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TRANSCRIPT
Marc and Eva Stern Math and Science High School
Focus on Learning Self-Study Report2010-2011
Prepared for:Western Association of School and Colleges
California State Department of Education
Derrick Chau, Ph.D. – PrincipalEvelyn Licea – Assistant Principal
Sergio M. Pesqueira, Jr. – Self-Study Coordinator
Marc and Eva Stern Math and Science School5151 State University Dr., Lot 2
Los Angeles, CA 90032(323) 987-2144
WASC/CDE FOL 2009 Edition, Updated Fall 2009Revised 2/10
WASC/CDE Self-Study Report
Chapter 1
History of Marc and Eva Stern Math and Science School
Marc and Eva Stern Math and Science High School (Stern MASS) is currently in its fifth year
of operation as one of the comprehensive charter high schools operated by the Alliance for College-
Ready Public Schools. The mission of Alliance College-Ready Public Schools, a nonprofit charter
management organization, is to open and operate a network of small high-performing 9-12 and 6-8
public schools in historically underachieving, low income communities in California. These schools
must annually demonstrate student academic achievement growth and graduate students ready for
success in college. Alliance College-Ready Public Schools was formed as a nonprofit charter
management organization working to create a network of small high-performing 9-12 and 6-8
public schools in some of the neediest areas of Los Angeles.
Stern MASS opened in September 2006 in its temporary location at the intersection of
Whittier and Atlantic Boulevard in East Los Angeles, California, behind a community favorite WSS
shoe warehouse. For the 2006-2007 academic school year, Stern MASS leased 10 portable
bungalows, which served as teacher classrooms and the school’s main office, in addition to two
portable restrooms. This temporary site was located approximately 8 miles away from the current
permanent site located on the California State University, Los Angeles campus. Today, as in 2006,
the Stern MASS student population draws heavily from Belvedere, Stevenson, El Serreno, and
Hollenbeck traditional public middle schools and such charter public schools as KIPP Los Angeles
Collegiate Preparatory School.
As with all Alliance schools, Stern MASS began with a class of ninth graders and added one
grade level each year, rounding out the fourth year with its first graduates, the Class of 2010. Over
the past four years, the school has consistently met and exceeded its enrollment targets, growing
from a school of 150 to a school of more than 540 students in 2010. The school has also seen an
increase in faculty from 9 teachers in 2006 to 32 teachers and 2 full time counselors in 2010.
Furthermore, within its four-year span, Stern MASS has experienced three different facility changes,
moving from portable bungalows behind a shoe warehouse to its permanent site on the campus of a
California State University. In 2006-2007, Stern MASS fielded its first sports team, which was the
Stern MASS Lady Titan Girls’ Basketball Team. In 2007, the school also received donor sponsorship
from Marc and Eva Stern. In 2009, Stern MASS was honored as a designated California
Distinguished School and granted a renewed charter for a full five-year term by the Los Angeles
Unified School District. The 2009-2010 academic school year was also a special year in that Stern
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MASS’ first seniors enrolled in California State University, Los Angeles courses while still in high
school and June 2010, marked its first Titan graduating class.
For the past three years, a random enrollment lottery has been held to determine
freshmen admittance, since a surplus of families formally applied to the school. Since the
Stern MASS charter specifically states that it will be a small school, the number of students
will not grow beyond current enrollment despite its growing popularity as a school of
choice within the East Los Angeles community.
2006 2007 2008 2009Total number of 9th grade applications received 199 302 264 238Number of 9th grade students enrolled 199 114 192 158Enrollment target 200 279 425 525CBEDS enrollment 188 302 444 536
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Demographic Data:
1. Community
a. Marc and Eva Stern Math and Science School (Stern MASS) is located on the campus of
California State University, Los Angeles and primarily serves the community of East Los
Angeles, California. As a geographical term, it can refer to the unincorporated community of
East Los Angeles. As a cultural term, "East L.A." has developed to refer to the predominantly
Hispanic communities located east of the city of Los Angeles, centered around the area of
East Los Angeles, the unincorporated area of City Terrace, and the Los Angeles District of
Boyle Heights. The school also serves students from Lincoln Heights, El Serreno, and other
communities of East Los Angeles.
