Oak Grove Union School District Ca

Lots of changes at local schools

Most local schools, including those in the area's two largest school districts, Petaluma City Schools and Old Adobe Union School District, open on Wednesday, Aug. 17. Students attending Corona Creek and Meadow School in the Waugh School District start classes on Thursday, Aug. 18.

One change students in Petaluma City Schools are sure to notice is the addition of two days to the school year. Students this year will attend school 177 days compared to 175 last year. Three days have been added to the teachers' year, with a work day in addition to the two classroom days new on the school calendar.

There have been several changes in top administrators, starting with a new superintendent for Petaluma City Schools. Steve Bolman, former deputy superintendent, replaces Greta Viguie, who retired after eight years as district superintendent.

Bolman will serve as interim superintendent for one year. He has indicated he is interested in applying for the permanent position.

Bolman will be working with new principals at Petaluma High School, where retired administrators Frank Lynch and Marilyn Stratford replace Brian Howard, who left in June to become principal at Willowside Middle School in the Oak Grove Union School District, near Sebastopol. Lynch and Stratford will share principal responsibilities on an interim basis until a permanent principal is hired.

Both are retired administrators with a variety of experience in several different positions. Lynch has served as principal of Petaluma High in the past and Stratford is a former principal at Casa Grande.

There will also be a new assistant principal on an interim basis at Petaluma, with Bennett Holley filling the position.

Enrollment in the Petaluma Elementary School District is growing, although the wave has yet to hit the secondary schools, where enrollment continues to lag.

There is a new principal at Grant Elementary School, where Catina Haugen replaces Judith Martin. Haugen has been a teacher at the school for the past 14 years.

API scores rise at high school district - Del Mar Times | Del Mar Times

Academic Performance Index numbers were released this week by the California Department of Education, and the San Dieguito Union High School District reported significant increases over last year at nearly every school.

Canyon Crest Academy, in Pacific Highlands Ranch, gained 18 points, to pass the 900 mark. CCA’s 910 API makes it the highest-scoring comprehensive public high school in the county and one of the highest in the state. CCA’s enrollment is about 1,875 students in grades 9-12.

Carmel Valley’s Torrey Pines High School, with about 2,700 students in grades 9-12, also made gains this year, scoring 880, nine points higher than last year.

Carmel Valley Middle School scored 971, up four points from last year, while Earl Warren Middle School in Solana Beach, the only school in the district to see a lower API this year, dropped four points, to 925. Both are grades 7-8 schools.

The district’s two middle schools in the north – Diegueno and Oak Crest – increased their API scores, Diegueno up 19 points to 908 and Oak Crest up 13 points to 902.

Scores also climbed for San Dieguito’s high schools in the north. San Dieguito Academy in Encinitas scored 854, up nine points over last year, and the API for La Costa Canyon High School in Carlsbad came in three points higher than last year, scoring 818.

Of the district’s eight comprehensive middle and high schools, five scored APIs over 900 – all four middle schools, plus Canyon Crest Academy.

Traditional comprehensive high schools exclude specialty schools that have eligibility criteria for admissions, which may include some charter schools, magnet schools and very small special applications schools.

“Canyon Crest is the first comprehensive high school in San Diego County to top 900,” said Rick Schmitt, SDUHSD’s associate superintendent of educational services. Last year, he said, only six traditional high schools in California topped 900. The district has not yet examined the 2011 scores for statewide comparisons.

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