Foothill Technology High SchoolFoothill Technology High School

2014 Newsweek Top 100 High Schools in America

2012 & 2006 National Blue Ribbon – School of Excellence

2014 U.S News and World Report – “Best Schools in America” Top 1%

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Welcome & Introductions

“Lottery” Process– Q & A

Foothill Overview

Student & Staff Panel – Q & A

Student Led Campus Tour

Information Night Agenda

Lottery Process• Choice Window – Jan. 16 – 30 by

4:00 PM

• Lottery to take place in mid-February

• Letters mailed out in late February

• Accepted students have one week to confirm guaranteed seat

• Siblings given priority - must apply

• 2014: 577 applications - 9th grade

• Foothill currently above capacity

• Current enrollment 1030Photo by Bethany Fankhauser/The Foothill Dragon Press

Magnet School of Choice

• Health Science, Communications, Technology Magnet

• No boundary areas & open to any student in the district

• Selection by a lottery process

Small School Environment

• Foothill’s positive school climate spotlighted in 2012 by WestEd.org

• Opportunities for academic intervention

• Individualized attention to meet their academic and social needs

Excellent Teachers

• Highly educated staff engages students with innovative instructional strategies and curriculum • Foothill’s most recent AP and API test scores rank us among the top high schools in the state

and nation*– Number 1 high school in Ventura County– Number 77th high school in the U.S.

*Newsweek 2014

College Prep Curriculum• All courses taught at college

prep, honors or Advanced Placement level

• Advanced Placement participation and pass rate well above state and national average

• Approx. 70% of Foothill graduates have met the UC/A-G requirements compared to county average of 35%

Block Schedule

•Students say they are able to concentrate better on fewer subjects each school day

• 90-minute periods allowing for a variety of instructional strategies and in-depth study

Project-based Integrated Approach

• Action-based projects integrate many disciplines

• Integrated approach builds relevancy that increases student learning

Photo by Jackson Tovar/The Foothill Dragon Press

Technology Communication

Online newspaper:www.foothilldragonpress.org

• Daily reporting• Video• Photos of school events• Student life and opinions

Website & wiki:

www.foothilltechnology.org• Forms• FAQs• Daily bulletin• Teacher pages• Syllabi• Homework

Technology Instruction

• 1:2 Student-to-Computer Ratio

• 3 Labs, 4 Pods

• 450 iPads and Chromebooks in classrooms

• 9th grade Education in the Digital Age (1-year course)

Photos by Aysen Tan/The Foothill Dragon Press

“Leveraging digital tools to promote independence, flexibility and capability in a rapidly changing world”

Mobile Technology

Can you spot one of the most powerful teaching and learning tools the world has ever known?

Mobile Technology at Foothill

Educators from area schools visit Foothill regularly to see mobile technology teaching tools.

One morning at Foothill…• 12th grade Government students use Explain Everything app

to show their understanding of Congressional committees.

One morning at Foothill…• 10th grade Chemistry students solve problems on

Educreations app.

One morning at Foothill…

• 10th-11th grade Physics students measure precision and accuracy of homemade catapults and gather data on an iPad.

• They take photos of their catapults to be used in teacher evaluation of project.

One morning at Foothill…• Students use Google Drive (Google Docs) to create and

store presentations about colleges.

One morning at Foothill…• 9th grade English students build electronic circuits and light

switches with Arduino kits to share experience with the main character of The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind.

One morning at Foothill…

• 9th grade English students use Nearpod app on iPads to review for test, take polls and draw their understanding of George Orwell’s 1984.

One morning at Foothill…

• 12th grade English students use Chromebooks to create social media pages for characters in Shakespeare’s King Lear.

One morning at Foothill…

•11th grade Physiology students conduct a sweat gland lab using iPads and Inspiration app.

BYOD?

Yes you may! (But you don’t have to)

Student Opportunities• Quality elective courses in

the areas of health sciences, communications and technology

• Bio Science Academy and Communications Strand– VCMC Partnership– Coastal Marine Biolabs

• ASB, FIRE, Speech & Debate, Journalism, Yearbook

Photos by Bethany Fankhauser ‘13 and Lucy Knowles ’15 of the Foothill Dragon Press

Student Opportunities

Courtesy KEYT -- January 9, 2014

FIRE• FIRE = Foothill Intervention Reinforcement and Enrichment• Strategic academic intervention for all 9th graders with a 10:1

student to teacher ratio – plus two upper-class mentors • Tutoring, research, integrated projects, study skills, “office

hours”, and homework are a part of the FIRE format• 9th graders with below 2.0 GPA dropped from 33% in 2005 to

under 10% the last several years

Foothill Tech FIRE mentors on a fire truck

Support ProgramsRENAISSANCE

• Academic Incentive Program• 3.0 GPA or improve by .5• Nationally recognized program• Field trips, rallies, t-shirts, prizes,

weekly activities• 77% of the students body earned

Renaissance status last year

AVID•Advancement Via Individual Determination•National Demonstration School •College culture school wide•Field trips, specialized classes, study strategies and college visits

Photos by (above) Natalie Smith; (left top) Bethany Fankhauser/The Foothill Dragon Press

School ActivitiesFoothill offers a wide variety of opportunities for students

•Clubs •Renaissance rallies/field days•2 formal dances•Spirit weeks•Air Guitar Celebration•Weekly lunchtime activities•Intramurals•And much more!

Photo (left) by Bethany Fankhauser; (below) Aysen Tan/The Foothill Dragon Press.

Physical Education

• On Campus Dance – Professional Dance Instructor

• Supervised @ Mavericks or YMCA

• P.E. on campus• Personalized Fitness Plans

using Technology• Independent Study (10,

11, 12 only)• Athletics

Photo (above) by Aysen Tan; (right) by Josh Ren/The Foothill Dragon Press.

AthleticsFoothill began interscholastic athletics in 2014-15

Core Principles:

• Academics

• Balanced Approach

• Unified Programs

• Fitness for Life

Compete in Tri-County Athletic Association (TCAA)

• All sports except wrestling and football

• Innovative program – CAP

• High level facilities

• Professional coaches

• For athletics information: www.foothilltechnology.org/FAQ-foothill-athletics/

Athletics

Community Service Requirements• All students must

complete 75 hours of community service during their four years at Foothill

• Powerful learning tool to build empathy and teach respect for others

College BoundCollege Bound

Some Foothill accomplishments!• Newsweek Top 100 High Schools in America – Ranked #77 in the

overall rankings and #54 when taking into consideration the percentage of low income students (2014)

• Top 1% of high schools in America – U.S. News and World Report Ranked #216 among the approximately 31,000 high schools in America (2014)

• Top 25 high schools in California - API of 906 (2013)

• Sixty percent of graduates enrolled in a four year university compared to the state average of 15-20% (2014)

• A pass rate of 100% on the California Exit Exam (2014)

• Over three quarters of student body earning Renaissance status; 3.0 GPA or above (2014)

• National Blue Ribbon School – Only school in Ventura County to be nominated (2012)