b. According to data from the 2000 United States Census, the largest percentage of the
population within the communities served by Stern MASS are within the ages of 17-19
years, do not speak English as a first language, and are composed of high percentages of
migrant and/or immigrant community members. The 2000 U.S Census also shows low
levels of education for most members within the Stern MASS community (usually high
school or equivalent only), a median income of approximately $15,000 a year per
household, and low rates of home ownership within these communities. Family structure is
similar amongst the communities served by Stern MASS in that the average family size is
between 3-4 members per household, according to the 2000 U.S Census.
c. For the past few years, Stern MASS has worked with parents in the community through
Parent Revolution, a coalition organized by parents in an effort to transform public
education rooted in what's good for kids -- not grown-ups -- by empowering parents to
transform their own children’s low-performing schools through community organizing.
Stern MASS continues to seek to strengthen its partnerships with the community and school
stakeholders in order to ensure that all students have access to an excellent education.
2. Accreditation History
Stern MASS gained initial WASC accreditation in 2008. Stern MASS, chartered under the
auspices of the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD), is a member of the California Charter
Schools Association. Cambridge Education LLC completed an extensive School Quality Review in
August 2008 in conjunction with the New Schools Venture Fund. Within the scope of five criteria,
Stern MASS scored proficient or advanced in almost all areas. In addition, a District Validation
Review (DVR) team from LAUSD visited Stern MASS in spring 2010. Teachers, parents, students,
and staff members were interviewed regarding issues in special education. Welligent reports and
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school data was examined to ensure full compliance under the Modified Consent Decree. Stern
MASS received a 100% positive rating for special education compliance and services.
3. School Purpose
Stern MASS builds upon the mission of the Alliance by preparing students to succeed in a
four-year college or university upon graduation and to be able to pursue doctoral degrees in
science, technology, engineering, and mathematics fields. The vision of Stern MASS states that all
students will appreciate the practicality and complexities of the math and sciences, become college-
ready through an academically rigorous curriculum in a student-centered environment filled with
high expectations, and graduate as self-advocates who are empowered individually, socially, and
academically.
In September 2006, during teacher in-service development, all nine Stern MASS teachers
and the school principal, assistant principal, and special education consultant, gathered to discuss
the vision of the school and collaborated to develop the expected school wide learning results for all
students. In order to provide every member of the school community with an opportunity to voice
their opinions and goals for the school, the principal divided all teachers into content-specific teams
and charged the teachers with developing student outcomes that reflected the mission of the
Alliance and vision of the school. In so doing, every teacher was allowed the opportunity to
contribute to the development of the school’s expected school wide learning results and given the
chance to validate, enhance, question and/or challenge what was stated. Following the
development of the preliminary expected school wide learning results, which took place during the
in-service professional development, the administrators presented the learning results to the
parent association for discussion and approval. After all members of the school community had
contributed to the development of the learning results, the school then finalized the results and
established Stern MASS’ Expected School Wide Learning Results. The following student learning
results are the product of such collaboration:
Stern MASS students, staff, and community will establish a culture of success by embracing
the following core values and expected school wide learning results:
Students will become college-ready
Students will become life-long “scientists
Students will gain an appreciation for the math and sciences
Students will become self-advocates
3. Governance
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Stern MASS is established under the ultimate jurisdiction of the Alliance Board of Directors
in alignment with the Los Angeles Unified School District. The Alliance board has no more than 30
members and meets quarterly with the schools. These quarterly meetings include the CEO of the
Alliance, three Alliance board members, the school principal, one teacher representative, and one
parent representative. The Alliance College-Ready Public Schools is an independent, non-profit
Charter Management Organization (CMO). It supports Stern MASS’ learning outcomes through the
core values of its charter. Specifically, all Alliance schools are required to maintain a personalized
learning environment, offer increased time for learning in the form of a longer school day and
longer school year, and to embody college-readiness for all students in terms of A-G requirements
and testing. Other key attributes of the CMO’s core values, which are embodied at Stern MASS
include:
Advisory groups, where teachers stay with the same group of students for four years.
Personalized Learning Plans (PLPs) utilized by parents, students, and teachers.
