Schools

Teachers become the students again with Bullis Charter School’s STEAM Project-Based Learning practicum. Courtesy of Bullis Charter School

After a successful first year, the Santa Clara County Office of Education and Bullis Charter School kicked off the second Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math Integrated Project-Based Learning practicum for educators last week.

The inaugural practicum drew participation from more than 40 educators in Santa Clara County schools, exceeding expectations. The demand for the project led to an expansion with this year’s workshops, seminars and symposium.

Megan V. Winslow/Town Crier
Pinewood School students play on the expanded artificial turf at its middle campus, above. Acquiring an adjacent lot enabled the school to increase classroom space and enrichment and play spaces.

The Pinewood School community last week celebrated the completion of the school’s expansion and renovation project.

Source: California Department of Education
The majority of local schools met or exceeded standards on the state’s assessment tests, released last week. The results show the percentage of students who met or exceeded standards in English Language Arts (ELA) and Mathematics, as well as the school’s growth over last year’s results.

Local schools continued to score above the state and county averages on the California Department of Education’s assessment test.

The test – California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress – was administered in the spring to gauge students’ progress in learning new, more rigorous academic Common Core standards designed to prepare them for college and careers in the 21st century.

The Los Altos Educational Foundation, a nonprofit organization led by a board of parent volunteers, is targeting a fundraising goal of $3.7 million for the 2016-2017 school year.

For more than 30 years, LAEF has raised funds from parents and the community to provide enrichment programs and smaller class sizes for all nine schools in the Los Altos School District. Its annual grant for the new school year will support students from transitional kindergarten through eighth grade by maintaining its funding of Science, Technology, Engineering and Math; physical education; libraries; art; music; computer science; and a wider choice of junior-high electives. The foundation is also funding the district’s first instructional support teacher, dedicated to improving instruction, collaboration and learning across disciplines.