her team won money totaling $1,000 for the team. The winning team was announced at the annual BEI Banquet, which was held May 5 at Valley Christian High School. Through the BEI, students not only learn core business concepts through school-day courses, but are also given the chance to apply what they learn through numerous business programs, according to the school.

A team of six teachers from Barrett Elementary has received the Intrepid Philanthropy Foundation California Educator Leveraging Innovation by Growing and Honoring Teachers (LIGHT) Award, according to a May 14 announcement.

Ann Sobrato High School was among the top 100 high schools in California, according to recently released U.S. News & World Report’s 2018 Best High School Rankings.

In a stunning last-minute change, Morgan Hill Unified’s Board of Trustees on May 15 surprised its own staff to include two local charter schools in the funding mix of a proposed parcel tax.

The Britton Home & School Club is close to reaching its $15,000 goal in a community-wide effort to recoup valuable funds lost in the shocking carnival chaos of several weeks ago.

Proposed budget cuts for the 2018-19 school year and an education parcel tax measure targeting the November election are two connected items to be discussed at the May 15 Morgan Hill Unified School District Board of Trustees meeting.