Hidden Valley Families,

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Affecting Change

This week Hidden Valley students learned about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr and his impact on the world.  A message shared in our classes was that MLK Jr thought that things should be better, so he stepped in to help make things better.  This video clip Kid President highlights the power we hold to make change.  He shares that ‘things aren’t always awesome’  and that in our own lives, things may not always be awesome, but our response can be.  It is such a powerful message about our ability to affect change through our response to situations.  

 

This same message of being aware of our response to a situation is something that we support in both our Social Emotional Learning and Equity focus.  The Ross Valley School District values and supports educators in building capacity in our self awareness so that we may better meet students where they are, allowing for and guiding meaningful engagement, discussion, and understanding of one another as individuals.  The fruition of which shows daily in student interactions, classroom discussions, and the success of our students.

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Being a Distinguished School

The California Distinguished School Award is such wonderful recognition, and most importantly, a reflection of the work and focus Hidden Valley has nurtured in our learning community. This distinction is for the whole Hidden Valley community and speaks to our work towards equity - providing high level instruction so that all students achieve.
 

For those of you wanting to know more about the award, the California School Dashboard assigns schools one of five "status levels," ranging from "very low" to "very high," on various metrics. 
 

To be recognized as a California Distinguished School in the high student performance category, a school had to meet four criteria: "high" or "very high" English Language Arts test scores; "high" or "very high" math scores; "medium," "low" or "very low" chronic absenteeism; and "low" or "very low" suspensions.  Hidden Valley met criteria in all categories for excellence in student performance.

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To be recognized in the achievement gap category, schools had to meet five criteria: "medium," "high" or "very high" English Language Arts test scores; "medium," "high" or "very high" math scores; "medium," "low" or "very low" chronic absenteeism; "medium," "low" or "very low" suspensions; and "medium," "high" or "very high" math or English test scores for at least one group among African American students, Hispanic students, English learners, socioeconomically disadvantaged students, students with disabilities, homeless students and foster students.  Hidden Valley met criteria in all categories.

  

Congratulations Hidden Valley community, each of you have helped to make this happen!

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In Education Together,

Kristi