Connecting Waters Charter School

School Accountability Report Card

Reported for School Year 2006-07 Published During 2007-08

The School Accountability Report Card (SARC), which is required by law to be published annually, contains information about the condition and performance of each California public school. More information about SARC requirements is available at the California Department of Education (CDE) Web site at http://www.cde.ca.gov/ta/ac/sa/. For additional information about the school, parents and community members should contact the school principal or the district office. DataQuest, an online data tool at http://data1.cde.ca.gov/dataquest/, contains additional information about this school and comparisons of the school to the district, the county, and the state.

I. About This School 

Contact Information 

This section provides the schools contact information. 

School		District
School Name	Connecting Waters Charter	District Name	Waterford Unified
Street	12420 Bentley St.	Phone Number	(209) 874-1119
City, State, Zip	Waterford  , CA 95386-9150	Web Site	www.waterford.k12.ca.us
Phone Number	(209) 874-9463	Superintendent	Howard  Cohen
Principal	Sherri  Nelson	E-mail Address
E-mail Address	snelson@connectingwaters.org	CDS Code	50-75572-5030317

School Description and Mission Statement 

This section provides information about the school’s goals and programs. 

The mission of CWCS is to:

Empower a community of parents, students, and teachers to create learning opportunities which will develop accountable, responsible, and contributing members of society who are independent, life-long learners.

Our school operates within Stanislaus, Alameda, Calaveras, Mariposa, Merced, San Joaquin, Santa Clara, and Tuolumne counties. The cornerstone of our school philosophy is parental involvement, providing ample learning programs and opportunities for all learning styles, and supporting an individualized curriculum approach to learning

Opportunities for Parental Involvement 

This section provides information about opportunities for parents to become involved with school activities.  

 Imagine a public school that supports greater parent involvement! Connecting Waters Charter School provides parents, in cooperation with a credentialed teacher, the opportunity to:

• Design and oversee the course of their child’s education

• Teach lessons and subjects directly

• Choose qualified local community instructors for a wide variety of subjects

• Network with other parents and students

Connecting Waters Charter School provides support to parents through our parent support department which gives up to date information in the form of newsletters, list serve communications, letters sent to the home, information given through their Education Specialists, and meetings throughout the year.  Parent Support personnel are available to answer frequently asked questions and give out information on many aspects of the school.  A Parent Monthly Curriculum Training is provided for parents and teachers on a wide range of educational subjects.  Most years we have a curriculum fair to provide exposure to the many vendors and materials that are available to support our educational efforts.

	Student Enrollment by Grade Level
Grade Level		Number of Students	Grade Level	Number of Students
Kindergarten		73	Grade 8	136
Grade 1		101	Ungraded Elementary	0
Grade 2		95	Grade 9	152
Grade 3		87	Grade 10	186
Grade 4		99	Grade 11	194
Grade 5		105	Grade 12	164
Grade 6		112	Ungraded Secondary	0
Grade 7		121	Total Enrollment	1625

Student Enrollment by Group 

This table displays the percent of students enrolled at the school who are identified as being in a particular group. 

Group	Percent of Total Enrollment	Group	Percent of Total Enrollment
African American	5.05  %	White (not Hispanic)	53.29  %
American Indian or Alaska Native	1.6  %	Multiple or No Response	17.05  %
Asian	3.69  %	Socioeconomically Disadvantaged	4  %
Filipino	0.92  %	English Learners	3  %
Hispanic or Latino	17.85  %	Students with Disabilities	1  %
Pacific Islander	0.55  %

Suspensions and Expulsions 

This table displays the rate of suspensions and expulsions (the total number of incidents divided by the total enrollment) at the school and district levels for the most recent three-year period. 

Rate	School			District
	2004-05	2005-06	2006-07	2004-05	2005-06	2006-07
Suspensions				0.0	4.8	10.9
Expulsions				0.0	0.3	0.6

IV. Teachers 

Teacher Credentials 

This table displays the number of teachers assigned to the school with a full credential, without a full credential, and those teaching outside of their subject area of competence. Detailed information about teacher qualifications can be found at the CDE Web site at http://dq.cde.ca.gov/dataquest/.