Culture of high expectations and a belief that all students can and will succeed.
Stern MASS operates as an independent charter school and is incorporated as a 501(c) 3
non-profit benefit corporation owned by the Alliance as a CMO. Therefore, decisions made
regarding issues of governance, instructional leadership, and accountability at Stern MASS reside at
the site level.
Furthermore, other governance characteristics unique to Stern MASS are its three tier
decision-making bodies and its advisory committees. For instance, most decisions at Stern MASS
involve the input from three advisory bodies beginning at the site level and extending to the
community and parents. The three tier advisory bodies include the following groups:
Student Advisory Council – Consists of student representatives from each advisory and
student class presidents from each grade level.
School Advisory Council – Consists of at least two teacher representatives, at least two
parent representatives, two student representatives, the school principal, and the dean of
the Charter College of Education from California State University, Los Angeles.
Parent Association – Consists of parent and community volunteers.
Stern MASS also has two teacher committees that consist of volunteer members of the school
community that serve to advise the school principal on school wide related issues. The teacher
committees include the following two groups:
Leadership Team – Made up of teachers who volunteer to work with the principal on
long-term sustainability and growth of the school.
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Professional Development Team – Help organize and design professional development.
4. Status of Student Performance
For the 2009-10 school year, Stern MASS earned a preliminary 792 API, which will likely
continue to place Stern MASS as one of the top twenty highest performing high schools in Los
Angeles Unified School District. Stern MASS has asked ETS—the testing organization responsible
for the CSTs—to review the final CST results due to some anomalies in the results for World
History. Stern MASS showed growth year-over-year in student performance in almost all CST areas.
The 2010 API growth target for Stern MASS was five points, so based on the preliminary API result
of 792 Stern MASS did not meet the growth target. For the 2008-2009 year however, Stern MASS
did meet adequate yearly progress (AYP) by earning an API of 792, exceeding its growth target by
(points), placing the school as one of the top twenty highest performing high schools in the Los
Angeles Unified School District.
5. Enrollment
Stern MASS enrolled approximately 150 9th grade students, 150 10th grade students, 100
11th grade, and 135 12th grade students during the 2009-10 school year. The student demographics
were about 98% Latino, 1% White, and 1% Asian. The percentage of students participating in the
Federal Free/Reduced Meal Program was approximately 90%. The percentage of English Language
Learner students was about 30%. The percentage of special education students was about 5%.
6. Language Proficiency
a. The percentage of English Language Learner students was 17% for the 2009-2010
academic school year.
b. The percentage of Fluent English Proficient students was 7% for the fall 2009-2010
academic school year.
c. The percentage of re-designated (R-FEP) students was 58% for the fall 2009-2010 academic
school year.
7. Attendance
As shown in the graph below, overall average daily attendance during the 2009-10 school
year was 95.14%, and the school met its budgeted year-to-date enrollment target of 95%. Stern
MASS has met its enrollment target for each of its years of operation.
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a. The mobility rate for the 2009-2010 school year was 14 percent. 14 percent of students
who attended Stern MASS in September of 2009, did not report to school in September of
2010. Students did not return for a variety of reasons.
8. Suspension and Expulsion Rates
According to CBEDS data, the suspension rate for the 2009-2010 school year was 0.6
percent. A total of twenty-seven students were suspended during the past year.
According to CBEDS data, the expulsion rate for the 2009-2010 school year was zero
percent. A total of zero students were expelled from the school and/or school district during the
past year.
9. Socioeconomic Status
The percentage of students participating in the Federal Free/Reduced Meal Program was
approximately 90% for the 2009-2010 academic school year.
