http://www.washingtonprep.org/apps/bbmessages/index.jsp Bulletin Board en-us SchoolSitePro http://www.washingtonprep.org/apps/bbmessages/show_bbm.jsp?REC_ID=59746 http://www.washingtonprep.org/apps/bbmessages/show_bbm.jsp?REC_ID=59746 http://www.washingtonprep.org/apps/bbmessages/show_bbm.jsp?REC_ID=59703 http://www.washingtonprep.org/apps/bbmessages/show_bbm.jsp?REC_ID=59703
I cannot thank you enough for your continued support and for all of the special efforts you are making this year to maintain and accelerate the impetus we established last year toward improving our school in the areas of improved instruction; improved academic performance of students; improved attendance; improved safety and security of school environment; and improved communications among the school’s stakeholders. I commend you for demonstrating your deep concern and care as we work to improve and maintain Washington Preparatory High School as a world-class community school. Spring Break is March 30-April 8, 2012. We return to school April 9, 2012.

PARENT/GUARDIAN/ALUMNI PARTICIPATION: You have demonstrated your support in so many ways. The participation in the Principal’s Breakfast continues to be excellent and it is such a pleasure to see you and share with you and hear your thoughts and ideas. I wish to thank the alumni who attended and provided gift cards and scholarships, paying for senior dues and committed themselves to make a difference at their alma mater. The completion of our Athletic Complex was another milestone that was celebrated by staff, students and community. We will officially invite Board Member Poindexter-Lamotte, whom we are most grateful to, to help name and open the facility in the Fall for football season. Please drop by the new Lamotte Fitness Center and see all the students, staff, and community (including the Principal) working out and getting fit on state of the art tools. Our Wellness Center continues to bring much needed resources to our community to benefit students and families with their physical, social, emotional and mental health needs. On March 26th we broke ground on the new Community Health and Wellness Clinic in the faculty parking lot. Also, we are completing new solar panels in the school to keep us green. These new panels will reduce our energy footprint by 25% or 300KW per day! Lastly, please complete the School Experience Survey by April 13, 2012. Letters were sent home with the school survey code on March 23, 2012 during period 3. Please complete them by hand and return them to your student’s third period teacher on or before that date. The class that gets 100% of its parents to complete the survey gets a pizza party from the principal! Of course of our goal is 100% returned! We can do it!

ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE: Our staff and students are maintaining and accelerating the efforts to increase our test scores by 15 POINTS PLUS to ensure that we meet our Academic Performance Index (API) goal. We need your support in many ways because parental support and encouragement will always be the most important factor in the lives of their children. We have only 30 DAYS before the CSTs. Please be sure your child does his or her best on these tests. They can prepare by going over released test items, asking teachers what their previous scores were, and working extra hard the remainder of the year. As always please be sure the monitor their homework, provide a quiet time for studies at a well lit location, and days before the tests, get plenty of rest, drink lots of water, and eat good breakfasts. I know we will hit a homerun this year.

IN-SEAT ATTENDANCE: We are continually working to get students to report to school on time each day and to report to their classes on time in order to take advantage of every minute of instructional time. We all know that improved attendance to be a significant indicator of progress toward improved teaching/learning. I cannot stress how important it is for you to make sure that your children report to school promptly each day. We are performing slightly below last year rate. Our goal is that 66% of all students attend school 96% of the time (7 days or less). We are at about 53%. We can do better by making sure that students do not miss another precious school day! Call our PSA staff for more information on how to help you if your child is having difficulty attending.