Teachers	School			District
	2004-05	2005-06	2006-07	2006-07
With Full Credential	79	73	86	186
Without Full Credential	4	4	4	9

Core Academic Classes Taught by No Child Left Behind Compliant Teachers 

This table displays the percent of classes in core academic subjects taught by No Child Left Behind (NCLB) compliant and non-NCLB compliant teachers at the school, at all schools in the district, at high-poverty schools in the district, and at low-poverty schools in the district. More information on teacher qualifications required under NCLB can be found at the CDE Web site at http://www.cde.ca.gov/nclb/sr/tq/.

Location of Classes	Percent of Classes In Core Academic Subjects
	Taught by NCLB Compliant Teachers	Taught by Non-NCLB Compliant Teachers
This School	98.9	1.1
All Schools in District	90.5	9.5
High-Poverty Schools in District	98.1	1.9
Low-Poverty Schools in District

V. Support Staff 

Academic Counselors and Other Support Staff 

This table displays, in units of full-time equivalents (FTE), the number of academic counselors and other support staff who are assigned to the school and the average number of students per academic counselor. One FTE equals one staff member working full time; one FTE could also represent two staff members who each work 50 percent of full time. 

Title	Number of FTE Assigned to School	Average Number of 9-12^th grade Students per Academic Counselor
Academic Counselor	1.4	479:1
Library Media Teacher (Librarian)		N/A
Library Media Services Staff (paraprofessional)		N/A
Psychologist	3 hourly	N/A
Social Worker		N/A
Nurse		N/A
Speech/Lang./Hearing Specialist	1 part time speech and 1 hourly speech therapist	N/A
Resource Specialist (non-teaching)	2.0	N/A
Other	1 hourly occupational therapist and 1 part time special ed director	N/A

VI. Curriculum and Instructional Materials 

Quality, Currency, and Availability of Textbooks and Instructional Materials  

Curriculum is purchased individually for each student enrolled at the time of enrollment, and each year they continue with the school. As stated in our charter, curricula and materials shall adhere to the California State Frameworks and Content Standards in accordance with the California Public Schools Accountability Act. 

VII. School Finances 

Expenditures Per Pupil and School Site Teacher Salaries (Fiscal Year 2005-06) 

This table displays a comparison of the school’s per pupil expenditures from unrestricted (basic) sources with other schools in the district and throughout the state, and a comparison of the average teacher salary at the school site with average teacher salaries at the district and state levels. Detailed information regarding school expenditures and teacher salaries can be found at the CDE Web site at http://www.cde.ca.gov/ds/fd/ec/ and http://www.cde.ca.gov/ds/fd/cs/. 

Level	Total Expenditures Per Pupil	Expenditures Per Pupil (Supplemental)	Expenditures Per Pupil (Basic)	Average Teacher Salary
School Site	N/A	N/A	N/A	$56024
District	N/A	N/A	N/A	$54367
Percent Difference – School Site and District	N/A	N/A	N/A
State	N/A	N/A	N/A	$56613
Percent Difference – School Site and State	N/A	N/A	N/A

Teacher and Administrative Salaries (Fiscal Year 2005-06)

This table displays district-level salary information for teachers, principals, and superintendents, and compares these figures to the state averages for districts of the same type and size. The table also displays teacher and administrative salaries as a percent of a district's budget, and compares these figures to the state averages for districts of the same type and size. Detailed information regarding salaries may be found at the CDE Web site at http://www.cde.ca.gov/ds/fd/cs/.

