REDWOOD MIDDLE SCHOOL (SARATOGA, CALIFORNIA)

'Redwood Middle School' is located in Saratoga, California, and is a part of the Saratoga Union School District (SUSD). The current SUSD superintendent is Lane Weiss. Redwood Middle School educates students in grades 6–8 and has an average annual enrollment of 950 students. The school mascot is the Griffin and the school colors are blue and white. Saratoga and surrounding areas are quite affluent, with the median home price as of 2004 being $1.1 million and some houses being valued as high as $15 million.

Contents

History

Administration

Academics

Social Structure

Arts

References

External links

History

The school was originally named Fruitvale Middle School, but the name changed to the current Redwood Middle School in 1989 with the transfer of the 6th grade from nearby schools Argonaut Elementary, Saratoga Elementary, and Foothill Elementary.

Administration

As of the 2006-2007 school year, the school principal was Beth Polito and the vice principal was Jason Robertson, although this will change for the 2007-2008 school year, as Beth Polito has left Redwood to become the assistant superintendent for SUSD.

Academics

According to 2004-2005 School Accountability Report Card (SARC) data, approximately 49% of the student body is classified as white (non-Hispanic), and 45% classified as Asian (Oriental Asians and Central Asians). Students' standardized test scores are often in the upper 90th percentile for the STAR and CAT-6.
After completing 8th grade at Redwood, students transfer to high schools in other districts, as the Saratoga Union School District is K-8 only. Most students continue on to Saratoga High School or Los Gatos High School, with some opting to attend private college preparatory schools.

Social Structure

Although there is a large emphasis on academics, as evidenced by the overall academic excellence most students display, there still remains a large focus on social context. Students are encouraged to participate in social activities such activity nights and the yearly spirit bash. The school also hosts lunchtime activities, organized by the school's Leadership class, in order to promote school spirit and identity, as well as keep students socially active. Griffin Pride days, Spirit days, along with a variety of other activities, encourage students to develop a sense of school pride and interact with other students in a positive social way.
The students are separated into two teams, the blue team and the white team. The goal of the team-based atmosphere to dissolve social cliques, encourage new friendships, and help students develop a sense of community among fellow students and team members. Students are also placed into classes according to their team, so as to further the forging of friendships with new people, a process made easier when students are in several classes with the same people.
The school also provides a program called WEB (Where Everybody Belongs) that aims to help incoming 6th grade students adapt to the differences between elementary and middle school. All 6th graders are enrolled in the program automatically, and are mentored by volunteer 8th grade students.

Arts

The school's music department is led by, evil, long-standing music director Vicki Wyant; the program is sponsored by Saratoga Music Boosters, a parent-volunteer run group. Students can participate in award-winning groups including the honor chorus, concert band, marching band and auxilary (with over 100 students currently), string orchestras, jazz band, and color guard.
Many Redwood students also participate in the fall play and in the spring musical. Recent spring musicals performed include ''Fiddler on the Roof'', ''The Last Gladiator'', ''Seussical the Musical'', and ''The Wiz''.

References

★ Ray, Rebecca. ''"Child's Play"'', Saratoga News. (May 8th, 2002)

★ 2004-2005 School Accountability Report Card [1].

★ Redwood Middle School website [2]

External links

★ Redwood Middle School website

★ Redwood Middle School newsletter archive

★ Redwood Middle School profile provided by greatschools.net (contains pop-ups)

★ Saratoga Music Boosters Website