STUDENT LIFE: THE STELLAR CLASS OF 2012 HAD A WONDERFUL SENIOR SPIRIT WEEK UNDER THE GUIDANCE OF MS. WALTON, MS. WILLIAMS AND MRS. AUGUSTUS. GO TO SENIOR PAGE at www.washingtonprep.org TO SEE THE GREAT WEEK OF EVENTS. Our award winning drama department under Dr. Andrews will be as the Spring Musical, "Zoot Suit", April 20, 21,22, 2012. Mark your calendars now!!!
Your support of our athletic teams was admirable. Our fall and winter teams had a great time and were victorious all season. Especially in our basketball programs. The Generals played valiantly but succumbed to formidable foes during both the City Section playoffs where they were supported by hundreds of Prep fans. We will win it next year. Congratulations and appreciations to the Lady Generals and the Generals who are engaged in spring sports. With the opening of the new facilities, we increased our track and field team by scores. They competed at USC on March 24 thrilling many collegiate and high school fans and families the entire day. I was so proud to see them in our new uniforms under the experience leadership of our new Track and Field Coach Fuller. Coach Schop continues to lead the Generals in swimming and Coach Llorens has the boys Golf team off to a dashing start. Coaches Adams and McEloy (stepping in for the legendary Coach Sisney) has softball and baseball teams taking the field in new uniforms and ready to take the Marine League! A must see is Boy Volleyball this season lead by our AD Kim Bly. They are fun to watch. Thanks to all of you all, especially our Coaches, our AD and her Assistant, and AP Augustus for leading the way. We’re in it to win it! Go Generals

The students and staff joined together to provide many activities to commemorate many of the great achievements of African-Americans during African-American History Month. Of course we ended with “Feed the Village” which was wonderful! Thanks to the committee on putting this celebration of our family together. On International Womens’ Day our Latinos Unidos club presented a beautiful yellow rose to all our wonderful ladies on campus. We continue to embrace our multiple cultures with a special performance on March 29, 2012 with the Aztec Dancers in the quad and Student of the Month in the library at noontime. Please join us! We celebrate Cesar Chavez on March 30, 2012. Please remember his contributions for all of us in labor relations and peace. There is no school that day. Thank you to the many coordinators and participants who supported this historical observation at Washington. Finally, our Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) report is nearing completion and remember our visit is April 26, 2012. I will let you know about our new School Improvement Grant (SIG) in a few weeks. We will be partnering with the Los Angeles Educational Partnership (LAEP) to improve our school. A great group I have worked with for many years of my career. Of special note is that we will be voting on a new block schedule as part of the grant requirement and as you know we start in August this year.

Also attached in this issue are High School Years for March and April. I hope you are enjoying this series. Please read the section standardized tests in March to help us focus on the next 30 DAYS before the CST. There is much good information to use as we together provided the foundation for learning for the adolescents we serve.

Let us forge ahead to be successful in meeting all of the challenges ahead of us. We have made tremendous strides and there is much more to be done. LET’S DO IT!!



Sincerely,

Todd Ullah, Ed.D.
Principal
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As your proud and happy principal going into my fourth year, it is an honor for me to update you on to the activities of the 2011-12 School Year and to thank you for all of your support during the last three years in our efforts to save our school and to make Washington Preparatory High School a world-class learning community. We have accomplished so much together and there is so much more to be done but I am encouraged and inspired by the results of our efforts and I know that you will be too. The powerful force of staff, students, parents/guardians, alumni, district and community working together for the common purpose of elevating the students’ academic performance in a clean, safe, secure and caring environment is working.

On Wednesday November 9, 2001, Superintendent Deasy circulated a press release regarding Public School Choice 3.0 reform initiative. The release is available on our website for review. I want to communicate to you what this means for the Washington Preparatory High School (WPHS) community for the 2012-2013 School Year. Congratulations are in order because we were removed from the third round of PSC schools PENDING our being approved for the School Improvement Grant (SIG). Thank you for your dedicated work. We will prevail. Please review the information in the following categories:

PUBLIC SCHOOL CHOICE (3.0)

• We must complete our PSC (3.0) reform proposal which is due November 18, 2011 since we are certain of being awarded SIG funds. We have done extensive work on our reform plan and are finalizing the proposal. Plus we want to always be ready.
• The components in the proposal will be implemented next school year.
• As part of the proposal we are adding grades 6-8. The new school will be a Center for Enriched Studies Magnet housing 300 students.

SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT GRANT (SIG) RESTART MODEL

• We have completed our application for the School Improvement (SIG) Grant. Plan is available on our website for review. The grant focuses on a new teacher evaluation system, extending the school day so that struggling and advancing students get the opportunities to learn they each need each day, a new block/advisory schedule to extend learning time. The new 2 X 8 Block with allow students to complete 80 credits per year instead of 60. School regular schedule will end at 3:00PM each day. The SIG grant is for three years, each year of getting money is dependent on meeting forecasted goals.
• We qualify in the SIG grant as a Restart Model which begins the 2012-2013 School Year with an Educational Management Organization (EMO). Our EMO is the Los Angeles Educational Partnership (LAEP). The principal and staff will remain in place (District budgetary implications may impact staffing for the 2012-2013 School Year as has been the case in recent years of budget cuts and adjustments).
• LAEP will provide a Transformation Facilitator and a Program Coordinator along with key professional development opportunities such as interdisciplinary planning and starting a Critical Friends network. Their focus will be the 9th and 10th grades. They have a strong history with the LAUSD. They are happy to work with us.

QUALITY EDUCATION INVESTMENT ACT (QEIA)

• Our funding from QEIA is continuing. 13 schools lost funding for this year.
• Class size reduction is 27:1 and Counselor ratios are 300:1. Facilities must be fair or exemplary.
• This year we met all of the criteria except API posting a 3 point gain. We needed 14.

The following are updates on school progress and goals:

SCHOOL UNIFORMS
We need to thank you, the parents, and compliment the students for supporting the uniform dress code policy. It makes us safer and provides a sense unity on campus. Please continue to monitor your child each day and always reiterate how proud you of them and “The PREP.” Remember there are three colors for shirts. Bottoms are dark blue and kakhi. We will periodically be doing uniform checks and calling home. We really need your help on this.
ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE INDEX (API) 3 POINT INCREASE: Our students increased their academic performance by 3 points this year to post a new score of 552 on the California Standards Test (CST). A record setting 94.7% of our 9th, 10 and 11th graders were present and took the tests each day. CONGRATULATIONS!!! Thank you for supporting your child and the school in this urgent effort to demonstrate that our students can and will perform with our support. Last year we shined in Algebra 1AB with a major increase in proficiency of 12 points higher than the year before. We made the greatest improvement in LD 8! The goal this year is to hit a homerun with another 30 point performance in all the core areas.
CALIFORNIA HIGH SCHOOL EXIT EXAM (CAHSEE): We also had a record number (97%) of 10th graders taking this exam with an increased passed rate by 5% over last year. We must encourage and prepare our students to seriously focus on increasing their attendance and pass rates in the 10th grade to avoid having to take the test again to qualify for graduation. We are aiming to increase our graduation rate to 80+% this year and passing CAHSEE early is necessary to accomplish this goal. We need your help!! Please visit or call the parent center for how you can help.
ATTENDANCE ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND GOALS: Our overall daily in-seat attendance increased by 2 full points to 93% last year. Thank you for your support in this outstanding and first time accomplishment. I know that this would not have happened without your everyday efforts to get your students to school each day. Our goal this year is to have 66% of all students attending 96% (missing 7 or less days) of the time. So join the 96 Club and be eligible for some really cool prizes while supporting our school. We know that we can do it because we had a 97% attendance rate for 10th grade CAHSEE and a 94% attendance for 9th, 10th and 11th graders for CST. Please continue to support our efforts by insisting that your children come to school each day on time and report to classes promptly. Their success depends on their taking advantage of every minute of instructional time each day. I extend special thanks to friends and alumni who offered special incentive awards to students and classes for outstanding attendance.
SMALL LEARNING COMMUNITIES (SLCs): The staff has done much work to refine our SLCs (approximately 300 students per community). And are diligently planning and implementing strategies to increase students’ academic performance in smaller and more personalized learning environments. Each SLC is staffed with its own faculty, administrator and counselor. We expect that students will perform better and reflect a greater sense of unity and respect for themselves, their SLC, and the general school community. As you know we increase the size of our Music Magnet and renamed it to be the New Music and Performing Art Magnet with full A-G courses and wonderful teachers. Please get to know your child’s teachers and support their efforts to create successful and fruitful small learning environments.
NEW ADMINISTRATORS: Please welcome the new administrators joining us this year. They are Ms Sheilah Sanders, Assistant Principal; I, Todd Ullah, am still here as well as Ms Beverly Utley and Ms Ellen Pace Martin. We look forward to another year of accomplishments working with you and your family.
WELLNESS CENTER: The Wellness program, headed by our wonderful Wellness Facilitator, Ms. Angela Rodirguez, and team will be working closely with the school to increase wellness and family participation from elementary through high school. We look forward to providing services to support you. Please drop by and learn.
STUDENT LIFE: Our students are very proud of their accomplishments last year. They increased their API; improved attendance; improved the safety and security of the campus environment; and increased student participation in student clubs, organizations and sports. I am pleased to see our student demonstrate pride for their school.
FACILITIES ALTERATIONS AND IMPROVEMENTS: We continue to make progress in our efforts to improve the grounds and facilities. We wish our students to be proud of their school and become active in demonstrating their care by keeping it clean and beautiful. I remind you of other improvements that were planned an now complete to support our Generals: A wireless campus 100% complete, a new baseball field 98% complete (need the score-board), fitness center 100% complete, painting of school is100% complete, and our new athletic field is 95% complete and will host its first Soccer game in December, our plans are complete for a solar powered parking structure arriving during winter break, and plans for our new community health clinic


