Alameda Science and Technology Institute

Infobox_School
name = Alameda Science and Technology Institute


established = 2004
type = Public
affiliation =
district = Alameda Unified School District
grades =
president =
principal = Sean McPhetridge
head of school =
dean =
faculty = Approximately 5
staff =
students =
enrollment = Approximately 120
free_text2 =
location = Alameda, California, USA 94501
information =
website = http://www.astischool.com/

School description

An Early College High School, Alameda Science and Technology Institute (ASTI) is located on College of Alameda campus in Alameda's West End neighborhood. First opened in 2004, ASTI is a collaboration between Alameda Unified School District and the College of Alameda. ASTI was planned and conceived as a small high school providing a rigorous college preparatory curriculum to students living in the San Francisco Bay Area. Students earn two years of college credit during their junior and senior years. The ASTI program actively implements project-centered learning and inquiry-based instruction in a teamwork setting, resulting in interdisciplinary work that spans the major content areas.

About the school

As an Early College High School, Alameda Science and Technology Institute is unique in its approach to secondary education. One of the very first Early College High Schools in California to receive funding through a catalytic "start-up" grant made available by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and others, ASTI's funding intermediaries are the Foundation of California Community Colleges and Jobs for the Future. Students at ASTI are provided a rigorous college preparatory curriculum in grades 9 and 10 before then enrolling full-time at the College of Alameda in a prescribed ASTI Course of Study that configures dual enrollment in such a manner as to satisfy California and AUSD high school graduation requirements while simultaneously allowing ASTI students to earn up to two years of community college transfer credits, thus saving students and their families up to two years of college time and college costs.

Performance

Three years ago ASTI received an Academic Performance Index rating that exceeded state targets with an API of 805; last year ASTI's API was set at 877, establishing it then as the top ranking high school in Alameda and the third highest ranking high school in all of Alameda County. ASTI is proud of this, especially considering its socioeconomic diversity and its high number of students who qualify for free and reduced meals. Other schools that exceed ASTI's API in the county represent students and families of considerable economic privilege and academic capital, and thus ASTI prides itself on the progress its students have shown to realize improved student learning outcomes.

Vision statement

ASTI's 2005-2006 School Accountability Report Card Vision Statement reads as follows: "All students at Alameda Science and Technology Institute will be prepared to enroll and succeed in college courses. To realize these ends, ASTI gears its rigorous instruction on critical thinking and effective communication while emphasizing a focus on math, science and technology to equip its students with the skills and knowledge necessary to succeed and compete in the new American economy." As an Early College High School, ASTI adheres to core principles that define these schools: most important of these to ASTI is the stated priority of the national ECHS initiative "to serve low-income young people, first-generation college goers, English language learners, and students of color, all of whom are statistically underrepresented in higher education and for whom society often has low aspirations for academic achievement."

Governance structure

Like all Early College High Schools, ASTI's interdependent governance structure is complex in as much as it requires significant boundary spanning between Alameda Unified School District and the College of Alameda. AUSD and ASTI staff cooperate jointly to help direct the program, working closely with a College Liaison who serves as a Dean at the community college. ASTI administrators and faculty have worked closely with College of Alameda stakeholders to develop an ASTI Advisory Committee that meets quarterly to review school progress and address concerns. This Advisory Committee includes the President of the College of Alameda as well as the Vice President of Student Services. In this manner, these stakeholders work together to facilitate successful college enrollment of ASTI upperclassmen once they complete rigorous preliminary college preparatory coursework. Moreover, this collaboration has resulted this year in English faculty from both institutions working closely together to align therir curricula and create a summer bridge program for students about to enter their first year of full-time college enrollment with ASTI support.

Physical plant

As a new school, ASTI has spent considerable time planning and developing its physical site in particular. Originally located in an abandoned upholstery shop at the College of Alameda, this year ASTI finally was able to install the last of seven modular buildings to achieve its vision of being truly an autonomous high school co-located on a college campus. Clearly this has increased morale of both staff and students as we have moved from a loud and drafty "one-room school house" to modern and clean facilities that are now well-lit and fitting to student and staff needs. In 2007-2008, ASTI created a new science lab classroom and new technology lab to provide increased functionality toward its thematic instructional foci.

