Parent Letter

"Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter. The ultimate tragedy is not the oppression and cruelty by the bad people but the silence over that by the good people.

There comes a time when silence is betrayal."

~Martin Luther King, Jr

Good evening Ochoa Families,

Over the past two weeks, we have been working to recruit new students to Ochoa Middle School. This process began with our School Counselors, Ms. Lewis and Ms. Coney visiting all of the elementary feeders and presenting to 6th graders about the amazing course offerings, electives and programs that we offer our Ochoa Scholars. Then last week we hosted two days where our Leadership Class under the direction of Mr. Naidu, hosts students and provide information from a student perspective along with tours. On Wednesday, we invited the families of those 6th graders to Ochoa for a presentation. We have also extended the families an invitation to our upcoming Parent Day, January 29th form 9-12PM. Please RSVP and let us know if you will be attending

PARENT DAY FLIER

Open Enrollment begins tomorrow, January 20th-February 14th:

Rising 9th graders (current 8th graders)- Will be working with their assigned high schools to make course selections. Because the majority of Ochoa students attend Mt. Eden for High school, the counselors will be here on Monday and Tuesday this week to explain course offerings and how to complete the course request forms. All forms will be due on Jan. 24th, when the Mt. Eden Counselors return to Ochoa and meet with students through their PE classes.

*On Tuesday, January 22nd, Mr. Eden is hosting an Academic Showcase for rising 9th-11th graders.

Rising 8th graders (current 7th graders)- Received their elective selection forms last week Monday. The electronic forms were emailed to your students and their ELA teachers gave them time to complete them during class last week. If you student is still uncertain, there is time left. However, these forms will close on January 30th. Students who have not selected their 1st-3rd elective choices, will be assigned electives by the counseling team based on availability. These forms are currently editable.

Rising 7th graders (current 6th graders)- Received presentations about Ochoa MS by our Counseling Team, Ms. Lewis and Ms. Coney at their elementary schools. Several elementary sites will be visiting with us and going on tours with our Leadership students this week (Monday & Tuesday). These students also received an elective selection form link that they completed when counselors visited. these forms will close on January 30th. Students who have not selected their 1st-3rd elective choices, will be assigned electives by the counseling team based on availability. These forms are currently editable

Once these steps have been completed we begin the master scheduling for next year. Keep in mind, if your elementary student (6th grade) and or your middle school student (8th grade) are on a transfer and Ochoa is NOT their home school. You will need to apply for a new transfer during open enrollment. Open Enrollment is 1/20/25-2/14/25 Click here==> to learn more about Open Enrollment

For example: if your 8th grade student lives in the Bret Harte boundaries and your home high school is Hayward High, but you transferred, during open enrollment, for them to attend Ochoa. Your student will automatically roll over to Hayward High School unless you apply, during open enrollment, for a transfer request to attend Mt. Eden. The same is true for any 6th grader, not attending their home elementary school, when their enrollment rolls over they will roll over to their home school. If that is not Ochoa MS, you will need to apply for a transfer to attend Ochoa. Once your timely transfer request has been submitted the Enrollment Center will advise when and if a transfer request to attend a school outside of your home school has been approved.

We appreciate our students and families at Ochoa. Have a wonderful week!

Thank you for your continued partnership as we support our students.

Warmly submitted,

-Principal Rowe-Andrews

UPDATE: At the last Saturday HUSD Budget Town Hall, our Superintendent, Dr. Reimann expressed that every student absence district wide, not only costs valuable learning time for our students, it also costs HUSD approximately $86 per student, per day. Our Assistant Sup of Business Services, projects "just a 1% increase in attendance, can yield as much as $2 million" back into the district to be used to better support student learning and development. That is a significant amount of possibility that our students are missing out on. How can we make changes at Ochoa with our student population to improve these outcomes? We are at 91.21% for December (👇from November 92%) and our goal is 98%.

Check back often for updates on our current budget shortfall.

Ochoa will be hosting Parent/Teacher conferences on Wednesday, Feb 5th. We will first invite students who have had challenges during the first semester then we will open the calendar for appointments to the entire Ochoa community. This will be time for parents to meet with teachers 1:1. Please be on the lookout for an invitation to sign up for conferences.

Let's talk about the upcoming assessments for which students are responsible.

English Language Proficiency Assessment of California (ELPAC) Testing-begins in February/March This assessment is taken by our multilingual students, who speak a language other than English as their primary language in the home. The goal: reclassify as English Proficient

Parent Guide to understanding the ELPAC Test_ENGLISH and IN SPANISH

STARTING SMARTER PRACTICE TESTS & SAMPLE SCORE REPORTS

C.A.A.S.P.P.- ELA & Math Tests (7th & 8th Grade) This assessment is taken late April into May by all 7th and 8th grade students in California and assesses student reading comprehension, writing skills, and research skills

Parent Guide to Summative CAASPP_ENGLISH and IN SPANISH

PRACTICE TESTS FOR STUDENTS

C.A.S.T.- California Science Test (8th Grade) This assessment is taken April into May by all 8th grade students; it covers all of the sciences from earth and space, physical, and life sciences.