New for the 2011-2012 school year, beginning this month, I present free for your use: “High School Years” a publication offering what I feel are truly useful tips to learn more about working with a high school age student. Monthly topics include: how to pay for college, building responsibility, proper internet use and more. I hope you like it. Please be sure to complete our School Experience Survey at lauds.net and let me know how we are doing so we can improve. Let me know if you like this publication.

We must work together to sustain and improve our accomplishments as we prepare for our two new challenges on, which are the new Public School Choice School plan and the WASC Accreditation Revisit in Spring 2012. We will need to redouble our efforts and find the resolve that make schools great. I know we will. We need your support and help more than ever to keep Washington “Washington!”

I wish to thank you for your great participation this year on our councils, our Back-To-School Night Program, Homecoming, and other parent activities. Last week’s Principal’s Breakfast was a great success. Please join me the second Thursday of each month for breakfast and “chalk talk.” As you can see there is much to be thankful for. Let us join hands, hearts and minds and continue our commitment as Generals to make Washington Prep the great school that we are capable of making it. In my fourth year, I am prouder than ever to be your principal and I am one happy educator given the commitment and support that you have demonstrated in support of students and staff. Our goals cannot be achieved without your support. We know what we are fighting against, We know these are angry times for many, but what are we are fighting for? Washington and a good way of life! Let’s fight on.


Sincerely,


Todd Ullah, Ed.D.
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For more details please see contact Ms. Wilson our college counselor.]]> http://www.washingtonprep.org/apps/bbmessages/show_bbm.jsp?REC_ID=45620 http://www.washingtonprep.org/apps/bbmessages/show_bbm.jsp?REC_ID=45620 http://www.washingtonprep.org/apps/bbmessages/show_bbm.jsp?REC_ID=45621 http://www.washingtonprep.org/apps/bbmessages/show_bbm.jsp?REC_ID=45621 http://www.washingtonprep.org/apps/bbmessages/show_bbm.jsp?REC_ID=43203 http://www.washingtonprep.org/apps/bbmessages/show_bbm.jsp?REC_ID=43203