Varsity Boys Basketball Update

The boys varsity basketball team battled hard in their 54-38 loss to Pine Valley last Thursday night. Playing in front of a sold out audience featuring such faculty stars as Lauren Baier, Rob Boccaccio, Bev Wedmore, Tammy Boucher, and Sarah Komoroske, the boys put forth their most complete effort of the season. Quick ball movement, aggressive defense, and consistent hustle highlighted the second and third quarters and nearly led the Phoenix back from an early deficit. The young men look to bounce back next week as they play three games against Buffalo Academy of Science (Monday at home), Maritime (Thursday at home), and Barker (Friday on the road). Thank you to all of you who supported the program. We look forward to a raucous crowd next week.

Please Join Me in Albany for Advocacy Day!

In the December newsletter, I wrote about the local climate surrounding charter schools which turned colder with the Buffalo Board of Education's vote to request a moratorium on new charters in the city and region. We need our parents and community members to become our partners in advocacy!

Here are additional facts that support our message that charter schools are doing good work here in the city of Buffalo and will continue to provide important choice for the city's families:

• Currently, there are 16 charter schools in Western New York serving over 6000 students.
• Nearly 20% of Buffalo's students are enrolled in charter schools.
• All of Buffalo's charter schools have waiting lists. These waiting lists represent hundreds of the city's students whose parents are seeking choice in education.
• Charter schools in New York state receive approximately 70% of the funding allocated to district schools. For example, in 2007-08, the Buffalo district received $16,120 in per-pupil funding whereas the Buffalo charter schools received $9,567 per pupil.
• In 2009, the aggregate performance of all charter schools in the Buffalo area was significantly stronger than our traditional district peers.

As you can see from the chart on the right, Oracle's Regents exam performance significantly outpaced the district's. We outperformed some of Buffalo's top high schools and outpaced the state average for student performance on the English and Math Regents exams.

Already, our second graduating class is on track to meet or exceed the high bar established by the class of 2009. We are proud of our students' accomplishments, and we would like your help in spreading the good word!

Each year, powerful lobby interests and the state legislature propose bills that would negatively impact charter schools, especially our funding. Ultimately, these bills challenge our very existence. As parents of students in charter schools or as charter school supporters in the broader community, it is important that we speak up and work to educate the community and our legislators about the value of charter school choice.

As I have written in both the November and December newsletters, February 2 is Charter School Advocacy Day in Albany. Each year, parents, teachers and students from charter schools throughout New York State join together to make the one day journey to our state capitol to learn about both positive and negative legislation that could affect charter schools and meet with our elected officials.

It is very important that those in Albany hear from our Buffalo charter schools. I invite you to join me and some of our staff and students on the one day trip to Albany this year. If you can't make the trip but want to help us with local advocacy efforts, please let me know. With parent support, we can organize a letter writing campaign or help to set up meetings with local politicians.

Plan Ahead to Attend the Scholarship Fair

Community Action Organization of Erie County - Education Task Force

What: Scholarship Fair
When: Tuesday, January 12th
Where: U.B. South Campus - 101 Allen Hall/Main Street
Time: 5:30-8:30 p.m.

The CAO Education Task Force extend this invitation to all high school juniors and seniors. The focus of this event is to assist students with the identification of as many scholarship opportunities that they can take advantage of. Vendors will be present representing various organizations that give out scholarships and discuss the application process. There will be several workshops to assist students with developing techniques in writing successful essays . There will be prizes and drawings for all participates. Any questions…call Yvonne Hairston at 881-5150 extension 4402.

Encourage Your Student to Read over Winter Break!

EducationNews.org - A Leading Global News Source - Why doesn’t reading more make us better readers?

According to this article, originally published in the Washington Post, Americans now are reading more than we did in 1980, but our nation's reading scores haven't improved since the 1970s.

Why? Well, it all comes down to the kinds of reading we're doing. Although we're reading more, we're reading web sites like Facebook, we're reading text messages, and we're reading how-to information on our favorite video games.

The key to improving reading skills is to read more books, magazines, and newspaper articles! According to the author, Daniel Willingham, whose article is linked above, "Practice in reading lightweight material won’t improve your reading much. Reading content-rich material will."

So... please help our Oracle students make a commitment to content-rich reading over the Winter Break. We've even put together some book suggestions from Mrs. Behr:

• Hunger Games, Suzanne Collins - From School Library Journal: "In a not-too-distant future, the United States of America has collapsed, weakened by drought, fire, famine, and war, to be replaced by Panem, a country divided into the Capitol and 12 districts. Each year, two young representatives from each district are selected by lottery to participate in The Hunger Games. Part entertainment, part brutal intimidation of the subjugated districts, the televised games are broadcasted throughout Panem as the 24 participants are forced to eliminate their competitors, literally, with all citizens required to watch."
• The Book Thief, Markus Zusak - This book, set during World War II and narrated by Death himself, is ultimately a story about the power of words and friendship.
• The Lovely Bones, Alice Sebold - From Amazon: When we first meet the narrator of this novel, she is already in heaven, looking on as her family copes with their grief and searches for her killer. This novel is both suspenseful and touching, and is ultimately a story about the power of memory and understanding.
  
• We Were Here, Matt de la Pena - From Amazon: "When it happened, Miguel was sent to Juvi. The judge gave him a year in a group home—said he had to write in a journal so some counselor could try to figure out how he thinks. The judge had no idea that he actually did Miguel a favor..."
• Half-Broken Horses: A True Life Novel, Jeanette Walls - From Publishers Weekly: "For the first 10 years of her life, Lily Casey Smith, the narrator of this true-life novel by her granddaughter, Walls, lived in a dirt dugout in west Texas. Walls ... writes in what she recalls as Lily's plainspoken voice, whose recital provides plenty of drama and suspense as she ricochets from one challenge to another."
• Catching Fire, Suzanne Collins - If you finish Hunger Games and want more...this is the second book in the series.
  

Better People, Better Students, Better Athletes...

The first day of basketball practice this year closed with the players reflecting on the following quotation:

“I have a standard, and it is a high standard. If you aim for perfection, you’ll reach greatness. If you strive for greatness, you’ll reach good. If you aim for good, you’ll reach average. Don’t lower that standard.” - Lou Holtz

to which Dresean L., a Varsity guard whose willingness to learn and work is unparalleled in our program, said, “You only become great if you demand a lot of yourself.”

The coaches followed with:

“Success seems to be connected with action. Successful people keep moving. They make mistakes, but they don’t quit.” - Conrad Hilton

to which Keyon M., a senior who, though unable to play this year, is still a part of the team and harbors a very realistic chance of playing in college due to his work ethic, attitude, and skill, said, “You can’t ever stop. You just have to keep coming – especially when things are hard.”

Which has most recently led to:

“What is to give light must endure burning.” - Viktor Frankl

to which Andre S., a Junior Varsity point guard with a quick first step and a non-stop mouth, reflected, “I think it means that if you’re going to be really good at something, you have to work really hard.”

Clearly what we are developing at Oracle is a different kind of basketball program. Through basketball and the camaraderie it offers, we believe that we can teach the young men in our program the principles of what it means to be accountable, honest, and hard-working student leaders who open up doors for their futures and enliven those around them. And when the wins on the court start pouring in, we will look at them as a product -- not the product -- of our time and work together.