The goals for the 1st year of the HS have been posted. See http://www.saviochs.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/savios-goals.pdf
I admire the transparency and also the accountability that this implies. A few of the goals seemed aggressive to me at first but it shows the administration has great confidence in the coming year.
The Eagles had a remarkable first football game. Not the score (a not surprising 48-0 loss given the small school population to draw from) but the school spirit. During and after the game, the support of the school for their new team was overwhelming and LOUD. The excitement was palpable, and promises a great future for the school.
School events kicked off more than a week before the first day of classes (August 31st) with a band concert. They performed pieces they had worked on in their summer camp, and played for about 30 minutes a mix of choir and band pieces. The concert began with a solo electric guitar piece. They did well.
Overheard: “3 hours in class felt like 15 minutes” and “the class was great” and “she made things so easy to understand”
With feedback like that from students who attended the two week long “Algebra Boot Camp” (Algebra I review) earlier in the month, it sounds like the Math program at SDSHS will be fantastic!
The 15 highest paying jobs out of college in the most recent NACE survey once again show the need for strong Mathematics preparation.
http://money.cnn.com/2009/07/24/news/economy/highest_starting_salaries/index.htm?postversion=2009072404
Engineering jobs dominated the “most lucrative degrees” list for new college graduates once again, even in this down economy. It is very timely that Dominic Savio will become the first STEM High School in the area, as it will be able to prepare students for the jobs of the future.
In an ironic twist, Catholics, who for most of our country’s history had been kept from positions of power, may add to their recent majority on the Supreme Court. In what seems to be a testament to the ability of Catholic Schools to teach well, especially to the disadvantaged, we see a Cardinal Spellman High School graduate nominated to the Supreme Court today (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonia_Sotomayor). When I was in grade school 8 out of 9 on the court were Protestant. Quite a difference now … Catholic schools seem to win hands down in creating lawyers.
http://blow.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/05/26/the-catholic-court/
Fascinating article describing a Wall Street Journal writer (and mother) who retook the SAT on a dare from her high school age son.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124337711110856009.html#articleTabs%3Darticle
I too took the SAT practice exams, and found the Math section easier than I expected, but like the WSJ writer, was worried what the Writing test score would show 
I also found the new SAT (at least the practice tests) surprisingly appropriate – testing skills that seem very well matched to what colleges would expect.
In reading about the upcoming retirement of David Souter, one of only 4 non-Catholics on the US Supreme Court, I came across an interesting article explaining why after little representation in positions of power for almost 200 years, Catholics are the majority on the Supreme Court, and why so many top lawyers and judges are Catholic. Some interesting quotes:
“the number of highly qualified conservative Catholic lawyers is also a tribute to the strength of Catholic schools”
“beginning in the 1960s, many conservative Catholics went into the legal profession “because they felt the constitutional jurisprudence of the country was not reflecting their values,”
“Catholics are the intellectual pillars of social conservatism. Compared to their political allies in that movement, Catholics are heirs to a richer intellectual tradition and . . . are more inclined to believe that reason supplies good grounds for the moral and political positions.”
See http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/06/AR2005110601134_2.html
Catholic schools continue to be crucial in forming the intellectual, and intellectually honest “servant leaders” of tomorrow, and with our rich intellectual tradition have inherent advantages over other schools.
NAEP testing continues to show Catholic schools outperforming public schools significantly in Math. In 2008, Catholic school 17 year olds averaged 317 on the Math test, vs. 305 for 17 year old public school students, and outperformed public school students 293 vs. 280 for 13 year olds.
The differences are even more pronounced for the NAEP reading test, which shows Catholic school students outperforming their public school peers by an even greater margin.
The latest NAEP report on the educational progress of US schools (for 2008) has just been released. For the three ages that are regulary tested, the report shows improvement in math for those aged 9 and 13 but not at age 17.
For the oldest age of the three, age 17 ( presumably those nearing High School graduation, and thus soon to enter college and the workforce), the percentage who scored at 300 or above is at the lowest level (59%) since 1990. The higher threshold, those who score at 350 or above, continues to be at its worst level (6%) since 1982 (soon after I graduated from High School!). Although continued progress in the younger grades is great to see, it is disturbing to see no progress in the older grades – despite improvements in math education through elementary and middle school. Math preparation in our High Schools is clearly “worse” if better prepared middle school students, upon High School graduation are less prepared than those who graduated 20 years ago.
We need innovative High Schools with strong Math programs, like Dominic Savio High School, now more than ever!
