Osborn School News‏

Superintendent Wilma Basnett is pleased to announce that two Osborn schools have won the prestigious first place Golden Bell Award from the Arizona School Board Association. Golden Bell Awards are one of the most important and coveted education awards in Arizona and are given to school districts from throughout the state that have shown outstanding successes in student achievement. First Place and Runner Up awards are given state-wide in four categories: District-wide Curriculum Delivery and Accountability Program; High School (Grades 9-12); Middle Years (Grades 4-9); and Elementary Years (Pre-K-Grade 6).

Solano Modified Traditional School won a first place Golden Bell in the Elementary Years category. The Solano Writing Project is a school-wide program designed to empower students as writers. Solano staff members believe that one of our most important tasks as educators is to introduce students to written language and to teach them how to use it to communicate effectively and creatively. The Writing Project has not only been a positive experience for the Solano community, it has also contributed to improved achievement for Solano students as they grow and mature in the school. For more information, see http://www.osbornnet.org/programs/A+Writing.htm

Osborn Middle School won a first place Golden Bell in the Middle Years category. Osborn Middle School’s Honors Mathematics program was designed to increase academic opportunities for students by accelerating mathematics coursework and curriculum. The timing of a student’s successful completion of Algebra 1 in their academic career is critical to opportunities afforded them during high school and beyond. Accelerating students’ mathematics curriculum facilitates their enrollment in advanced mathematics courses at the high school level. Our Honors Mathematics Program has grown in both strength and numbers over the past five years. It has grown so large that more than a third of Osborn’s 2011 graduating eighth grade class started high school this fall one or two years accelerated in Mathematics. For more information, see http://www.osbornnet.org/programs/A+Math.htm

Superintendent Wilma Basnett and Principal Karen Epps are also pleased to announce that Solano Modified Traditional School has earned a Highly Performing label from the Arizona Department of Education. Students and staff have worked very hard for this honor. Last year Solano had a high percentage of students who exceeded the state standards!

Clarendon, Longview, and the Osborn Middle School all earned Performing Plus labels and Encanto earned the Performing label. At Encanto, only the third grade is tested for AIMS, and thus the school is unable to demonstrate growth between two tested grade levels (a significant part of Arizona’s formula for determining both types of school labels). Encanto students consistently perform very well on the AIMS. Under Arizona’s new letter labeling system, three district schools are labeled ‘B’ (Clarendon, Osborn Middle and Solano) and the remaining two are labeled ‘C’ (Encanto and Longview).

Volunteers from Rotary 100 brought dictionaries to Osborn fifth graders. This year all 307 fifth graders received their own dictionary to take home. Extra dictionaries are available for students who enroll during the school year. They commented on how polite the children were and how delighted they seemed with their books. Each student received a paperback copy of A Student’s Dictionary & Gazetteer personalized with their name inscribed inside. Research indicates that a dictionary in the home is shared by at least four people- giving the entire family the opportunity to increase their vocabulary. Fifth grade teachers also provide many opportunities for students to increase their word power through the use of their dictionaries throughout the school year.

Source: Osborn School District

Still Time for Fall Classes; Learn About Camp Colley‏

Though some classes are filled, there's still time to register for openings in some fall classes, programs and sports leagues. Check out the Classes and Programs link at the top left of the Parks and Recreation Department webpage to see a full listing of available fall classes, programs and sports leagues for kids and adults of all ages.

Did you know that the Parks and Recreation Department operates an outdoor adventure camp in the cool pines of the Mogollon Rim? Camp Colley, operated with the support of the non-profit Camp Colley Foundation, offers a host of family camps that introduce people to camping and outdoor recreation. Check out the Camp Colley Foundation webpage for details on this great facility and its programs and the ways you can support this wonderful resource

Source: City of Phoenix Parks and Recreation Department

Phoenix Union Students Named National Merit Scholarship Semifinalists

It was a first-ever for a Bioscience High School student and business-as-usual for students from North High who were named National Merit Scholarship Semifinalists in the 2012 National Merit Scholarship Program.

Steven Alley becomes the first National Merit Semifinalist from Bioscience while Andrew Herschfelt and Steve Jozef join a long tradition of North students who have qualified as semifinalists by being among the highest-scoring entrants in Arizona in the 2010 Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test (PSAT.) Alley is in the engineering pathway at Bioscience. The two North students are in the school’s International Baccalaureate Program.

