Much of what I have written lately has addressed the issue of school consolidation. Although school consolidation is of paramount importance in determining the future of the York Schools, there are many other important areas that influence our direction. I would like to take this opportunity to share with you some of the changes that have impacted the direction of the York Schools during this past year.
There has been new leadership appointed to Coastal Ridge Elementary School. At the beginning of the current school year, Mr. Sean Murphy took on the responsibility of the principalship at CRES. Mr. Murphy was most recently an assistant principal in a K through 8 school in Vermont. He began his work in York over the past summer and has spent his time forging relationships with students, staff and parents. Mr. Murphy has started his tenure in York with an emphasis on continuing a strong educational program for our students in grades 2 through 4.
Mr. Murphy replaced longtime Principal Jane Stephenson, who retired after 20 years in York. In recognition of her devotion, commitment and advocacy for literacy and for children, the York School Committee named the CRES library in her honor. The newly dedicated Jane A. Stephenson Library will continue to be the focal point of CRES and will serve as a constant reminder of the passion for reading Jane Stephenson shared with the students at CRES. We all wish Mrs. Stephenson the best as she begins her retirement.
The students in the York Schools continue to do well on national, state and local assessments. Under the federal No Child Left Behind law, schools are required to demonstrate yearly progress. All York Schools achieved the level of progress required in the law. This progress is demonstrated at all grade levels and all subgroups tested in York. York students perform among the top in the state of Maine on the Maine Educational Assessments, administered in all schools in the state. Additionally, we are pleased with the performance of our students on local assessments. Each of these assessments is designed to measure student progress and provide important information regarding how our students compare to others in the state and nationally. York has expanded the use of NWEA Measures of Academic Progress to students in grades 3,4,5,6,7 and 9. These computer-based tests administered in the fall and spring help us measure student growth in English-Language Arts and Math. They also demonstrate that York students are well above the national average in all subjects in all grade levels tested.
We have increased our Advanced Placement (AP) course offerings at York High School from five to nine AP courses this year. An additional AP course in Physics is being planned for the next school year. These courses currently include European History, Chemistry, Biology, Statistics, U.S. History, AB Calculus, English Language and Composition, English Literature and Composition and Studio Art. Complementing the AP courses are 40 Honors courses and 11 Advanced courses offered to York High School students. These courses provide an array of challenging and rigorous program options for our students.
At York High School we have had a goal of increasing student enrollment in post-secondary education. We have focused on increasing student aspirations for post-secondary placements. Since 2001 we have increased actual enrollment of our graduates from 67 percent to 87 percent at York High School. Our goal is to promote the expectation that all students will enroll in post-secondary educational opportunity.
For many years, York High School has engaged in the accreditation process through the New England Association of Schools and Colleges and is recognized as an accredited high school. This is important because it compares the school against a predetermined set of standards. If a school is granted accreditation, then it has met those standards through a rigorous process of self-study and onsite validation by a visiting team. In York, we are expanding the accreditation process to include each of our schools. Village Elementary School is in the process of completing its self-study and will host a visiting team in the spring. Coastal Ridge Elementary School is developing its self-study and will host the visiting team in the next school year. York Middle School will be the final school to undertake this process. Hopefully, over the next three years we will be able to report that all schools in York have been accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges.
This year has been an exciting one for our kindergarten students as they were welcomed to a full school day program. We were able to expand our half-day to a full-day program to better accommodate the needs of our youngest learners. The full-day experience offers the gift of time to our kindergarteners. Students have lunch in school and spend their day in developmentally appropriate activities that support a strong readiness foundation for literacy and mathematics. We look forward to seeing the academic and social benefits of a full-day program on these students as they move to grade 1 and beyond.
Providing tools that support student learning has been an important priority for us, given the resources we have available. We are fortunate to be part of the State of Maine Laptop Initiative. This program was started in the Middle School and has expanded to staff at the High School. All professional staff members at York High School have been provided a laptop by the state of Maine. This is a teacher resource used to support their instructional planning for students. The laptop initiative for staff at York High School has allowed us to infuse more technology for students by focusing on purchases for student use. All professional teachers in the York Schools, K through 12, now have access to individual laptop computers. We continue to use technology for student learning and are encouraged by the student use of these tools.
Service Learning has been a major focus of the work we are doing in the York Schools. Making learning relevant to students and providing a connection with our community is critical to effective education. Just a few of the many projects our students have been engaged in include: Grade 4 York River Project, Grade 5 Vernal Pools Project, Grade 2 Outdoor Classroom Project, Grade 9 GIS Project and Grade 8 Veterans in our Community Project. The work of Service Leaning meets the York Schools civic mission of providing genuine opportunity for students to recognize and be responsible for making a difference in their local and global communities.
The York Education Foundation has provided significant resources to the York Schools. YEF supports our schools by providing grants to teachers for projects that support our goals but cannot be funded through the regular school budget. They have committed over $48,500 to support special projects for our students. Teachers may apply for these grants and decisions for funding are based on predetermined criteria. Awards are made based on the most significant impact on student learning. We thank the YEF and the support they provide to the York Schools.
The areas mentioned above are examples of the work being done in the York Schools. Our work is ongoing and we are committed to excellence. We are proud of our schools and the success of our students. We are fortunate to have the support of our community that has enabled us to provide a quality educational experience for our students. Thank you for your continued support and your trust in the York Schools.
