Presentation to parents interested in having their students apply to Foothill for 2013-2014.

1. Foothill Technology High SchoolFoothill Technology High School
2014 Newsweek Top 100 High Schools in America
2012 & 2006 National Blue Ribbon – School of Excellence
2014 U.S News and World Report – “Best Schools in America” Top 1%

2. •
Welcome &
Introductions
“Lottery” Process
– Q & A
Foothill Overview
Student & Staff Panel
– Q & A
Student Led Campus
Tour
Information Night Agenda

3. Lottery Process
• Choice Window – Jan. 16 – 30 by
4:00 PM
• Lottery to take place in mid-
February
• Letters mailed out in late February
• Accepted students have one week
to confirm guaranteed seat
• Siblings given priority - must apply
• 2014: 577 applications - 9th
grade
• Foothill currently above capacity
• Current enrollment 1030
Photo by Bethany Fankhauser/The Foothill Dragon Press

4. Magnet School of Choice
• Health Science,
Communications,
Technology Magnet
• No boundary areas &
open to any student in
the district
• Selection by a lottery
process

5. Small School Environment
• Foothill’s positive school
climate spotlighted in 2012
by WestEd.org
• Opportunities for academic
intervention
• Individualized attention to
meet their academic and
social needs

6. Excellent Teachers
• Highly educated staff engages students with innovative
instructional strategies and curriculum
• Foothill’s most recent AP and API test scores rank us among the
top high schools in the state and nation*
– Number 1 high school in Ventura County
– Number 77th high school in the U.S.
*Newsweek 2014

7. College Prep Curriculum
• All courses taught at college
prep, honors or Advanced
Placement level
• Advanced Placement
participation and pass rate
well above state and
national average
• Approx. 70% of Foothill
graduates have met the
UC/A-G requirements
compared to county
average of 35%

8. Block Schedule
•Students say they
are able to
concentrate better
on fewer subjects
each school day
• 90-minute periods
allowing for a variety of
instructional strategies
and in-depth study

9. Project-based Integrated
Approach
• Action-based
projects integrate
many disciplines
• Integrated
approach builds
relevancy that
increases student
learning
Photo by Jackson Tovar/The Foothill Dragon Press

10. Technology Communication
Online newspaper:
www.foothilldragonpress.org
• Daily reporting
• Video
• Photos of school events
• Student life and opinions
Website & wiki:
www.foothilltechnology.org
• Forms
• FAQs
• Daily bulletin
• Teacher pages
• Syllabi
• Homework

11. Technology Instruction
• 1:2 Student-to-
Computer Ratio
• 3 Labs, 4 Pods
• 450 iPads and
Chromebooks in
classrooms
• 9th
grade Education in
the Digital Age (1-
year course)
Photos by Aysen Tan/The Foothill
Dragon Press
“Leveraging digital tools to promote independence,
flexibility and capability in a rapidly changing world”

12. Mobile Technology
Can you spot
one of the
most
powerful
teaching and
learning
tools the
world has
ever known?

13. Mobile Technology at Foothill
Educators from
area schools visit
Foothill regularly
to see mobile
technology
teaching tools.

14. One morning at Foothill…
• 12th grade Government students use Explain Everything app
to show their understanding of Congressional committees.

15. One morning at Foothill…
• 10th grade Chemistry students solve problems on
Educreations app.

16. One morning at Foothill…
• 10th-11th grade Physics
students measure
precision and accuracy of
homemade catapults and
gather data on an iPad.
• They take photos of their
catapults to be used in
teacher evaluation of
project.

17. One morning at Foothill…
• Students use Google Drive (Google Docs) to create and
store presentations about colleges.

18. One morning at Foothill…
• 9th grade English students build electronic circuits and light
switches with Arduino kits to share experience with the
main character of The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind.

19. One morning at Foothill…
• 9th grade English students use Nearpod app on iPads to
review for test, take polls and draw their understanding
of George Orwell’s 1984.

20. One morning at Foothill…
• 12th grade English students use Chromebooks to create
social media pages for characters in Shakespeare’s King
Lear.

21. One morning at Foothill…
•11th grade Physiology students conduct a sweat gland lab
using iPads and Inspiration app.

22. BYOD?
Yes you may! (But you don’t have to)

23. Student Opportunities
• Quality elective courses in
the areas of health
sciences, communications
and technology
• Bio Science Academy and
Communications Strand
– VCMC Partnership
– Coastal Marine Biolabs
• ASB, FIRE, Speech &
Debate, Journalism,
Yearbook
Photos by Bethany
Fankhauser ‘13 and
Lucy Knowles ’15 of
the Foothill Dragon
Press

24. Student Opportunities
Courtesy KEYT -- January 9, 2014

25. FIRE
• FIRE = Foothill Intervention Reinforcement and Enrichment
• Strategic academic intervention for all 9th graders with a 10:1
student to teacher ratio – plus two upper-class mentors
• Tutoring, research, integrated projects, study skills, “office
hours”, and homework are a part of the FIRE format
• 9th
graders with below 2.0 GPA dropped from 33% in 2005 to
under 10% the last several years
Foothill Tech FIRE mentors on a fire truck

26. Support Programs
RENAISSANCE
• Academic Incentive Program
• 3.0 GPA or improve by .5
• Nationally recognized program
• Field trips, rallies, t-shirts, prizes,
weekly activities
• 77% of the students body earned
Renaissance status last year
AVID
•Advancement Via Individual
Determination
•National Demonstration School
•College culture school wide
•Field trips, specialized classes, study
strategies and college visits
Photos by (above) Natalie Smith; (left top) Bethany Fankhauser/The Foothill Dragon Press

27. School Activities
Foothill offers a wide variety
of opportunities for students
•Clubs
•Renaissance rallies/field
days
•2 formal dances
•Spirit weeks
•Air Guitar Celebration
•Weekly lunchtime activities
•Intramurals
•And much more!
Photo (left)
by Bethany
Fankhauser;
(below)
Aysen
Tan/The
Foothill
Dragon
Press.

28. Physical Education
• On Campus Dance –
Professional Dance
Instructor
• Supervised @ Mavericks
or YMCA
• P.E. on campus
• Personalized Fitness Plans
using Technology
• Independent Study (10,
11, 12 only)
• Athletics
Photo (above) by
Aysen Tan; (right) by
Josh Ren/The Foothill
Dragon Press.

29. Athletics
Foothill began interscholastic
athletics in 2014-15
Core Principles:
• Academics
• Balanced Approach
• Unified Programs
• Fitness for Life
Compete in Tri-County
Athletic Association (TCAA)

30. • All sports except wrestling
and football
• Innovative program – CAP
• High level facilities
• Professional coaches
• For athletics information:
www.foothilltechnology.org
/FAQ-foothill-athletics/
Athletics

31. Community Service Requirements
• All students must
complete 75 hours
of community
service during
their four years at
Foothill
• Powerful learning
tool to build
empathy and
teach respect for
others

32. College BoundCollege Bound

33. Some Foothill accomplishments!
• Newsweek Top 100 High Schools in America – Ranked #77 in the
overall rankings and #54 when taking into consideration the
percentage of low income students (2014)
• Top 1% of high schools in America – U.S. News and World Report
Ranked #216 among the approximately 31,000 high schools in
America (2014)
• Top 25 high schools in California - API of 906 (2013)
• Sixty percent of graduates enrolled in a four year university
compared to the state average of 15-20% (2014)
• A pass rate of 100% on the California Exit Exam (2014)
• Over three quarters of student body earning Renaissance status;
3.0 GPA or above (2014)
• National Blue Ribbon School – Only school in Ventura County to be