The 16,000 semifinalists this year represent less than one percent of the 1.5 million juniors from over 22,000 high schools who take the PSAT. National Merit Finalists are highly coveted as prospective students to every college and university in the country, and the designation often leads to academic scholarships.

Alley becomes the first Bioscience student in the six-year history of the school to earn the prestigious recognition. He is a member of the third graduating class at the science and math-focused small school in downtown Phoenix. Alley scored a 223 (of 240 points) on his PSAT, and had a 34 composite score on his ACT last year. Alley arrived at Bioscience as an 11th grader, after attending North Canyon High School his first two years. The Laveen resident has not decided on a college, but has applied to ASU and Arizona. His brother is a sophomore who also attends Bioscience.

Herschfelt’s two favorite classes reflect his interest in engineering and music- physics and advanced concert/marching band. Herschfelt is the percussionist section leader in the band and was selected to regional band last year. He is auditioning for national and international percussion ensembles and drum corps this year, and would like to play in his college band. However, Herschfelt wants to become an engineer, like his father, and complete graduate school. He plans to attend ASU’s Barrett College, and would like to apply electrical engineering in the musical field, possibly in sound technology development or recording.

Jozef would like to use his creativity in the entertainment industry. He loves acting, and has been a cast member for five school drama productions, played guitar in Godspell and was the student director for another play. He is a member of the National Thespian Society, and has spent summers in Wisconsin, working in theatre teaching young actors. While he has always been good in math, Jozef loves writing and says he enjoys words and what they do. He placed second in a school poetry contest last year. His career goals include becoming an entertainment journalist or screenwriter, or working on the creative side of video game production. He plans to major in creative writing, and minor in film or journalism at ASU’s Barrett College.

About 90% of semi-finalists become finalists, according to the National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC.) North had six National Merit Scholar Finalists last year and three others received NMSC Letters of Commendation. Since 1990, North has had 90 National Merit Scholarship semi-finalists and finalists and 105 Commended students. This year’s Commended students have not yet been announced.

Source: Phoenix Union High School District

Osborn School News‏

School started this morning and we have some great news that will impact the safety of our neighborhoods!

All five Osborn schools received School Safety Grants to support having a School Resource Officer or Probation Officer on campus. Officers are certified and highly trained to work effectively with students, teachers and families in the school community. They provide Law Related Education to students, contribute to the assessment of School Safety and Prevention, are a resource for the students and their families in need of community based services; and serve as a liaison between the school community and law enforcement. The officers also serve as role models and talk with students about issues that have real-life importance, building their trust and confidence to turn to law enforcement if and when the occasion arises.

Officer Marcus Matthews (Police): Osborn Middle School

Officer Jose Morales (Police): Clarendon & Encanto Schools

Officer Stephanie Gardner (Probation): Longview School

Officer Rosario Lopez (Police): Solano School

Osborn Middle School

Literacy Master Teacher Brendan Mann received a $10,000 Media and Technology grant from the Arizona Republic. He plans to use the funds to purchase a classroom set of netbook computers for an Electronic Literacy project. With the daily integration of technology, students can increase their literacy comprehension skills, critical thinking, and problem solving.

Cynthia Westberg, EdM

Source: Osborn School District
602-707-2032
602-670-8226 (cell)

Phoenix Union has new method to monitor concussions as sports season begins

Serious measures are being taken to ensure the health and safety of youth athletes playing contact sports. Even the State of Arizona recently passed legislation regarding players at risk of sustaining a concussion. But one of the most important measures that can be utilized lies inside each player.

Phoenix Union High School District will now use a software program to implement a baseline testing and post-injury neurocognitive testing program for contact sport team members. ImPACT (Immediate Post-Concussion Assessment and Cognitive Testing) is a widely used, computerized concussion evaluation system that has been donated to the school district by the Maricopa Health Foundation and will be implemented for the first time, this school year.

