Weekly Bulletin
for City High School Families

November 7, 2005

Principal’s Notes

As part of the federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB), schools are required to notify parents about teachers’ qualifications and ensure that staff resumes are available for public review. At City High School we place a high priority on attracting and retaining strong teachers, and we are excited to share our staff’s credentials with others.

Although charter schools in Arizona are exempt from the requirement of hiring certified teachers only, teacher certification is an important criterion for us when reviewing candidates; we do, however, appreciate the flexibility that the exemption provides us when we need it. In 2004-2005, all six of the City High teaching staff were certified in their areas. In 2005-2006, the teaching staff increased to ten, and nine out of the ten teachers are certified. The one who is not certified is pursuing certification and will be completed with his program by summer 2006.

              While certification laws vary from state to state, NCLB is a federal law with guidelines that all states must comply with. An important component of NCLB is the requirement that all teachers must be “highly qualified” in their subject areas, especially in secondary schools. Highly qualified status is determined by one’s degree(s), credit hours, and certifications; years of teaching experience and professional activities can also be factored in to assess one’s qualifications.

This year we have one teacher who has not achieved highly qualified status in one of the two areas that he teaches. This is the same teacher mentioned above who is not yet certified. Because of his academic background, Jeff Hartman is considered “highly qualified” in science; although he is skilled in the area of math, he does not have enough credit hours in the subject to achieve the “highly qualified” status. Jeff is working hard, with strong support from the school, to participate in math-related professional development programs. His goal – and the school’s goal – is to become a certified teacher and to become “highly qualified” in math by June 2006.

Please contact me with any questions you have about the credentials of any or all of our staff. Staff resumes are available to review upon request, and we will be setting up a binder for easier public access that highlights the expertise of our teachers and other staff.

                                                       ~ Carrie Brennan, Principal (carrie@cityhighschool.org)

No School Thursday-Friday

This is a short week for students. School will not be in session on Thursday 11/10 to allow for an all-day staff retreat. School will be closed on Friday 11/11 in observance of Veterans Day.

Opportunity to Take Pima College Assessments

Pima Community College–West has arranged for a group of City High School students to take the college’s placement assessment tests on November 16. The opportunity is limited to 12 students and will be given out on a “first-come, first-served” basis. Sign-up forms and more details will be available next week. For more information on the assessments and for sample test questions, go to the Pima College website: http://www.pima.edu/assessment.

Student Pictures – Retakes & Orders

Picture retakes are scheduled for Monday 11/21 at 10:00 a.m. Students must bring in their old pictures to turn in if they want to do retakes. Parents can still order additional photos from the original shoot. Please see Lynn to place an order. Students who were absent for picture day earlier in the year should see Lynn to get order envelopes.

YMCA Student Memberships – Reminder

Students taking fusion fitness and/or dance for their electives or participating in the basketball team after school need to have a student membership to the YMCA. The discounted Y membership rate for charter school students is $10/month. Students must stay up-to-date with this membership or they will not be able to participate in their classes or activities. If you have any questions or need a scholarship from school, please let us know.