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In this eUpdate:
From South Central Los Angeles to SIATech Long Beach Graduate
Social Studies Teacher Jose Estrada
Shares a Student's Story
 When Angel Solis stepped into SIATech High School in Long Beach, he made the comment that he wanted to have the entire Job Corps experience. Since childhood, Angel was expected by his parents to be the best at everything. He commented that his family was very strict, and that as a child he felt it was unfair, but as a young man looking back he feels it helped him become who he is today. During our conversation, Angel commented about his past and where he grew up. I asked him if it had an impact in his life, and he replied with a strong yes.
Angel grew up in one of the toughest neighborhoods in Southern California. South Central is a place that is full of gang life, drugs, and violence. Angel commented that he tried to avoid the statistics of his area, but it did not mean that those statistics would not avoid him. Angel reflected on a time when gang members verbally harassed him because he had lost a phone of a friend who was involved in gangs. Angel became scared, so he began to avoid people in his neighborhood.
 One person he did not avoid was a girlfriend. He believed he liked her, but because of that relationship he did not join his fellow classmates at his graduation ceremony. A few days later, he received a call from his grandma. It was not a great call. His grandma spoke to him on the phone and she commented with tears, “You disappointed our family.” Angel was impacted, but it impacted him in a positive way: “What kept me focused to succeed was trying to better myself, so I would not let down my family again.” He knew he had to take the next step, so he joined Job Corps in Long Beach.
Angel asked me if he could write a bit on his experience, so I am going to give him the spotlight:
 “When I first stepped foot into SIATech High School, I was worried that I was going to make another mistake and not graduate. I was nervous. Staff here helped me achieve and gain the confidence that I needed to be where I am at today. Two staff members here helped me gain my confidence the most. It is hard to find a place where staff could make such a difference in the life of students.
"I remember that Mr. Yanes would always find a way to make me focus and stay on track while having a great learning experience. He made class fun and memorable. I became really happy because I noticed that the staff really did care about my success. Mr. Estrada would always push me to get my work done. He really cared about his students, and he cared that we learned. He stayed after school and helped many students finish so they could graduate on time.
 "I am very thankful, and because of SIATech staff, I am now a high school graduate.”
All of SIATech High School congratulates Angel Solis, our next high school graduate!
Thank you to Social Studies Teacher Jose Estrada for submitting this story.
The SIATech Long Beach graduation is August 7. SIATech graduations are open to the public however some require a ticket. If you would like to attend or receive additional information about graduations in your area, please call 760.945.1227 or email info@siatech.org.
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SIATech Albuquerque's New Leadership Structure
SIATech at Albuquerque Job Corps Center has a new leadership structure for the 2009-2010 school year. Kelly Callahan has been named the Head Administrator of the school and Erik Bose is the new Principal.
 As head administrator, Ms. Callahan will be responsible for issues surrounding personnel, legal, compliance, and accountability. Mr. Bose has been promoted to principal from assistant principal where he has successfully served for the past four years. He will continue to be a respected leader of the day-to-day operations of the site including instructional leadership, student case management, and Job Corps relations.
We look forward to more good news from SIATech and NEWCorp Albuquerque in the coming school year!
Click here for more information on SIATech Albuquerque.
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Welcome to Gary Smith, ELL Coordinator
 SIATech strives to attract and retain quality staff, and promotion from within the organization is a priority. Recently, Gary Smith, was promoted from teacher to the ELL Coordinator for SIATech's nine school sites in California and Arizona.
Mr. Smith has been in education for 30 years, and has 20 years of ELL teaching experience. He spent two years teaching in Japan where he earned Berlitz teaching certification in Osaka. Mr. Smith joined SIATech in 2001 and helped start the Phoenix site. He served as an English instructor / ELL Coordinator at the SIATech Phoenix site and English instructor at SIATech Treasure Island. He has been recognized for his outstanding work with students including the launch of a student-driven publication, The SIATechian.
As ELL Coordinator, Mr. Smith will visit the California and Arizona sites to help staff incorporate strategies to improve instruction for SIATech's numerous students who are English learners. He will also reach out to SIATech's other sites as needed. As part of this role, Mr. Smith will present at SIATech's many professional development offerings like SIATech's New Staff Academy, the SIATech BTSA Induction program for teachers working toward their credential, subject-specific roundtables, and more. Additional duties include researching, developing, and piloting curricula and software appropriate for the ELL population as well as data collection and reporting.
Mr. Smith is excited about this new position: "English language learners come from diverse cultural backgrounds with diverse languages and educational profiles. The challenge for me as an instructor has been how to create a democratic, inclusive, multi-cultural classroom while extending the time my students need for second language instruction and ensuring comprehension in the content subjects they will need in order to succeed and graduate. I am very excited about taking on this new postion as the SIATech ELL Coordinator and assisting and supporting our teachers with their ELL students."
Mr. Smith will work out of SIATech at Treasure Island Job Corps in San Francisco. He can be contacted at gary.smith@siatech.org.
We wish the best of luck to previous ELL Coordinator Val Callet. Ms. Callet left SIATech at the end of June to focus on her doctoral dissertation. Thank you to Carole Fisher, Director of Specialized Student Services, for forwarding news of Gary Smith's promotion.
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SIATech In the News
 SIATech is featured in the Summer 2009 issue of Charter Schools Today. The article, entitled "School for Integrated Academics and Technologies: Inspiring Hope for the Future," introduces our school. It discusses SIATech's focus on at-risk youth, the partnership with Job Corps, and emphasis on professional development.
Click and turn to page 113 to check it out.
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"If a man empties his purse into his head, no man can take it away from him. An investment in knowledge always pays the best interest."
- Benjamin Franklin
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