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10. Description of Safety Conditions, Cleanliness, and Adequacy of School Facilities
Since the school’s opening in 2006, Stern MASS has been a safe learning environment for
students. In over four years, Stern MASS has never closed the campus due to issues involving
student safety or related concerns. According to the 2010 parent satisfaction survey, administered
to parents during May 2010 across all Alliance schools, 63% of parents responded “strongly agree”
on the following statement: “Overall school (Stern MASS) environment (e.g., clean school, safe
environment, etc.) is very positive” while zero percent of parents disagreed or strongly disagreed
with the aforementioned statement. 55% of Stern MASS students responded “agree” to the same
statement above on the 2010 student satisfaction survey, administered to all students across all
Alliance schools, while only 14% of students responded “disagree” or “strongly disagree” to the
statement. Currently all Alliance wide in-service professional development trainings and
workshops for all Alliance schools take place at the Stern MASS campus. This fact is testament to
Stern MASS’ adequate facilities, both for the school community and outside partners. The
permanent facility has 24 full size classrooms, each equipped with overhead projectors, LCD
projectors, desks, chairs, whiteboards, and other necessary equipment. Furthermore, the facility
also has 1 multi-purpose room, 1 conference room, 1 professional development room, 1
main/administrative office, 1 counseling office, 1 weights/fitness room, 1 storage/janitor room, and
1 school library. Additionally, the roof top of the school’s 2-story facility is used as the school’s
cafeteria and student plaza, which also houses a tomato garden, a display of student murals, and a
shade area for the students.
11. Staff
The Alliance maintains a strong policy of equal employment opportunity and seeks to
achieve equal opportunity for all employees as articulated by federal, state, and local laws. The
alliance actively seeks to recruit individuals without regard to race, creed, color, disability, marital
status, veteran status, national origin, age, or physical handicap. This equal employment
opportunity philosophy applies to all aspects of employment, including recruitment, training,
promotion, transfer, job benefits, pay, and dismissal. There is a defined task sequence in regard to
hiring. For continuing teachers, the school principal submits information for re-hire no later than
May 15th of each year. New positions are advertised through Edjoin.org, job fairs, and recruitment
agencies. Credentials, years of teaching experience, and funding in the school budget are verified by
Human Resources at the Alliance Home Office.
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WASC/CDE Self-Study Report
2010 Stern MASS Staff Demographic Description Measure Number of Staff
Total Number of Certificated Staff 31.5Total Number of Classified Staff 5 (FTE)Total Number of Qualified Counselors 2Total Number of Special Education Teachers 2Total Number of Full-Time Substitutes 1Total Number of NCLB Compliant Teachers 27.5Total Number of National Board Certified Teachers 0Total Number of Teachers Instructing Outside Credentialed Areas 1Total Number of Teachers with Emergency Credentials 1Total Number of Teachers with Advanced Degrees 10Aggregate Years of Teaching Experience within District 57Aggregate Years of Total Teaching Experience 77Total Number of Teachers in Induction Programs 6Total Number of Teachers in Intern Programs 1Gender (Teachers) Males = 13
Females = 16Ethnicity (Teachers) White = 15
Latino/a = 11Asian = 1Black = 2
Average Number of Years at School 2 years
12. Staff Development
Staff Professional Development takes place every Friday from 7:45 am-9:40 am at the Stern
MASS campus. The school day for students on Fridays starts at 9:45 am and ends at the regular time
(3:30 pm). Below is a list of some of the professional development workshops that were conducted
at Stern MASS during the 2009-2010 academic school year:
Mastery Learning strategies
Checks for understanding
Reading strategies
Advanced Placement strategies
For the teacher evaluation process at Stern MASS, the principal or assistant principal
schedules pre-conferences with each teacher during the first semester. At this time, teachers
discuss how they would like to grow within their profession and the principal or assistant principal
comments on areas where he or she feels that teacher could develop in their practice. Shortly after,
a preliminary classroom observation is scheduled where the principal or assistant principal look for
positive evidence of competency in the Stern MASS teaching standards and the California Standards
for the Teaching Profession (CSTPs). At a scheduled follow-up conference, the principal or assistant
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principal and teacher discuss the findings of the preliminary observation and draft a plan for
professional growth in one particular area. This area forms the basis for the teacher’s formal
observation in the spring.
If an improvement plan is deemed necessary at any point in the year, an administrator
draws up a formal plan with a time line for improvement. This improvement plan is reviewed at a
scheduled time and is used, in part, to determine whether the teacher will be re-elected for the
following school year.
