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Press Release
For Immediate Release
Contact: Tina McGovern 415-749-3600 ext. 19, outreach@gatewayhigh.org
Gateway High School Lauded for its Success in Closing the Achievement Gap
December 7th, 2006
Gateway High Schooll Named One of the Eight Best in the Country
SAN FRANCISCO, CA – December 7, 2006 –The U.S. Department of Education announced today that Gateway High School, a California Distinguished School and San Francisco public charter school, is one of eight exemplary charter schools in the country. Gateway was praised for its success in closing the achievement gap in the newly released book Charter High Schools Closing the Achievement Gap: Innovations in Education. Gateway was chosen from more than 400 charter secondary schools across the country for its success in “aggressively pursuing high expectations, and for achieving success in meeting the needs of traditionally underserved student populations: African-American, Hispanic, and students from low socioeconomic backgrounds and special education students.” In her forward to the book, U.S. Secretary of Education, Margaret Spellings, congratulated Gateway and the other seven schools profiled, writing “By trying out innovative new strategies, these schools are blazing a trail for others to follow. They’re dispelling the myth that some students cannot learn and proving that if we raise the academic achievement bar, our students will rise to the challenge.”
Gateway High School’s diverse students (23% African American, 23% Latino, 23% Asian, 28% White and 25% students with diagnosed learning disabilities) are, indeed, rising to the challenge. Last year, all students in Gateway’s graduating class of 2006 passed the California High School Exit Exam in both math and English (compared to 88% statewide), and 96% of the class matriculated to college, including more than one third who are the first in their families to pursue higher education. 85% of those students are enrolled in four-year colleges and universities. More than one third of Gateway’s 450 students are currently taking one or more honors and AP classes, and all students at Gateway take a rigorous course load that exceeds the University of California’s A-G requirements. Based on the 2006 API and AYP results, Gateway is now the third highest ranked public high school in San Francisco- and the only one of the three that does not exercise preferential enrollment policies.
The Gateway program demonstrates that to increase achievement, schools must set high standards for all students and provide intensive academic support. Gateway has an average class size of 22 students and all students are paired with an academic advisor. Students have access to a fully staffed learning center open throughout the school day and take advantage of an after school tutoring program. All students at Gateway take a full year of “College Preparation” in which Gateway’s college counselor guides them through the college application, admission, and financial aid process. Gateway principal Sharon Olken is proud of her faculty and staff and cites their work as the reason for the honor. Olken says, “This is an exciting day for Gateway, our teachers, and our students. Through the hard work of our entire community, Gateway is demonstrating that public education does work and that all young people are capable of success. We are honored to be included in this Department of Education publication along with other extraordinary schools.”
About Gateway High School
Gateway was founded by a group of parents and educators who believed there was a need in the Bay Area for a smaller, personalized, college preparatory public high school with a commitment to and expertise in serving a diverse student population, including a significant number of students with learning differences. Now in its eighth year of school operations, Gateway is at full enrollment with 440 students in grades 9-12. More than 600 students applied for the 100 places in the current 9th grade class. Gateway students come from more than 100 different middle schools. For more information, contact Tina McGovern, Director of Development and Outreach at 415-749-3600 ext. 19. For more information about Gateway visit its website, www.gatewayhigh.org. To access the Department of Education website go to http://www.edpubs.org
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