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      Annual Report
SIATech (SIGH-a-tek) had an outstanding 2006-07 school year. The school's average daily enrollment of approximately 3,500 students created an exciting arena to change lives and create transformed learners.
Click here to view the complete Annual Report, 2006-07 (PDF)
Letter of Introduction
The School for Integrated Academics and Technologies (SIATech®) is an idea whose time has come. Never has “Real Learning for Real Life™” been more critical to the success of our students and our education system. Competency-based education coupled with rigor, relevance, and relationship, in a high-tech and highly interactive environment, facilitates a unique experience and meaningful transformation that creatively meets the needs of 21st century learners.
Student Population
Learning Gains
Additional assessments administered by SIATech include the Scholastic Reading Inventory (SRI) Reading and STAR Math tests. The SRI Reading and STAR math assessments provide SIATech with the students’ grade level equivalent scores. These are used to place the student in the appropriate academic module for each subject.
Students must also pass state exit exams to earn a diploma. SIATech has allocated a large percentage of resources to support students in passing these state exit exams. This support includes special counselors, workshops, tutors, coursework, and testing specialists. State exit exam testing data is used to measure student performance and to make curricula adjustments to better serve the students’ academic needs.
Average Daily Enrollment
Staff and School Leadership
The SIATech leadership team is comprised of experienced educational professionals committed to reaching the needs of all students. Site administration at each campus includes a site leader (principal), an administrative assistant, a registrar, testing specialist, and at many sites, a special state exit exam tutor. In partnership with Job Corps, a collaborative, harmonious atmosphere is present on SIATech sites.
Each site’s student body is served by approximately six full-time and four part-time classroom instructors. SIATech utilizes the services of a resource specialist assigned to each site to work with students of special needs. The average school student to classroom instructor ratio is 20:1.
Accreditation
All SIATech schools in CA, AZ, and FL are currently accredited by one of the three regional agencies that are recognized by the US Department of Education.
Key Happenings
Preliminary Evaluation by Learning Innovations at WestEd SIATech chose to enlist Learning Innovations at WestEd, a nonprofit education, research, development, and technical assistance organization, as part of SIATech’s effort for positive organizational growth and effectiveness. Learning Innovations will provide data on curriculum, assessment, classroom instruction, professional development, and school climate, with recommendations for future directions for SIATech. In 2006-07, various data and stakeholder interviews were collected. The final work on this evaluation will be finalized during the 2007-08 school year.
In 2006-07, Duval County Schools conducted a comprehensive written review; extensive on-site interviews with staff, students, administration, Job Corps partners, and board members; and observed classes. While the site’s initial charter was for three years, the Duval County Schools authorized a 5-year renewal of the SIATech Jacksonville charter.
SIATech sponsored the 3rd Annual Reaching At-Promise Students National Conference and the inaugural Leaders Institute, both held in San Diego in July 2007. These conferences brought together more than 600 educators in an ongoing effort to increase nationwide attention and improved educational services for at-promise students.
In addition, SIATech was a key stakeholder in the formation of the Reaching At-Promise Students Association (RAPSA). RAPSA is a professional development resource for teachers, administrators, counselors, and others who want to improve the quality of education for all students.
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When a student enrolls in Job Corps and SIATech, he or she is given several pre-tests to determine the best academic path for success. Job Corps administers the Test of Adult Basic Education (TABE). The TABE assesses basic skills in vocabulary, reading, language, language mechanics, mathematics, and spelling. The learning gains shown in the table above are based on results from pre- and post-assessment of the TABE at California SIATech sites only (as reported in the 2006-07 Alternative Schools Accountability Model (ASAM) School Report).
