Robots and Scores: Last Night's JUHSD School Board Meeting

Terra Nova High School’s Robotics Team, juniors Violet Replicon, Elizabeth Bowler, Emma Filar, and Kjersti Chippindale, joined the Jefferson Union High School District (JUHSD) Board Meeting to showoff their four-wheeled, multi-armed robot, Rubi.

The all-girl group proudly explained their Robotics Team’s path this year, from winning Captain of the Winning Alliance in the Colorado competition to getting their ticket for the World Competition in Istanbul, Turkey.

With several presentations in the works for the coming year, the group is especially excited about mentoring an all-girl group in Palo Alto. The team found that at competitions, all-girl groups were not greatly represented, and with mixed boy/girl groups, the boys had a tendency to “push them [the girls] out,” explained Replicon.

The Robotics Team is very excited about continuing their projects next year. Their website will chronicle their progress as they move through their many presentations in September and October.

The meeting then moved to Margaret Meade who presented the 2010 Four-Year Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate document to the Board, a measurement that tracks students from freshman to graduation.

JUHSD’s 85 percent cohort graduation rate is above the 74.4 percent California state average, with all high schools scoring from Terra Nova’s impressive 94.4 percent cohort graduation rate to Jefferson High School’s 75.5 percent.

Because there are several factors in determining these statistics, Meade cautioned the Board that these types of statistics are not always concise.

“With any new statistical measure, we have to remember that our students are not numbers, but people," said Meade. "It’s impossible to be accurate because every school is different, students come to school on different days, transfer out. Another important thing to keep in mind is we won’t know what these stats mean until a few classes have run through the school system.”

Meade briefly explained that these numbers will help determine if schools are being effective in assisting students to not only learn in the classroom, but also help them through the four years to graduate. 

Superintendent Tom Minschew gave the good news to the Board that most all of JUHSD’s school improved their API scores, a test for student skill measurment, from last year.

Terra Nova topped the list with an API of 801, a 10 point improvement, making it the first school to achieve an 800 for the school district. With Westmoor close behind with 798, and Oceana with 793, Minschew hopes to have more schools break the 800 mark.

Lastly, all schools in the district will respectfully observe the 10-year anniversary of September 11 on Friday, September 9.

Flags will fly at half-staff, and every school will observe a moment of silence.

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