13. Co-Curricular/Extra-Curricular Activities
The 2009-2010 school year marked the first year of Stern MASS’s implementation of the
California 21st Century Community Learning Centers (CCLC) Program. The CCLC grant consisted of
an afterschool program, equitable access grant, and family literacy grant. The primary purpose of
the CCLC is to provide additional academic, enrichment, and athletic opportunities for underserved
students while also supporting parent education. The CCLC provided funding for a full-time
afterschool coordinator as well as part-time afterschool tutors and coaches. These staff were hired
and supported by the Youth Policy Institute, a not-for-profit organization that supports various
opportunities for students. The CCLC supported the mission of Stern MASS by supporting the
college-ready focus for students and by providing additional resources to support student success.
The primary measure of effectiveness of the afterschool program is the average daily attendance, as
all schools are expected to earn at least 25,000 attendance units by the end of their third year in
operation. Below is summary of the co-curricular activities available to all Stern MASS students:
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Co-Curricular/Extra-Curricular Activities at Stern MASS
Name of Activity Average Number of Participants per Month
Athletics Girls’ Varsity Basketball 17 Boys’ Varsity Basketball 20 Girls’ Varsity Soccer 15 Boys’ Varsity Soccer 14 Boys’ Varsity Rugby 13 Co-Ed Varsity Cross Country 12 Co-Ed Varsity Golf 8 Girls’ Varsity Cheerleading 30 Girls’ Varsity Drill 24
Clubs and Organizations Make-a-Wish Foundation 24 National Honor Society 22 Yearbook 7 Student Leadership Board 54 Más Educación (AB 540 Club) 17 Science Club 18 Express Yourself Club 14
After-School Program Tutoring/CAHSEE/SAT Preparation 425 Disk Jockey Club 37 Exercise and Weight Training 83 Newspaper and Journalism 15 Speech and Debate 42 Volleyball 57
14. District Policies/School Financial Support
The Alliance financial plan contains multi-year budget forecast for the first five years of
operation along with monthly cash flow. The Alliance provides services for budgeting/forecasting,
insurance/benefits, payroll, vendor contracts, and purchasing. Site-based funding decisions, which
are allocated from the school’s discretionary budget, are based on the needs of the instructional
program and the requirements for the maintenance of physical plant. The principal meets regularly
with Alliance accounting staff to review budget allocations. All check requests go directly to the
Alliance; only petty cash is kept on site. Revenue payments are based on Average Daily Attendance
(ADA). Meals for the Student Nutrition Program are initially purchased by the school and
reimbursed through the state. Meal applications for more than 90% of Stern MASS students are
processed by an October 1st deadline. The School Nutrition Program Annual Verification Process
begins October 1st. The Alliance selects and contacts 3% of households for income verification.
Revenue entitlements—adequacy of reserve funds—are based on published information on the
state direct funding model along with federal, state, and local funding for students in grades 9-12.
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Student Performance Data:
1. Academic Performance Index (API) / Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP)
Overall, Stern MASS has performed very well based on the state-wide Academic
Performance Index. The school has maintained a similar schools rank of 10 for the past few years.
In addition, the school earned California Distinguished Schools recognition in 2009 for meeting its
adequate yearly progress (AYP). In 2010, Stern MASS did not meet AYP due to its English Language
Arts (ELA) performance school-wide as well in each subgroup. The ELA target was 55.6%, but the
Stern MASS school-wide performance was 49.4%, Latino performance was 50.0%,
socioeconomically disadvantaged performance was 49.4%, and English Learners performance was
47.0%. Due to the small student population of Stern MASS, the difference between Stern MASS
reaching AYP for ELA was only ten students.
Measure 2008 2009 2010Academic Performance Index (API) 792 788 789Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) Met Yes Yes NoProgram Improvement (PI) School No No NoState Rank 9 8 Expected
4/2011Similar School Rank 10 10 Expected
4/2011 1. California Standards Test Results
a. English Language Arts
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b. Mathematics
Please note that CST mathematics results had some variations due to the course
sequence and number of students enrolled. The Algebra 2 CST score decrease from 2007-
2009 was primarily due to the composition and number of students in those courses over
the past three years. In 2007, the 44% proficient level was based on only nine students’
scores. In 2008, 78 students total were administered the Algebra 2 CST. In 2009-2010, Stern
MASS changed its mathematics course sequence from Alg1-Geom-Alg2 to Alg1-Alg2-Geom.
