St Hope Public Schools

Programs: Overview and sacramento charter high schooloverviewst. Hope public schools (shps) opened its doors in 2003 with a clear vision: to create one of the finest urban pre-kindergarten through 12th grade public school systems in america. Our students attend longer school days, are held to high expectations for academics and behavior and focus on preparing to obtain a four-year college degree. St. Hope public schools operates triumph center for early childhood education, ps7 (k-8), oak park prep middle school (7-8), and sacramento charter high school (9-12). Sacramento charter high schoolsacramento high school is the final gateway to college. It is one school with four themes, or pathways-arts, business and communications, law and public service, math engineering and health sciences-in a fully renovated facility that is bright, airy and open. Along with core academics, sac high has a culture of high expectations, school spirit and student leadership. It also has a tirelessly dedicated staff or, as one senior put it, "we just have a different breed of teacher here. " the collective efforts are evident in multiple measures. The school's api has risen over 210 points from 268 in 2003 to 780 in 2013, making the school the highest performing open-enrollment comprehensive high school in the district. This improvement has occurred while the dropout rate has decreased from over nine percent to less than four percent and sac high saw the highest gains in reading of any middle or high school in the four counties surronding sacramento. Furthermore, sac high does not just provide a high-quality education; it brings together the ultimate goal of all st. Hope public schools, turning the distant hope for college into a tangible reality. This is most evident in the fact that over 90% of sac high's class of 2014 have already been accepted into a four year college, just one month into their senior year. We provide a unique network of schools that guides our students from preschool through high school to college. Students gradually build a foundation of academic achievement, community responsibility and inner confidence empowering them to become educated leaders within their communities. Our rigorous curriculum has closed the achievement gap and dramatically increased the number of graduates who go on to college. The national statistics are daunting: less than 40% of low-income students go to college. But at st. Hope public schools, where the majority of our students are socioeconomically disadvantaged, we have not accepted that fate. In 2011, over 70% of our seniors were accepted to more than 75 colleges and universities across the united states, up from just 20% in 2003 when sac high was run as a traditional district school. Our vision is that every one of our students will leave us prepared to complete college and we are working relentlessly with our students and families towards this goal.

st. Hope public school #7ps7 continues the journey to success at st. Hope public schools. Ps7 has produced stunning results. It is ranked among the top 10% of similar schools in california and was the only school in sacramento county nominated for the prestigious blue ribbon award in 2010. Walk into any ps7 classroom and the scene is the same: a group of students leaning forward, listening intently as a teacher asks questions. Then, a flurry of hands are raised. There is artwork on the walls along with a list of expectations, codes of conduct and commitments made. If a child at ps7 does not perform at the expected levels, that student is identified and re-taught until they have mastered the skill or concept. No child falls through the cracks. No child is lost. As a testament to the achievement of students and the hard work of staff and families, ps7 was ranked as the 8th highest performing charter school in california and was recently named charter school of the year for the state.

oak park preparatoryoak park prep is the newest school in the st. Hope family and has continued the tradition set by those that opened before it. In just the school's first year of operation, oak park prep became the highest performing stand alone middle school in the sac city school district, and sixth highest performing overall. In addition, oak park prep is the first stand alone middle school to serve the oak park neighborhood in 50 years.

triumph center for early childhood developmenttriumph preschool sets the tone for what is to come at st. Hope. Research shows that children who attend quality preschool have stronger reading and math skills, are less likely to be held back a grade, and are more likely to graduate from high school. At triumph, children begin the path to becoming life-long learners and leaders who are committed to serving others. The classrooms are alive with hands-on exploration and learning of every kind, from reciting poems to painting letters with shaving cream. Less than 25% of teachers in sacramento county preschools hold bachelor's degrees, but every triumph teacher holds a four-year degree or higher. Along with the staff, faculty of the uc davis health system-including a special education consultant, child psychiatrist and developmental pediatrician-work with families to ensure that every child's individual learning needs are met. The highly qualified staff at triumph have created a remarkable program widely recognized for its success in raising students' achievement. Triumph is one of only three schools in the local community to reach the standards set by the national association for the education for young children for "high quality and in 2010-11 triumph was named a model site by the sacramento county office of education for successful interventions with students having severe and pervasive challenging behavior. As a result, triumph has shared our best practices with teachers and administrators from inclusive preschools in elk grove unified and sacramento city unified school districts, as well as several local headstart programs. In addition, the school has continually sustained 95% family satisfaction each year since opening our doors. The impact of the program on preparing students is clear as triumph students are achieving at remarkable levels both at and beyond triumph. Prior to leaving triumph, students demonstrate mastery of 70% of the math standards and over 50% of the literacy standards for kindergarten. 100% of triumph's first class of alumni who attend ps7, shps' award winning k-8 school, were at or above grade level in 2nd grade, compared to less than two thirds of their peers in california.