PRINCIPAL'S WELCOME MESSAGE 2010-2011

Welcome to Charlotte Amalie High School for this new school year. Accredited by Middle States Association / Commission on Secondary Schools, our motto is, "To Excel Always". In our efforts to maintain high standards of excellence, we rely on the support of parents, students, alumni and the community at large. Excellence is at the forefront of all that we do.

At CAHS, we seek daily to carry out the mission of our school, which is to educate and prepare our students to be responsible productive citizens and lifelong learners, who are able to function at optimal levels in institutions of higher learning, in careers and in a global society.  We educate students of varying abilities and backgrounds, and we believe all students can learn and reach high levels of achievement.   Thus we strive to create a climate of success for all students and endeavor to provide numerous safety nets as we stretch our students to achieve excellence. We further believe that all students, parents, teachers, administrators, and the community at large must join in assuming responsibility for students' success.

Our focus for this year will be on increasing rigor, relevance, and literacy across all content areas. With consistency, we as a school can significantly improve overall student achievement.  We will continue with our theme of “LEARNING FOR ALL”- for students, teachers, staff, administrators and our parents.  Education is not at all static and daily we must endeavor to learn more about our craft and how to better serve students. Charlotte Amalie High School will become a Professional Learning Community where student learning, collegial inquiry, and on-going collaboration will become the impetus for greater student achievement.  

Our goals for this 2010-11 school year are:

•1.   To improve student achievement by at least 5 percent in all areas of performance to include promotion rate, graduation rate, as well as on standardized test.  CAHS must make Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP)

•2.   To increase rigor, relevance, and literacy in our course offerings   

•3. To improve our school climate and environment by building better relationships among all stakeholders. As a result, we expect to decrease the number of disciplinary incidents on our campus as we reward students for positive behavior. 

•4.   To meet expectations for continuous growth and improvement as outlined by NCLB and also by the Middle States accrediting agency.  

•5.   To continue the focus on literacy across all content areas and provide the professional development to support this effort.   

This year we will continue the work with career academies.  The Academy of Finance established within the Business Department will continue, and a CISCO Academy will be formed as part of the Career and Technical Education program. Teachers will engage in interdisciplinary teaching and will provide opportunities for students to apply their learnings to real life projects. 

Our focus on the ninth grade small learning community will continue.  Established since 1996, the ninth grade has been organized into academic learning teams and has been located in its own area of the school with its own teachers, counselor, school monitor, and principal. This year we have planned even more initiatives that would provide a more nurturing and supportive environment for these students as they transition into the large high school environment. A new program, AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination) will be implemented especially for students in the middle stream who wish to pursue a college education and who possess a strong desire to work hard at it. Every effort will be made to offer rigorous and relevant learning experiences that engage students fully and prepare them to succeed beyond high school.

This year, through a 21^st Century Learners’ grant awarded to CAHS, an after-school program, HIGHER HEIGHTS, will be implemented to assist at-risk students and to prepare athletes to meet the requirements of the NCAA Clearing House. Tutorial assistance will be available in several areas. There will be a focus on literacy, excellent extra-curricular activities and items for parents as well. 

Efforts are presently underway to increase the level of safety at the school. Parents and students are encouraged to cooperate fully by following any new guidelines that improve safety for all, as well as the policies outlined in the handbook that relate to uniform, expected behavior, jewelry and electronics. CAHS has a closed campus and students are expected to remain on the campus for the duration of the school day. There will be no tolerance for fighting, obscene language, vulgar or disrespectful conduct, and use or possession of weapons, drugs, and related paraphernalia.  CAHS will be a safe place for learning where students achieve success and plan for meaningful careers.

I pledge my wholehearted support to improving student achievement at CAHS and I ask for the cooperation of all staff, students, parents and the wider community. Let's work together!