 Yosemite
& Coarsegold Districts 
School
News
September
24 ,2004
Baker
Swim Complex
opens at Yosemite High
Districts
do well on accountability report
Unification
proposal before state
Renovated
football stadium opens with YHS game Sept. 24
Coarsegold
Elementary School students
Baker
Swim Complex
opens at Yosemite High
Harry
Baker and Yosemite Joint Union High School District Superintendent Bill
McCabe share a light moment prior to the ribbon cutting at the Baker
Swim Complex at Yosemite High School Sept. 11. Also shown are (L to
R) YJUHSD Board Members Bert McSwain and Linda Olson. Partially hidden
behind McCabe is Representative George Radanovich. For more photos see
YJUHSD section.
The Baker Swim Complex at Yosemite High School officially opened September
11 with free swimming for the community and a swim meet for anyone interested
in participating.
Over 300 people attended the ribbon cutting ceremony and spent time
in the pool.
Harry Baker cut the ribbon to open the facility named in his honor.
Yosemite Joint Union High School District Superinten-dent Bill McCabe
said the pool complex was named in Baker’s honor “in appreciation
of all he has done for Yosemite High School and the mountain area over
some 50 years.”
Baker was a driving force behind a high school in Oakhurst, starting
when he was president of the then-Oakhurst Chamber of Com-merce in 1963.
He was the first president of the district board of trustees after the
district was formed in 1973.
YHS opened in 1976. At that time, a pool was part of the master plan.
After seeing the pool complex, Baker commented that he was glad they
had not been able to build one at that time because it would not have
been anything compared to the one that is now open.
The dedication ceremony included presentation of colors by Boy Scout
Troop 341 and a moment of silence in memory of the tragedy on September
11 three years ago. Reflecting on that, Baker commented that “we
do not bomb and tear down, we build things like this,” referring
to the pool.
Also on hand to celebrate the opening of the pool was Representative
George Rad-anovich who congratulated the district and community for
the beautiful facility.
McCabe, in introducing Baker, said “Forty-one years ago, when
he was president of the then-Oakhurst Cham-ber of Commerce, Harry Baker
started working to bring a high school to Oakhurst.
“He worked hard for the school that didn’t exist then and
he has continued to work hard for Yosemite High School since it opened
in 1976.
“Without Harry’s vision, work, support and determination,
Yosemite High School would not have been built when it was and it would
not be the school that it is today.”
The pool will be open to the public from 1-5 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays
and from 3:30-5:30 p.m. from September through Novem-ber and April through
May. It will be open from 1-5 p.m. weekdays June through August.
Fees for using the pool are $4 per day for adults; $2 for students and
for those 60 years and older; children under five are admitted free
but must be accompanied by a paying parent.
Complete pool information and information about special programs is
in a brochure that is available at the pool or the Yosemite High School
office.
Districts
do well on accountability report
Coarsegold
Union School District met all of the state and federal criteria for
Annual Yearly Progress (AYP) and Academic Performance Index (API).
Yosemite Joint Union High School District met all criteria except participation
rate for AYP. One subgroup tested at 94 percent instead of the required
95 percent.
Four schools within the YJUHSD met all state and federal criteria: Yosemite,
Evergreen, Mountain View and Raymond Granite.
Rivergold Elementary had an API of 803 for 2004; Coarsegold had 778.
The district API is 784.
Yosemite High’s API was 757 for 2004; Evergreen posted 615. The
district API was 742.
Scores are not made public for the other alternative schools within
the YJUHSD or for Meadowbrook Com-munity Day School in the CUSD because
there are fewer than 10 students per grade or subgroup.
API summarizes school and district performance on statewide tests. The
scores range from 200 to 1000 with a statewide target of 800 or above.
The API for all California schools in 2004 was 693.
AYP is part of the federal No Child Left Behind legislation. It includes
participation rate on state tests (must be 95 percent or higher to meet
AYP), percentage of students who test at the proficient level or above
on state tests, the API and graduation rates for high schools.