Category	District Amount	State Average For Districts In Same Category
Beginning Teacher Salary	$38649	$36572
Mid-Range Teacher Salary	$59308	$55815
Highest Teacher Salary	$75499	$70985
Average Principal Salary (Elementary)	$84712	$86995
Average Principal Salary (Middle)	$84712	$90820
Average Principal Salary (High)	$90930	$96447
Superintendent Salary	$135585	$128495
Percent of Budget for Teacher Salaries	32.8 %	39.3 %
Percent of Budget for Administrative Salaries	6.0 %	5.8 %

VIII. Student Performance 

California Standards Tests 

The California Standards Tests (CSTs) show how well students are doing in relation to the state content standards. The CSTs include English-language arts and mathematics in grades 2 through 11; science in grades 5, 8, 9, 10, and 11; and history-social science in grades 8, 9, 10, and 11. Student scores are reported as performance levels. Detailed information regarding CST results for each grade and performance level, including the percent of students not tested, can be found at the CDE Web site at http://star.cde.ca.gov. Note: Scores are not shown when the number of students tested is 10 or less, either because the number of students in this category is too small for statistical accuracy, or to protect student privacy. 

CST Results for All Students - Three-Year Comparison 

This table displays the percent of students achieving at the Proficient or Advanced level (meeting or exceeding the state standards). 

Subject	School			District			State
	2005	2006	2007	2005	2006	2007	2005	2006	2007
English-Language Arts	31	31	40	32	34	38	40	42	43
Mathematics	18	19	23	26	28	28	38	40	40
Science	19	13	21	24	24	29	27	35	38
History-Social Science	17	11	14	21	24	24	32	33	33

CST Results by Student Group – Most Recent Year 

This table displays the percent of students, by group, achieving at the Proficient or Advanced level (meeting or exceeding the state standards) for the most recent testing period. 

Group	Percent of Students Scoring at Proficient or Advanced
	English-Language Arts	Mathematics	Science	History-Social Science
African American	35	19	20	6
American Indian or Alaska Native	23	9	0	0
Asian	62	36	35	36
Filipino	50	31	*	*
Hispanic or Latino	24	9	7	8
Pacific Islander	*	*	*	*
White (not Hispanic)	46	28	27	17
Male	39	27	25	18
Female	41	20	17	10
Economically Disadvantaged	12	1	4	0
English Learners	25	19	7	0
Students with Disabilities	25	*	*	*
Students Receiving Migrant Education Services

Norm-Referenced Test 

The norm-referenced test (NRT), currently the California Achievement Test, Sixth Edition (CAT/6), shows how well students are doing compared to students nationally in reading, language, spelling, and mathematics in grades 3 and 7 only. The results are reported as the percent of tested students scoring at or above the national average (the 50th percentile). Detailed information regarding NRT results for each grade level can be found at the CDE Web site at http://star.cde.ca.gov/. Note: Scores are not shown when the number of students tested is 10 or less, either because the number of students in this category is too small for statistical accuracy, or to protect student privacy. 

NRT Results for All Students – Three-Year Comparison 

This table displays the percent of students scoring at or above the national average (the 50th percentile) in reading and mathematics. 

Subject	School			District			State
	2005	2006	2007	2005	2006	2007	2005	2006	2007
Reading	41	46	53	39	45	44	41	42	42
Mathematics	36	37	46	37	43	41	52	53	53

NRT Results by Student Group – Most Recent Year 

This table displays the percent of students, by group, scoring at or above the national average (the 50th percentile) in reading and mathematics for the most recent testing period.  

Group	Percent of Students Scoring at or
	Reading	Mathematics
African American	33	42
American Indian or Alaska Native	*	*
Asian	69	69
Filipino	*	*
Hispanic or Latino	30	19
Pacific Islander
White (not Hispanic)	61	51
Male	49	45
Female	58	48
Economically Disadvantaged	*	*
English Learners	*	*
Students with Disabilities	*	*
Students Receiving Migrant Education Services

California High School Exit Exam (CAHSEE) Results

The California High School Exit Exam is primarily used as a graduation requirement in California, but the results of this exam are also used to determine Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) for high schools, as required by the federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) law. The CAHSEE has an English language-arts section and a math section and, for purposes of calculating AYP, three performance levels were set: Advanced, Proficient, and Not Proficient. Note: To protect student privacy, scores are not shown when the number of students is 10 or less. The score a student must achieve to be considered Proficient is different than the passing score for the graduation requirement. 

