The Wireless, 2009-2010, Issue 1

Posted by The Staffs of FHS Library and Newswriting Wednesday, September 30, 2009  1:21 AM

We welcomed over 2600 students to Farrington this year and the campus is humming with excitement! We have much to be proud about with more students graduating from Farrington to college, helped by a record amount of scholarship offerings to our students – over $3 million! Our goal is for more students and more scholarship funds for the class of 2010!

We are also very pleased with the progress our tenth graders (class of 2011) showed in reading on the state tests. We improved from 54% meeting proficiency in 2008 to 67% meeting proficiency in 2009. We exceeded both the state standard (58%) and the overall state average (65 %). We are still struggling in math moving up only slightly from 24% to 26% of our students demonstrating proficiency. We plan to continue to emphasize math across our curriculum and I am confident that we will improve our performance when we take the tests in the spring of 2010.

This year will be challenging for us as we deal with budget cuts. We have not lost any teaching positions, but we have had to cut back on our part-time staff who help in the classrooms and provide individual assistance to students who need extra help. We are very fortunate, however, in that we have many community and alumni partners who step in to help in many different ways. The gifts they give have allowed us to provide many “extras” for our students. From improved facilities and equipment to field trips and mainland travel, our partners have made an extraordinary difference for the Farrington Ohana.

Once again, my appeal to all of our parents and family members is to ask for your support in making sure our students take advantage of all that we have to offer them at Farrington. No one should fall behind as there is free tutoring or help with homework after school in our library every Monday and Wednesday. In addition, many of the teachers are available to their students…the students just need to ask. If you are concerned, do not hesitate to contact the administration, the counselors, or the teachers. We want to be your partner in helping our students be successful. You can reach us by email through our website: www.farringtonhighschool.org

You can also keep up-to-date with what is happening at Farrington by checking the website regularly. Our different programs and/or grade levels will be having parent meetings which we hope you will attend. In addition our School-Community Council meetings are always open to the public. We know that your involvement will make a positive difference for the future.

All of us at Farrington are looking forward to an exciting year!