Previously, Phoenix Union employed the Standard Assessment of Concussion paper testing to run through cognitive evaluations, which are comparable to ImPACT’s system. Camelback High School’s Athletic Trainer Marisa Medrano is eager to implement the software and take advantage of the ease of data generation regarding a student’s recovery progress after being concussed. She noted coaches especially will benefit the statistics provided by ImPACT and that the test results may be more accurate.

“Teenagers will always tell you that they’re fine because they want to get back in the game,” said Dr. Thomas Eccles, Director of Adolescent Medicine at Maricopa Medical Center, Department of Pediatrics. “But we have recognized that continued concussions without adequate recovery will lead to long term problems. ImPACT gives coaches and trainers the data to make better informed decisions about whether or not a player can come off the sidelines.”

Purchase and licensing of the ImPACT software for the Phoenix Union High School District was a project initiated by the Adolescent Medicine Section of the Department of Pediatrics at Maricopa Medical Center and the Arizona Children's Center. After literally waiting on the bench as a sidelines medical service volunteer at Camelback High School football games, Dr. Eccles is pleased to see the school district have an opportunity to magnify its ability to treat its athletes.

“I’ve told my athletes that they don’t want to be drooling on themselves when they are 60 because they played when they should have been recovering,” said Medrano. “I am glad to say through annual education of athletes, parents, trainers and coaches there is more awareness of how costly a hit that a player took could be. And now with ImPACT we will be better able to monitor concussions and work with a physician to read the scores in order to clear students for play.”

About ImPACT

ImPACT is a 20-minute test that has become a standard tool used in comprehensive clinical management of concussions for athletes of all ages. Inherent difficulties make it important to manage concussions on an individualized basis and to implement baseline testing and/or post-injury neurocognitive testing. This type of concussion assessment can help to objectively evaluate the concussed athlete's post-injury condition and track recovery for safe return to play, thus preventing the cumulative effects of concussion. The program measures multiple aspects of cognitive functioning in athletes, including: attention span, working memory, sustained and selective attention time, response variability, non-verbal problem solving and reaction time.

Maricopa Health Foundation

The Maricopa Health Foundation exists solely to support the services of Maricopa Integrated Health System (MIHS) which touches the lives of nearly all residents of Maricopa County one way or another. The Phoenix Cancer Center is a leading provider for cancer care, where patients have access to receive high quality cancer treatment through the latest technology with top physicians and specialists. Programs include the Level I Trauma Center, The Arizona Burn Center and the Arizona Children’s Center. MIHS trains more than 400 physicians a year and provides care to the uninsured and underinsured. For more information, please visit http://www.mihs.org/foundation.

Phoenix Union High School District

Phoenix Union High School District serves 25,000 students at 16 schools covering 220 square miles of central Phoenix. Ten comprehensive schools are members of the Arizona Interscholastic Association (AIA) and compete in football. Football practices have begun this week. Over 1,000 student-athletes participate in football each year. Each school has a certified athletic trainer who works closely with the athletic director, coaches and students to ensure the health and safety of each athlete.

Source: Phoenix Union High School District

Phoenix Union High School District Classes Start August 8

The 2011-2012 Phoenix Union school year begins Monday, August 8 for an estimated 25,000 students at 16 campuses. The start is a week later than previous years, and winter break will consist of two weeks after Christmas.

Improving instruction across the curriculum is the theme of the new year. The Cambridge International Curriculum will begin at Central, International Baccalaureate at Betty Fairfax and ACT Quality Core will be implemented in English and math at the other schools. The curricula not only fulfill state standards, but align with national common core standards, and are considered more rigorous and focused on college-readiness. Annual student performance progress will also be closely monitored through district-wide ACT-based testing in 9th grade, 10th grade and 11th grade.

Five schools will have new principals, 125 new teachers have been hired and the District will begin to pilot a new performance-based teacher and principal evaluation system.

Phoenix Union schools follow a traditional school calendar. There are 180 instructional days, with 90 days in each semester. Students have fall break, October 12-16, a two-week winter break beginning Friday, December 23, and spring break, March 12-16. Graduation Days are May 23-24.

Students not yet pre-registered may enroll at the schools or on-line at http://www.phoenixunion.org/experience. Students will need to provide a birth certificate and immunization records to complete the enrollment process.

All Phoenix Union schools, including magnet program schools, Metro Tech, Bioscience and Franklin Police and Fire afford open enrollment to anyone residing within the District. Students outside the District may enroll as space permits.

