The Weekly Update #4
January 25th, 2024
Dear Birmingham Families,
I want to express my appreciation and gratitude for your cooperation and understanding through the recent severe storm. As we have in the past, our staff and students have demonstrated great resilience and continue to push forward with daily teaching and learning.
Amidst the backdrop of the torrential rain, we submitted our WASC Accreditation Report this past week and will now accelerate our logistical preparations for the WASC Team Visit that will take place next month from March 17-20.
Please join us at the Next Coffee with the Principal on February 27th, so we can share our findings based on local and state data and feedback from staff, parents, and students that we've collected for the past year. Based on the information we've collected, we've identified 4 critical areas that we want to focus our attention for improvement over the next 3-6 year cycle:
Improve math performance schoolwide.
Increase student attendance and decrease chronic absenteeism.
Improve our system of collecting, analyzing, and acting on formative student academic data.
Develop a more coherent vision for our instructional program with consistent student expectations across all subject areas.
Our report includes a comprehensive action plan to address each of these areas that we're confident will have a significant impact on our school's continued improvement.
In our self examination, we've also identified the following strengths:
High rate (78.6%) of students graduating having earned A-G university eligibility which has fueled a large increase in students matriculating to a 4-year university
70% of our students have met or exceeded state standard in English language arts, higher than almost all local schools in the West Valley and beyond
Comprehensive student support system which has helped increase student grade point average and decrease the percentage of students not meeting athletic and extra-curricular eligibility
Many educational options for students including the following programs: School for Accelerated Studies, Career Technical Education, Honors and Advanced Placement, dual enrollment college classes, intervention/seminar classes, and a large comprehensive arts, athletics, and extra-curricular program
There is so much to be proud of, and with our new school plan, we are excited for what our staff and students will accomplish in the future.
I hope you're able to attend the next Coffee with the Principal to hear more about these successes and how we plan to address school improvement. However, even if you aren't, I will continue to share updates on the plan and our preparation for school accreditation over the next six weeks.
I wish you all the best as we approach the end of winter and toward the growth and renewal represented by the beginning of spring.
Sincerely,
Ari Bennett
BCCHS Principal
Finally, as a reminder, we have two alternative Bell Schedule days coming up in March. Monday, March 6 is an early release day, so faculty can begin our self-study work in preparation for school accreditation next year. Please be on the lookout for more information about school accreditation.
- March 12 Dismissal 1:45
- On March 12, school will begin at the normal time (8:30) on Monday, but students will be dismissed at 1:45, so the faculty have time to work together.
- March 15 Dismissal 1:10
- We have a minimum day on Friday, March 15, the day after Open House. School will begin at 8:30 and students will be dismissed at 1:10.
Happy New Year and welcome back to the final semester for Seniors!
January was off to a great start! At the end of last semester, we had an outstanding number of Seniors that made the honor roll. There were 188 of our Seniors that completed their Fall Semester with a GPA of 3.0 - 3.59 earning them on the Silver Honors List. Another 124 students made the Gold Honors List by receiving a GPA of 3.6 - 3.99. The Platinum Honors List, was the largest honors list with 189 Seniors achieving a 4.0 or above! Our Birmingham family is proud to recognize all the students who performed diligently in their academics during the Fall Semester. CONGRATULATIONS!
Jostens will be on campus on February 15th during lunchtime at the Quad for Seniors to place their cap and gown order, as well as any other Class of 2024 memorabilia. Don’t miss this last opportunity to speak to our school's representative from Jostens. Any ordering questions and/or concerns pertaining to graduation ordering can be clarified at this time.
Seniors that had 10 or more (non COVID related) absences, 10 or more period by period absences, received 50% or more U’s, 6 or more tardies in the Fall Semester of 2023 will need to appeal in order to attend Prom. Students were notified via their school email, sent through the US postal service to their mailing address on file and were also hand delivered to them through their Academy Period in mid January. At which point students will need to follow the detailed instructions that were provided to them and must be returned no later than Friday, February 16th to Ms. Franco in H68A no later than 3:00pm. NO LATE SUBMISSIONS WILL BE ALLOWED.
Just a reminder that February is Black History Month and so, we take the time to acknowledge our fierce African Americans’ roles in our U.S. history. This annual celebration recognizes the achievements of these leaders who have brought forth change, fought for rights and desegregation. “The time is always right to do what is right.” - Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
LET’S CONTINUE TO WORK HARD THIS LAST SEMESTER!
12th Grade Level Academy Team
Mr. Elmore - Administrative Director
Mrs. Franco - 12th Grade Coordinator
Mrs. Reisbord - 12th Grade Dean
Mrs. Martinez - Counselor (A-F)
Mrs. Marquez - Counselor (G-N)
Mrs. Mutia - Counselor (O-Z)
Mrs. Lopez - Psychiatric Social Worker
Ms. Sedani - 12th Grade Administrative Assistant
Mrs. Venegas - 12th Grade Clerk
