Students rewarded for API score increase

Sam ReamerStaff WriterIn celebration of Samo’s 805 Academic Performance Index (API) score, Samo administrators treated students to a special hour-long lunch on Oct. 14 that included an In-N-Out truck and Diddy Riese cookies. The celebration also featured music courtesy of 97.1-AMP radio.Samo Principal Laurel Fretz said the focus of the celebration was the teachers and students.“It’s not the administration’s celebration; it’s really the students’ because they’re the ones that did it. It’s the teachers’ work of teaching and the students’ work of learning — that’s what that 805 represents,” Fretz said.I-House Principal Renée Semik also thought the celebration was appropriate.“We should celebrate and showcase those things that we want students to continue to do just as much as we share with students the pitfalls and things we don’t want them to do,” Semik said.Sophomore Michele Lauto was pleased with the overall celebration. However, he was not as satisfied with its organization.“I think it was a great idea, though they should have had more trucks, so it wouldn’t have been so chaotic,” Lauto said.Gilda De La Cruz, English teacher, thought the celebration was successful, especially in terms of student satisfaction.“They seemed really organized and prepared. Students were happy to just have the extra lunchtime. From what I witnessed, students were sitting around relaxing,” De La Cruz said. “I think it was a little hectic at the beginning with everybody rushing to get the cookies and In-N-Out, but it ended up being pretty calm and people enjoyed their day.”Junior Mari Marshall was unhappy with the fact that students had to pay for the In-N-Out trucks.“It’s not really an adequate reward. It’s not a reward if you have to pay for it,” Marshall said.In addition to the celebration, the school plans to hold an awards ceremony in November to honor students who improved on California State Testing (CST). Those who made noticeable improvement on their score or scored impressively on the test will be recognized at the ceremony.“I hope students really feel proud of themselves because they should,” Fretz said. “They really made a jump last year and really proved themselves as great learners.”sreamer@thesamohi.com