SACRAMENTO, CA—September 7, 2012— Students at Sacramento Charter High School (SCHS or Sac High) continued to show strong gains on the California Standards Tests (CSTs) as shown by the recently released results of the California Department of Education’s 2012 STAR program.

Students at Sac High again showed progress on the CSTs as they outperformed their district peers in Algebra I, Algebra II, World History and US History when compared against all open enrollment comprehensive high schools.  Students at Sac High continue to prove that when provided a high quality, college-prep education, all children can rise to the challenge and the achievement gap can be closed.  In addition, St. HOPE Public Schools (SHPS) continues to demonstrate that students from traditionally underserved backgrounds can perform as well as or better than their more affluent peers given high expectations, more time and proper support.  “Sacramento Charter High School has come a long way in the last nine years, and while these results are evidence of our exceptional academic program and will be celebrated by students, families and staff, we know our goals are higher still and we will continue to work relentlessly until each and every one of our students is prepared to succeed in college and beyond.” stated Jim Scheible, Superintendent of SHPS.

In addition, within different sub- groups, especially Low-Income students, African Americans and Latinos, Sac High students are far outperforming their peers across the region and state, and closing the achievement gap as shown in the graphs below.

Closing the Low Income, African American and Latino Achievement Gap

Sac High’s results in closing the achievement gap mark a contrast to the overall trend among California schools. Despite state reforms over the past decades, the gap between minority students and their white and Asian peers across California remains as stated by California’s Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson, “While the STAR results show an increase in proficiency levels among all subgroups, a persistent achievement gap exists for African American, Latino, English-learner, and low-income students, compared to their peers.” At Sac High, just the opposite is true. SCHS, with a 90% plus minority student body, has achieved tremendous gains for students since being transformed into a charter school in the fall of 2003.  The chart below shows the progress students have made in achieving at or above grade level on the CSTs from 2003 to 2012.  2003 was the last year Sac High was operated as a traditional public school.

Sac High CST Results, 2003 – 2012

In addition to the accomplishments already listed, Sacramento Charter High School recently earned a five year charter renewal from its authorizer, the Sacramento City Unified School District.  Furthermore, Sac High’s most recent graduating class of 2012 had over 90% of the Class of 2012 earning acceptance to four-year colleges and universities, a record for Sacramento Charter High School.  Principal Dwan Jordon, who is in his first year leading Sac High, had this reflection on the results, “I’m looking forward to building upon the strong success that our students have shown on the CST and other measures of achievement since Sac High’s transformation into a charter school.  The one thing I’ve learned in my 6 weeks on the job is that our kids aren’t complacent.  When they push themselves and are supported by the adults around them, they will achieve even greater success at Sac High, in college and beyond.”

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CONTACT: ED MANANSALA FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(916) 275-9509
emanansala@sthopepublicschools.org

About St. HOPE Public Schools
St. HOPE (SHPS) Public Schools is a public charter school system with a focus on students from low-income and minority backgrounds, providing them with a high-quality, rigorous college preparatory education. PS7 (grades K-8) and Sacramento Charter High School (grades 9-12) provide personalized attention to their students, committing more time with an extended school day to achieve academic results. SHPS also operates Triumph Center for Early Childhood Education, a public preschool providing unique early childhood education to approximately 65 children.  Oak Park Prep is the newest school in the SHPS family and started this fall with its founding class of 7^th graders who opened the first stand-alone middle school in Oak Park since 1963. The four schools serve approximately 1,600 students.