As a result, no Geometry was offerred in 2009-2010.
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c. Science
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d. Social Studies
2. California High School Exit Exam (CAHSEE)
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3. California English Language Development Test (CELDT)
2010 CELDT ResultsCELDT Measures Advanced Early
AdvancedIntermediate Early
IntermediateBeginner
Listening 17% 38% 42% 3% 0%Speaking 46% 30% 23% 1% 0%Reading 28% 21% 29% 14% 9%Writing 26% 32% 33% 9% 1%Overall 24% 43% 28% 5% 0%
4. College SAT and/or ACT Results
Average SAT Results
Reading Writing MathNumber of Students
Class of 2010 424 436 438 122Class of 2011 431 441 453 81
Average ACT ResultsEnglish Math Reading Science Composite Number of Students
Class of 2010 15.9 17.8 16.3 16.1 16.7 105Class of 2011 15.6 18.3 16.3 16.3 16.8 64
5. California State University Early Assessment Program (EAP) Results
The following graph shows the percentage of students who are considered “college ready”
as per the California State University (CSU) System. A “college ready” student is defined by the
CSU System as any student who achieves a passing score on the Early Assessment Program
(EAP) examination, which is administered to all 11th grade students as an additional section on
the 11th grade CST, and therefore do not require additional remediation courses upon
enrolling into a CSU university.
English Math Math Conditionally ReadyClass of 2010 9% 2% 43%
Class of 2011 21% 1% 32%
6. Advanced Placement (AP) Results
2008-2009 AP Results
Stern MASS significantly increased the number of AP course offerings during the
2008-09 school year. This resulted in the administration of over three times as many AP
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exams in May 2009 than in the previous school year. Overall, 302 AP exams were
administered in May 2009, with an overall pass rate of 22.8%.
AP Test 1 2 3 4 5Total
Exams
Total Students
Pass Rates (3+
Score)Spanish Language 1 9 13 26 24 73 86.3%US History 52 16 1 1 0 70 2.9%English Language and Composition 4 14 5 3 0 26 30.8%Biology 103 5 0 0 0 108 0.0%European History 30 1 0 0 0 31 0.0%Calculus 9 3 0 0 0 12 0.0%
ALL TESTS TOTAL 200 50 22 34 29 320 165 26.6%
2009-2010 AP Results
Stern MASS added three additional AP courses during the 2009-10 school year: Music
Theory, English Literature and Composition, and US Government and Politics. Stern MASS
administered a total of 347 AP exams in May 2010, up from 320 in May 2009.
AP Test 1 2 3 4 5Total
Exams
Total Students
Pass Rates (3+
Score)Spanish Language 1 7 10 25 26 69 88.4%European History 17 4 6 1 1 29 27.6%US History 15 14 4 2 0 35 17.1%US Government and Politics 22 7 4 0 1 34 14.7%English Language and Composition 10 16 4 1 0 31 16.1%English Literature and Composition 3 13 3 1 0 20 20.0%Biology 82 2 0 0 0 84 0.0%Calculus 31 3 0 0 0 34 0.0%Music Theory 11 0 0 0 0 11 0.0%
ALL TESTS TOTAL 192 66 31 30 28 347 200 25.6%
7. University of California A-G Requirements
As part of the Stern MASS course sequence and student program of study, all students are
required to satisfy the A-G requirements in order to graduate. Stern MASS graduation requirements
exceed the A-G requirements.
8. Completion Rates
a. The graduation rate for seniors who started their senior year at Stern MASS during the
2009-2010 school year was 92% by June 2010 and 96% by July 2010.
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b. Stern MASS has only had one graduating class to date, but the freshman to senior ratio for
the first graduating class is 59%. This is to say that of the 199 freshmen students that
started high school at Stern MASS, only 59% of them graduated as seniors from the school.
c. The current drop out rates for Stern MASS students is yet to be determined.
d. Post-enrollment data for Stern MASS Alumni is limited given that 2010 marked the school’s
first graduating class. An alumni relations committee was created in July 2010 in order to
track Stern MASS alumni and continue to support their needs.