Parent Guide to Understanding the CAST_English and IN SPANISH

PRACTICE TESTS FOR STUDENTS

*Click here to link to a current (2023-24) sample of the CAASPP student report.

We hope to see you in attendance for the budget meetings continuing this week.

📕Update: This week, Admin will be meeting to ge additional information about decisions around the budget. We will keep you posted as information develops. Also a special Board of Education Meeting to share the plan with the public has been added to the calendar for Tuesday, January 14th at 5PM (open session only). Please follow this link to log in by Zoom (to offer your input) or by You Tube (simply to observe/listen)

SBDM meets: **Tuesday, February 4, 2025 Meeting Agenda (Eng/Span)~Hybrid

Submit Meeting Agenda Items by clicking the box below Due: 1/27/25

I feel it important to share with you the urgency of getting students to school each day. Ochoa, like all schools sets an attendance goal for each month. Although we strive for 98% monthly attendance rate, we have not been able to reach 95% as of yet this year. We are noticing patterns of absences, Monday, Wednesdays, and Friday each week. If your student has appointments, we ask that you make them at the end of the school day whenever possible. We especially are noticing patterns of absences around holiday weekends. More than anyone, we recognize the need to enjoy a little family time, however doing so may come at a cost to your student's learning. Take a look at our attendance rates so far this year.

Our monthly Attendance goal: 98%

January attendance= 92.96% in progress

December attendance=91.21%

November attendance= 92.17%

October attendance = 93.5%

September Attendance = 93.3%

August Attendance = 94.19%

When our students miss instruction, they are still responsible for the work and mastering the content. Repeated absences over time (days, weeks, months, years) has the potential to create learning slide. This can make children fall behind their grade-level peers and create a level of anxiety, when they are unable to perform in the classroom. Help your student move toward the path to success this year and make sure they are in attendance daily and for the duration of the school day. Quarter 2 starts this week, let's turn our attendance rates around. Help Ochoa achieve a 98%!

Keep your Child on Track in Middle School_English

Keep your Child on Track in Middle School_Spanish

• The N-word+ ban policy translated into Spanish for easy access and understanding.

• A document outlining the history and harm of the n-word, also translated into Spanish, to help families discuss the significance of the policy at home.

• A link for families to provide their input on the policy, ensuring their voices are heard.

• A resource guide on how families can support at home (Spanish here and English here) with practical tips on fostering conversations about respect, inclusivity, and the importance of eliminating hate speech.

• Slide decks from the presentation: English presenter and Spanish presenter

• Spanish Words That Are Anti-Black & Anti-Indigenous video

Ochoa Families, there are many interventions that we put in place here at Ochoa to support all of our students; some are especially for those students who may be struggling academically and or behaviorally:

• Attendance incentives & programs (AC Transit Free bus pass)
• COST- Counseling supports (individual/group)
• Tutoring Support (Lunch/ After school/Weekends)
• Focal Student Progress Monitoring
• After school Programming (YEP)
• Restorative Circles & Mediations
• Academic Counselor Check Ins
• Student Success Team Meetings
• Progress reports (weekly)
• Check In-El Spec

This is a non-exhaustive list, however these supports are put in place to ensure your student gets the help they need to be successful and thrive here at Ochoa Middle School. When students do not meet academic or behavioral requirements, they are in danger of being placed on the 1) Risk of Retention List (Academics) or 2) The LOP List (Behaviors). I want to share with you what being placed on either of these lists might mean for your student. Please know that I am sharing this information proactively with the best of intentions for us to work in partnership.

Students at Risk of Retention (ROR)

Identified during the 3rd-4th qtrs

When students are unable to maintain their academics and have three or more "Fs" on their quarterly report card, we begin to hold a series of student success team meetings, academic check ins and start a process of progress monitoring your student. We offer one or a combination of the interventions listed above. If there are no improvements in their grades from Quarter 1 through the middle of Quarter 4, we will make a recommendation for retention. Students with three or more "Fs" on their report cards, will then be placed on the LOP list, where they become ineligible to participate in school related events such as: clubs, games, dances, end of year field trips, end of year fun school related activities up to and including 8th grade promotion. These lists apply to 7th and 8th grades students.

Students on the Loss of Privileges List (LOP):

Students can be placed on the LOP list for a number of reasons. The first, described above for academics and failure to perform. The second reason is based on violations of school rules and policies outlined in our student, district handbook, and california education code. This non-exhaustive list of violations may include:

• attendance
• any disciplinary action (Suspensions, In School Suspensions)
• poor attendance (includes tardies/absences)
• poor behaviors (any disciplinary actions)
• failure to serve consequences (i.e. detentions, community service, study halls, progress reports)
• failure to adhere to dress code
• failure to adhere to cell phone policy
• failure to maintain grades (less than two Fs)

Students appearing on this list will not be able to participate in any school related activities.

Families, this doesn't mean students can't make mistakes, we expect them to, however as we move toward the end of the school year, we do not expect to have to reiterate expectations, especially when there may have been an obvious disregard for the school and district policies. We are here to work in partnership with you and want ALL-100% of our students to participate through year end. Please have a proactive conversation with your children so that they fully understand this process.

