Students and staff at Mt. Madonna Continuation High School
celebrated their success on the state’s accountability report with
a barbecue Friday afternoon.
Gilroy – Students and staff at Mt. Madonna Continuation High School celebrated their success on the state’s accountability report with a barbecue Friday afternoon.
The results released Wednesday marked a three figure jump on the Academic Performance Index – the state’s accountability system which measures how much a school improves from one year to the next.
The high school scored 122 points higher than last year from 465 to 587, representing more than 28 percent of this year’s API growth throughout Gilroy Unified School District.
“We are elated,” exclaimed school site counselor Alma Quintana. “All this hard work paid off.”
More than 80 percent of last year’s student body returned this year to Mt. Madonna – a feat for a continuation high school that services at risk students and a fluctuating population.
“The bottom line is Mr. (John) Perales walked around to each class and said, ‘We need you,’ ” she explained.
Under his leadership, Mt. Madonna was named one of the top 11 continuation high schools in the state last year. He was transferred to head South Valley Middle School this year, but returned for the celebration.
“It’s not rocket science,” he said. “It’s knowing what the kids know and filling in the gaps. That’s what we did last year. You tell (the students) how important this is for us and our school and they step up to the plate.”
API scores are measured on a scale from 200 to 1,000 and the state sets 800 as its goal. The three figure jump will likely be readjusted somewhat, Perales said – however, even slicing the growth in half is considerable.
GUSD Superintendent Edwin Diaz stopped by for the festivities, a show of support the students recognize, explained new principal Sergio Montenegro.
“His presence alone said a lot,” Montenegro explained. “It’s not so much about the food,” he mused as students returned to class from the barbecue. “It’s that we took the time to recognize their achievement.”