CAHSEE Results for All Students – Three-Year Comparison

This table displays the percent of students achieving at the Proficient or Advanced level. 

Subject	2004-05			2005-06			2006-07
	School	District	State	School	District	State	School	District	State
English	38.8	46.6	49	25.8	56.1	51.1	45.5	54.3	48.6
Mathematics	22.4	45.5	45.2	15.7	56.1	46.8	30.1	61.3	49.9

CAHSEE Results by Student Group – Most Recent Year

This table displays the percent of students, by group, achieving at each performance level in English language-arts and mathematics separately for the most recent testing period. 

Group	English			Mathematics
	Not Proficient	Proficient	Advanced	Not Proficient	Proficient	Advanced
All Students	54.5	19.7	25.8	69.9	24.8	5.3
Male	57.6	20.3	22	71.2	25.4	3.4
Female	52.1	19.2	28.8	68.9	24.3	6.8
African American	25	25	50	50	25	25
American Indian or Alaska Native
Asian	60	20	20	80	20	0
Filipino
Hispanic or Latino	65.7	25.7	8.6	85.3	14.7	0
Pacific Islander
White (not Hispanic)	50	17.6	32.4	63.2	28.9	7.9
English Learners	66.7	0	33.3	66.7	33.3	0
Socioeconomically Disadvantaged	84.6	7.7	7.7	91.7	8.3	0
Students Receiving Migrant Education Services	*	*	*	*	*	*
Students with Disabilities	100	0	0	100	0	0

California Physical Fitness Test Results 

The California Physical Fitness Test is administered to students in grades 5, 7, and 9 only. This table displays by grade level the percent of students meeting fitness standards (scoring in the healthy fitness zone on all six fitness standards) for the most recent testing period. Detailed information regarding this test, and comparisons of a school’s test results to the district and state levels, may be found at the CDE Web site at http://www.cde.ca.gov/ta/tg/pf/. Note: Scores are not shown when the number of students tested is 10 or less, either because the number of students in this category is too small for statistical accuracy, or to protect student privacy. 

Grade Level	Percent of Students Meeting Fitness Standards
5	8.800
7	9.800
9	2.399

IX. Accountability 

Academic Performance Index 

The Academic Performance Index (API) is an annual measure of the academic performance and progress of schools in California. API scores range from 200 to 1,000, with a statewide target of 800. Detailed information about the API can be found at the CDE Web site at http://www.cde.ca.gov/ta/ac/ap/. 

API Ranks – Three-Year Comparison 

This table displays the school’s statewide and similar schools API ranks. These ranks are published when the Base API is released each March. The statewide API rank ranges from 1 to 10. A statewide rank of 1 means that the school has an API score in the lowest 10 percent of all schools in the state, while a statewide rank of 10 means that the school has an API score in the highest 10 percent of all schools in the state. The similar schools API rank reflects how a school compares to 100 statistically matched “similar schools.” A similar schools rank of 1 means that the school’s academic performance is comparable to the lowest performing 10 schools of the 100 similar schools, while a similar schools rank of 10 means that the school’s academic performance is better than at least 90 of the 100 similar schools. 

API Rank	2004	2005	2006
Statewide	2	2	2
Similar Schools	N/A	1	1

API Changes by Student Group – Three-Year Comparison 

This table displays by student group the actual API changes in points added or lost for the past three years, and the most recent API score. Note: "N/A" means that the student group is not numerically significant. 

Group	Actual API Change			API Score
	2004-05	2005-06	2006-07	2007
All Students at the School	8	10	46	671
African American
American Indian or Alaska Native
Asian
Filipino
Hispanic or Latino		34	54	598
Pacific Islander
White (not Hispanic)		12	43	699
Socioeconomically Disadvantaged
English Learners	N/A
Students with Disabilities	N/A

Adequate Yearly Progress 

The federal NCLB act requires that all schools and districts meet the following Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) criteria: 

• Participation rate on the state's standards-based assessments in English-language arts (ELA) and mathematics 
• Percent proficient on the state's standards-based assessments in ELA and mathematics 
• API as an additional indicator 
• Graduation rate (for secondary schools) 

Detailed information about AYP, including participation rates and percent proficient results by student group, can be found at the CDE Web site at http://www.cde.ca.gov/ta/ac/ay/. 