By 2013 NCLB calls for all students within the United States to test
proficient or better in English / Language Arts and mathematics.
The YHS graduation rate for 2004 (based on the class of 2003) was 100
percent. The district rate was 97.3 percent.
Bill McCabe, superintendent of both districts, is very pleased with
the way the schools performed.
“This shows how dedicated our staffs are and how hard the students
work to achieve this kind of success,” he said.
“Everyone is to be commended for their hard work and dedication,”
McCabe concludes.
Unification
proposal before state
The
California Department of Education has begun analysis of the proposal
to unify the Yosemite Joint Union High School District and the Coarsegold
Union School District.
It is anticipated at this time that the proposal will be on the agenda
of the State Board of Education in March 2005.
Various units of the CDE will evaluate the proposal to determine if
legal requirements have been met.
The two local school boards approved the proposal in 2003. Following
that, the Madera County Committee on School District Organi-zation held
public hearings. That body later approved the proposal and sent it to
the state.
If the State Board approves the proposal, it will go to a vote of the
people within the boundaries of the two school districts.
The two districts have been sharing many services for the past four
years. Bill McCabe is superintendent of both districts and they also
share business services, transportation and cafeteria personnel.
Renovated
football stadium opens with YHS game Sept. 24
JUDY
DURR
The Yosemite High School football stadium received a complete facelift
over the summer. The improvements include a new press box and concession
stand, additional bleachers, new sod on the field, improved drainage
on the field, a new nine-lane all-weather track, fencing, new lights
and a new scoreboard.
“When
we are through in about another year we will have completed all projects
that were promised at the time of the bond election.”
Bill McCabe
When the Yosemite High Badgers’ football team plays its first
home game Sept. 24 against Roosevelt it will be playing for the first
time on the renovated field.
The football stadium renovation included drainage work on the field,
a new turf, additional bleachers, a new press box and concession stand,
fencing, new lights, new scoreboard and a new all-weather nine lane
track.
YHS Principal Steve Raupp says the new stadium and track are “wonderful
facilities.”
The track is now open for public use before school, after school and
on weekends.
Football and soccer shoes are not allowed on the track.
The track was funded, in part, by a $100,000 grant from the California
Integrated Waste Management Board. The track surface is made from recycled
California tires.
The entire stadium and track project cost $1.2 million with funds coming
from the grant and developer fees.
YHS track coach Walker Vaughn says the new track will be an asset to
the community and the track team.
“It will be strange not having to dodge mud puddles and gopher
holes now that we have this amazing facility,” he said.
Construction continues at the YHS campus on several projects.
The main construction projects at the school this fall are the new 23-classroom
building at the front of the campus and the renovation of a classroom
building into a performing arts center.
The classroom building is expected to be completed by the fall semester
2005 and the performing arts center should be complete by January 2005.
These projects are funded by local bond funds, state bond funds and
state matching funds.
The Baker Swim Complex at YHS opened to the public Sept. 11. The school
has boys’ and girls’ water polo teams playing this fall
and there will be swim teams in the spring.
Voters passed an $11.76 million bond in 1998 for construction projects
at YHS. This allowed the school to qualify for state matching funds
and state bond funds. Funds for the projects have also come from developer
fees, modernization funds, grants and private donations.
Yosemite Joint Union High School District Superinten-dent Bill McCabe
says the expansion and modernization project will allow YHS to serve
a growing student population for many years into the future.
“We are very proud of what we have been able to accomplish at
Yosemite High since we started our construction project in 1999,”
he said. “When we are through, in about another year, we will
have completed all projects that were promised at the time of the bond
election.”
Coarsegold
Elementary School students
These
eight Coarsegold Elementary School students achieved perfect attendance
for the 2003-04 school year. They are (left to right): Zachary Voltmer,
McKay Glines, Jackson Glines, Alexander Mello, Harley Glines, Joshua
Donnell, Ashley Burnell and Hailey Clarke. These students participated
in a drawing for bicycles donated by Coarsegold Kiwanis Club. The two
drawing winners were McKay Glines and Jackson Glines.
Return
to District News
|