Freshman orientation programs are offered by campus. Visit the Phoenix Central Neighborhood Association's calendar for Central High School's (servicing the Phoenix Central Neighborhood) schedule. New teacher induction is July 27-29, and teachers report Tuesday, August 2.

Source: Phoenix Union High School District

FROM THE SUPERINTENDENT

Two major changes will affect Osborn Schools next year:

1. Montecito Community School is Closed

After discussion and input from community and staff during two public hearings, the Governing Board voted to close Montecito School. This decision, while painful, addressed declining enrollment and declining dollars that created a budget deficit of $712,000. The decision had nothing to do with the caliber of the staff or programs at Montecito—it was strictly
financial. This change will require minimal disruption to other district schools because Montecito students will simply be transferred to Longview School.

Montecito teaching staff will be teaching at Longview and other district schools. Even with budget cuts, the district will maintain the current level of special area programs including Art, Music and Physical Education. We believe An Osborn Education must include these special areas taught by specialists in each field. The District will maintain a presence at Montecito and assure
that the community investment will be properly maintained at all times. We will consider possible leasing of the facility.

We have wonderful programs and facilities in the district—we simply need more children. Please encourage your friends and neighbors to consider enrolling in Osborn. This Reporter is filled will lots of reasons why that would be a wise choice.

2. Two-Hour Early Dismissal Every Wednesday

The state is releasing new Math and Language Arts Standards for the 2011-12 school year. Mastering these standards and working with fellow teachers to incorporate them into daily
lessons is a vital part of improving student achievement. As a result, the Governing Board has agreed to replace the current 45-minute Tuesday early dismissals with a two-hour early
dismissal every Wednesday afternoon for all students to allow for staff development and team planning for teachers. This longer released period weekly is consistent with and often
shorter than early dismissals of surrounding districts. Afters chool program options will be available for students who need it during the weekly early dismissal time.

Despite these changes and the resulting adjustments that will be required, we look forward to a successful year.

Wilma Basnett, PhD

Source: Osborn School District

EXTRA CURRICULAR EXCELLENCE

Six Osborn teachers were honored by the
AZ Department of Education as “2010
Outstanding 21st Century Community
Learning Centers After School
Teachers”: Kindergarten Teacher Alicia
Pierson at Encanto teaches Cooking with
Math in which students learn about
volume and fractions while creating
delicious snacks; Ballet Instructor
Camden Lloyd at Clarendon teaches the
district’s A+ Ballet Program to 108 third
through eighth grade boys and girls;
Substitute Teacher Erin Johnston teaches
Tap Dance to students at Longview,
Sixth Grade Teacher Danielle McKay
teaches the Yearbook Club in which
Montecito students learn a new computer
program, photograph students, design the
layout, and produce the school’s
yearbook; Literacy/Math Intervention
Teacher Pat Beck teaches Culinary Arts
to Osborn Middle School students; First
Grade Teacher Hilary Rooze teaches a
program called Girls on the Run to
Solano students who learn about
nutrition and fitness while training to run
a 5 km race.

While Osborn’s after school classes have
academic and enrichment components to
assist students with school-day skills,
they are also fun and engaging. They are
supported through special partnerships,
grants, and tax credit donations.

Source: Osborn School District

PERFORMANCE PAY PROGRAM BEGINS AT OSBORN

Reform and accountability are the focus of national and state
efforts to improve education. Osborn is at the forefront through
a grant-funded partnership with Arizona State University.
Osborn is the first school district in Arizona to implement the
Teacher-Student Advancement Program (TAP) district-wide.
TAP has a track record of improving quality of instruction and
level of student achievement. Teachers are held accountable for
meeting TAP teaching, knowledge and responsibility standards
as well as academic growth of their students. Each teacher is
evaluated multiple times yearly by trained and certified
evaluators, including master and mentor teachers, the principal
and district office administrators. In addition, teachers
participate in rigorous professional development. Teachers will
receive Performance Pay based on their roles and
responsibilities, performance in the classroom, and student
achievement. This is a rigorous undertaking, but one that will
help Osborn School District reach our goal of increasing
student achievement.

Source: Osborn School District