State and district requirements

Alameda Science and Technology has defined an "ASTI Course of Study" that aligns Alameda Unified School District and State of California graduation requirements with the requirements of the College of Alameda required for transfer to four-year universities. ASTI emphasizes a freshman and sophomore core curriculum that supports student preparation for college preparation through enrollment in courses that concentrate on transfer of skills in reading, writing, speaking and critical thinking. As such, ASTI freshmen are enrolled in classes in Speaking in grade 9 as well as Composition in grades 9 and 10 to help prepare them for the literacy requirements of success in college. ASTI ensures all students are involved in challenging learning experiences through its deliberate focus on rigorous and accelerated instruction in a well defined academic course of study. The ASTI curriculum explicitly provides for reinforcement of literacy in areas that are crucial to college success: through its concentration on writing and speaking, ASTI prepares its students with the skills necessary to promote college-level language production and content presentation. Students are involved in a strand of interdisciplinary projects that align disparate subject areas: in this manner, ASTI teachers scaffold and structure student learning experiences to consciously aim at individual assignments and group projects of increasing difficulty and progressing complexity.

Expectations

ASTI conducts an annual orientation for its incoming new freshmen and sophomores that includes an overview of what is expected in ASTI as well as the College of Alameda. Thus, all ASTI students have a personal introduction to a core curriculum that explicitly supports student preparation for early college enrollment in the 11th and 12th grades. Teachers collaborate weekly to identify student's individual learning strengths and challenges. ASTI has developed a college counseling program to ensure that underclassmen are clear about their current achievement and to support them in personalized learning plans for completion of college transfer classes. ASTI's 11th and 12th graders receive counseling in one-on-one personalized sessions to ensure their understanding of what they must do to meet the university transfer requirements.

ASTI ensures students will be able to meet all graduation requirements by requiring a prescribed college preparatory curriculum that is explicitly aligned to college transfer requirements that have been mapped backwards to meet and satisfy all Alameda Unified School District and State of California graduation requirements simultaneously. Tutoring is conducted formally in seminars designed to support 11 and 12th graders in their fledgling college participation efforts; mandated tutorials are also provided after school to support the needs of ASTI's 9th and 10th grade learners.

Teaching methods

ASTI teachers use a variety of strategies and resources to actively engage students and emphasize higher order thinking skills. Teachers are provided with weekly collaboration and common planning time that is used to identify individual student learning strengths and challenges. ASTI has made a commitment to embed computer technology and media literacy into its curriculum and instruction. Previously, students only had access to laptop computers that are accessible to the classrooms from a portable cart. This year, ASTI finalized its dream of building a dedicated state-of-the-art technology lab as well as a science lab to match its theme-based emphases on science and technology.

Assessment

ASTI participates in all the state-mandated standardized assessments, including the California Standards Tests (CSTs) and the California High School Exit Exam (CAHSEE). ASTI students are also assessed using the Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) tests in the areas of Reading and Mathematics. MAP testing software and training are provided through support provided by ASTI's intermediary Jobs for the Future, and MAP is a value-added assessment system created by NWEA (Northwest Evaluation Association) to provide dynamic student achievement data that is further disaggregated by staff to provide a cycle of inquiry to promote school improvement and identify academic support needed in order for students to access ASTI's accelerated curriculum.

Community involvement

Though only in its fourth year of operation, ASTI has created many entry points for parents and the community to become involved. In 2007 ASTI formed its PTSA, the first in the Peralta PTSA district to have a student president and majority student leadership. ASTI PTSA has already facilitated various events which have brought students, staff, and parents together for informal conversation and community building. Recently, it was brought to the PTSA and School Site Council's attention that the school needed beautification. A mural project was designed and funds allocated. This project connected students to a world-renowned Bay Area community mural group known as Precita Eyes and allowed students to collaborate with parents and teachers in creating a mural for the ASTI campus. Like all ASTI endeavors, this work was collective; spearheaded by teacher leadership, the mural project provided students with the opportunity to establish their identity as an autonomous learning community on College of Alameda campus.

Field trips

Field trips have been designed to expose students to resources in the local community. Sophomores visited Berkeley Repertory Theatre and had the opportunity to network with other high schools. A local non-profit group, Youth Speaks, held an assembly for all ASTI students about empowerment and spoken word poetry. Also, ASTI gained recognition at a 2007 citywide speech contest wherein ASTI students competed against representatives from all other high schools in Alameda and won first, second and third place for speeches on the theme of non-violence and community-building. ASTI's newsletter is also a student production led by its ROP Journalism teacher, allowing ASTI learners the opportunity to find voice and produce the school's monthly publication entitled The Talon.

External links

* [http://www.alameda.k2.ca.us Alameda Unified School District]
* [http://alameda.peralta.edu/homex.asp?Q=Homepage College of Alameda]