AYP Overall and by Criteria 

This table displays an indication of whether the school and the district made AYP overall and whether the school and the district met each of the AYP criteria. 

AYP Criteria	School	District
Overall	No	No
Participation Rate - English-Language Arts	Yes	Yes
Participation Rate - Mathematics	Yes	Yes
Percent Proficient - English-Language Arts	Yes	No
Percent Proficient - Mathematics	No	Yes
API	Yes	Yes
Graduation Rate	No	Yes

Federal Intervention Program 

Schools and districts receiving federal Title I funding enter Program Improvement (PI) if they do not make AYP for two consecutive years in the same content area (English-language arts or mathematics) or on the same indicator (API or graduation rate). After entering PI, schools and districts advance to the next level of intervention with each additional year that they do not make AYP. Detailed information about PI identification can be found at the CDE Web site at http://www.cde.ca.gov/ta/ac/ay/.  

Indicator	School	District
Program Improvement Status		Not In PI
First Year of Program Improvement
Year in Program Improvement
Number of Schools Currently in Program Improvement	N/A
Percent of Schools Currently in Program Improvement	N/A

X. School Completion and Postsecondary Preparation 

Dropout Rate and Graduation Rate 

This table displays the school’s one-year dropout rates and graduation rates for the most recent three-year period for which data is available. For comparison purposes, data are also provided at the district and state levels. Detailed information about dropout rates and graduation rates can be found at the CDE Web site at http://dq.cde.ca.gov/dataquest/. 

Indicator	School			District			State
	2003-04	2004-05	2005-06	2003-04	2004-05	2005-06	2003-04	2004-05	2005-06
Dropout Rate (1-year)	6.2	3.6	19.8	5.4	2.6	12.8	3.2	3.1	3.5
Graduation Rate	91.3	95.7	77.5	90.9	95.9	83.9	85.3	85.0	83.0

Completion of High School Graduation Requirements 

Students in California public schools must pass both the English-language arts and mathematics portions of the California High School Exit Examination (CAHSEE) to receive a high school diploma. For students who began the 2006-07 school year in the 12th grade, as evidenced by that school year’s October CBEDS enrollment, this table displays by student group the percent who met all state and local graduation requirements for grade 12 completion, including having passed both portions of the CAHSEE or received a local waiver or state exemption. Detailed information about the CAHSEE can be found at the CDE Web site at http://www.cde.ca.gov/ta/tg/hs/. Note: "N/A" means that the student group is not numerically significant. 

Group	Graduating Class of 2007
	School	District	State
All Students	114/161=71%	LEA Provided	N/A
African American	6/10=60%	LEA Provided	N/A
American Indian or Alaska Native	5/6=83%	LEA Provided	N/A
Asian	3/4=75%	LEA Provided	N/A
Filipino	2/2=100%	LEA Provided	N/A
Hispanic or Latino	36/53=68%	LEA Provided	N/A
Pacific Islander	1/1=100%	LEA Provided	N/A
White (not Hispanic)	53/76=70%	LEA Provided	N/A
Socioeconomically Disadvantaged	12/23=52%	LEA Provided	N/A
English Learners	1/2=50%	LEA Provided	N/A
Students with Disabilities	2/2=100%	LEA Provided	N/A

Courses for University of California and/or California State University Admission 

This table displays for the most recent year two measures related to the school’s courses that are required for University of California (UC) and/or California State University (CSU) admission. Detailed information about student enrollment in and completion of courses required for UC/CSU admission can be found at the CDE Web site at http://dq.cde.ca.gov/dataquest/. 

Indicator	Percent
Students Enrolled in Courses Required for UC/CSU Admission	18.8
Graduates Who Completed All Courses Required for UC/CSU Admission	0.6

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