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Process and Perception Data (2009-2010 School Year):
Parent Satisfaction
Parent surveys were administered to parents during May 2010. Stern MASS had a survey
completion rate of 84% (398 out of 475 parents). Overall results of the parent surveys, shown in
the table below, indicate that parents at Stern MASS continued to be very satisfied with their
students’ educational environment. Growth in the school’s capacity (e.g., counselors, additional
staff) increased the services and extracurricular activities available for parents and students. These
data should be considered the baseline for Stern MASS because this was the first year that the
school was fully enrolled with grades 9-12.
Parent Survey Question (N=398) Strongly Agree
Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly Disagree
Overall the school’s academic program is very effective.
63% 33% 3% 0% 0%
Overall the school’s college-bound culture is very effective.
58% 37% 5% 0% 0%
Overall teachers at my child’s school are very effective.
58% 36% 6% 0% 0%
Overall administrators at my child’s school are very effective.
59% 35% 5% 0% 0%
Overall school support services (e.g., counseling) at my child’s school are very effective.
57% 36% 7% 0% 0%
Overall parent engagement at my child’s school is very effective.
63% 29% 8% 0% 0%
Overall my child's school environment (e.g., respectful staff, clean, safe) is very positive.
63% 34% 3% 0% 0%
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Student Satisfaction
Students completed an online satisfaction survey during April and May of 2010 in
their advisory classes. The results of the student satisfaction surveys demonstrated that
students continued to agree that teachers were using effective instructional strategies.
School-wide efforts continued to focus on consistency across the school to engage students
in college-preparatory learning.
Student Survey Question (N=443) Strongly Agree
Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree
My teachers have high expectations for all students. 44% 49% 5% 2%
My teachers use a variety of materials, resources, and strategies to help me learn.
33% 57% 7% 2%
My teachers do a good job of teaching me skills like reading, writing and math.
32% 59% 7% 2%
My teachers do a good job of teaching me creative and critical thinking skills.
29% 60% 7% 2%
I know what I am supposed to learn and why it is important.
28% 63% 7% 2%
What we learn in school relates to the “real world.” 21% 56% 12% 6%
The lessons keep me engaged and on-task. 15% 58% 21% 5%
The overall student evaluation of the school was very positive, with most students
recommending the school and grading the school highly. About 79% of students would grade Stern
MASS with an A or B. Stern MASS finally had its full complement of teachers, and the school made
great efforts to prepare for its first graduating class of 2010.
Student Survey Question (N=443) Strongly Agree
Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree
I would recommend this school to someone else. 39% 41% 8% 9%
If I could, I would like to go to this school again next year.
33% 36% 13% 11%
My school does a good job of informing students about options for college or career training.
34% 53% 7% 3%
My school offers AP, Honors, IB, or early college classes.
62% 35% 1% 0%
There are extra-curricular activities at my school that I like to participate in like sports, drama, band or clubs.
40% 44% 8% 7%
My school’s student council has a voice in improving the school.
23% 41% 20% 8%
My school is clean inside, including the bathrooms 31% 55% 11% 3%
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Staff Satisfaction
Stern MASS staff completed a satisfaction survey in May of 2010. This year was the
first year with a full teaching staff, and Stern MASS had seven first-year teachers, including
two Teach For America corps members, who performed admirably throughout the school
year. The academic performance of students is a direct result of the hard work of the
teaching staff each day. Staff perceptions overall are very positive about the school’s
academic program and achievement. School culture related to staff relations, support, and
professional growth are also very positive. Most importantly, the school’s college-bound
culture is viewed as very strong, especially since this was the first year with graduating
seniors.
Staff Survey Question (N=33)Strongly
Agree Agree Neutral DisagreeStrongly Disagree
Overall my school’s academic program is very effective
34% 66% 0% 0% 0%
Overall my school’s academic achievement is very effective
36% 61% 3% 0% 0%
Overall our school environment is very positive.
41% 56% 3% 0% 0%
Overall our school culture is very positive. 38% 62% 0% 0% 0%
Overall students receive support services that are effective.
28% 63% 9% 0% 0%
Overall our school’s college-bound culture is very effective.
35% 65% 0% 0% 0%
Overall administrators are very effective in providing leadership at our school.
32% 61% 6% 0% 0%
21