Our meetings this year are:

SSC Meets as follows: (*the team will decide meeting times/medium)

10/17/2024- Hybrid Mtg, 5:30PM

10/22/2024- SSC District Training (mandatory), 5:30-7PM @ The HUB

12/5/2024- Topic: CAASPP Data review, 5PM Virtual

1/16/2025- Topic: Planning for 2025-26 & Budget Updates, 5:30PM Virtual

3/20/2025- NEXT MEETING TOPIC:review draft of the 2025-26 SPSA

4/17/2025

5/22/2025- if needed to finalize the SPSA for 25-26

Board Policy 6020: Parent Involvement & Family Engagement

🔻🔻All students must be picked up within 15 minutes of school events end.🔻🔻

Student athletes must maintain a 2.0 GPA with no more than one "F: Grades will be monitored regularly and students will be advised by the athletic director. School games and evening events must follow school expectations.

• dress code is enforced
• students must attend school; If absent and or on suspension during the day may not attend events/sports etc
• school appropriate language required
• school appropriate behaviors required

ELAC

1. Next ELAC meeting is January 30th. ~ ELAC Jan 30

Topic: Preparing for the ELPAC including new test prep tool Summit K-12

Data Talks

1. Meeting with each EL to review current ELPAC scores, reclassification criteria, and create specific individual progress goal based on data. Each student has an ELL folder with this data.

They were due back to me with a guardian's signature by Jan. 16 (Please feel free to ask EL students to share out their goal or scores from this folder; they should be the expert on their data!

2. Thank you to the PE & electives Departments for collaborating to make this possible!!

__________Additional Resources:_____________

Click here to: Visit our Multilingual Learner Department's Webpage

Resources for Families of Multilingual Learners

Parents: Get Involved

District English Language Advisory Committee (DELAC)

Site Level: English Learner Advisory Committee (ELAC)

Board Policy 6020: Parent Involvement & Family Engagement

*EL Spec Schedule: at Ochoa the 2nd and 4th Wednesday/every Thursday and Friday.

*Agenda is posted 72 hrs in advance.

Next Meeting: February 4, 2025

Join Here: Google Meets Link or In person

Site Based Decision Making (SBDM) was introduced to Hayward USD in 1996 as a strategy for ensuring that staff, parents, and students at individual school sites had a vehicle for engaging in the decision-making that most affected their own sites. Over the years, HUSD board and district leadership have affirmed the importance of SBDM as a means of exchanging ideas, data, and other information necessary to improving educational opportunities for HUSD students.

These are public meetings any member of the Ochoa community is welcome to join meetings, submit agenda items, voice concerns, support process improvements and spending (MAA funds), and offer input to the School Site Council (SSC) team at Ochoa Middle School regarding suggestions for spending that supports student academic achievement.

Board Policy 6020: Parent Involvement & Family Engagement

Monday, January 20, 2025

• Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Observed~ NO SCHOOL TODAY
• Open Enrollment Begins Today==> learn more HERE

Tuesday, January 21, 2025

• Students/Staff return to school

Wednesday, January 22, 2025

• College Day, wear college gear
• Students dismiss at 1:30PM
• Basketball (see schedule above)
• Mt. Eden HS hosts Student/Families of rising 9th-11th graders, 5:30PM, ACADEMIC SHOWCASE FLIER

Thursday, January 23, 2025

• Start of Qtr 3
• 7th Grade Puente Field Trip, NorCal

Friday, January 24, 2025

• Mt. Eden Counselors Continue 8th grade Programming, Library (Through PE classes)
• Masquerade Ball Dance, 5-7PM

Saturday, January 25, 2025

• Families United Conference @ MLK click ==> to link to flier
• Immigration Training, "Know Your Rights", Click to link to flier==> English ~ Spanish
  

*Attend these meetings by invitation.

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Looking Ahead:

January 28, 2025

• District Safety Committee Meeting, 4-6PM

January 29, 2025

• Parent Day Qtr 2, 9AM-12PM
• Bd of Education Mtg, 6:30PM

January 30, 2025

• ELAC Mtg, 9AM-11AM (Hybrid Format)
• Minimum Day (AB/AR Topic: Cultural Literacy), Students dismiss at 1:30PM

February 3, 2025

• National School Counseling Week 2025
• Show a counselor some 💛🖤 this week!

February 4, 2025

• Ochoa SBDM Mtg, 3:30PM, Library (hybrid)

Does your student require public transportation? If you would like to apply for a free AC transit card for your student please click the link below. This is not transportation specific to students with IEPs, but is available for ALL students.

Students should plan to arrive to school each day between 8 and 8:15AM, unless they have a zero period class. Students with a zero period PE class must arrive at school daily no later than 7:15AM. The first bell rings at 8:20AM and students must be in their seats or on their PE numbers by that time. Even if a student arrives "just 1 minute late," they legally must be marked tardy according to the law. Help us to achieve our daily and annual attendance goals this year and help us to get to 98% or better.

Website: https://ochoa.husd.us
Location: 2121 Depot Road, Hayward, CA
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