Cranston+High+School+East+Spring+2011

Jeffrey Kong Cranston High School East



899 Park Avenue Cranston, RI 02910-2799 (401) 270-8126 “ The mission of CHSE, a partnership consisting of students, teachers, parents, and community members, is to educate all students in a safe, challenging, and mutually respectful environment, which will enable them to develop and demonstrate proficiency in critical thinking, problem solving, and communication skills. The CHSE student and subsequent graduate will utilize these skills to become a respectful and productive contributor to both the school and community”

**Introduction **

Cranston is the third largest city in Rhode Island and it is located in Providence County. It is known as a suburban community. Many of the residents reside in the eastern region of Cranston which features beautiful shorelines of Narragansett. Cranston is known to have numerous historic sites. Two of the most recognizable high schools of Cranston are Cranston High School West and Cranston High School East. Cranston High School East is located in the central part of Cranston, Rhode Island. It’s a comprehensive high school that covers 9th grade through 12th grade. The current principal is Sean T. Kelly. Being the first Cranston high school ever to be built, it received a lot of attention. One in particular is the wide diversity of their students. In fact, it is renowned as the home to an award-winning FCS-sponsored Diversity Awareness program. Cranston High School East holds multicultural events like salsa dancing and worldly historic lectures that allow their students to understand each other’s culture and background. With this kind of expectation from their students, it’s no wonder why Cranston High School East is top 10 of the highest graduation rate in Rhode Island school districts.

Community Background

Base on 2009 Data, the total population of Cranston was 80,403 people and the total population of Rhode Island was 1,067,610 people. Cranston made up 7.6 % of Rhode Island’s total population. The racial makeup of Cranston is 83.2 % Caucasian, 10.6 % Hispanic, 6.2 % other race, 4.1 % Black, 3.9 % Asian, and 0.7 % American Indian. As you can see, Cranston isn’t diverse when comparing to other Rhode Island cities like Pawtucket. The median family income of Cranston is $ 72,120, which is relatively well. Since the median family income of Rhode Island is $ 71,037, families in Cranston are having a better income than most Rhode Island cities. It also explains the low percentage of families below poverty level to be 5.1 %.

Income/Poverty Data


 * || Cranston  ||  Rhode Island  ||  U.S  ||
 * Median Household Income ||  $58,877  ||  $55,569  ||  $51,425  ||
 * Median Family Income ||  $72,120  ||  $71,037  ||  $62,363  ||
 * Per Capita Income ||  27,653  ||  $28,638  ||  $27,041  ||
 * Families Below Poverty Level ||  5.1%  ||  8.1%  ||  9.9%  ||
 * Individuals Below Poverty Level ||  7.6%  ||  11.6%  ||  13.5%  ||

Race/Ethnicity Data
 * || Cranston  ||  Rhode Island  ||  U.S  ||
 * White ||  83.2%  ||  82.8%  ||  74.5%  ||
 * Black ||  4.1%  ||  5.5%  ||  12.4%  ||
 * Asian ||  3.9%  ||  2.7%  ||  4.4%  ||
 * Hispanic ||  10.6%  ||  11.4%  ||  15.1%  ||
 * American Indian or ||  0.7%  ||  0.4%  ||  0.8%  ||
 * Alaska native ||^   ||^   ||^   ||
 * Other Race ||  6.2%  ||  6.6%  ||  5.6%  ||

Census-based Indicators 2000 4 % ||   4%  ||
 * || Cranston  ||  Rhode Island  ||
 * Child population || 17,098  ||  247,822  ||
 * Children in single-parent families || 24 %  ||  30 %  ||
 * Children living in families below the federal poverty threshold || 9.1 %  ||  16.9 %  ||
 * Teens not in school and not working || 15.0 %  ||  7.3 %  ||
 * Households with grandparents financially responsible for grandchildren ||

Economic Well-Being 2009
 * || Cranston  ||  Rhode Island  ||
 * Food Stamp Program participation || 2,857  ||  53,632  ||
 * School Breakfast Program participation || 18 %  ||  27 %  ||

Health
 * || Cranston  ||  Rhode Island  ||
 * Number of children under 19 receiving medical assistance || 5,544  ||  89,746  ||

S Safety
 * || Cranston  ||  Rhode Island  ||
 * Child abuse and neglect rate per 1,000 children || 9.8 %  ||  11.7 %  ||

EEducation
 * || Cranston  ||  Rhode Island  ||
 * Early intervention participation || 10 %  ||  10 %  ||

District Summary

There are twenty four schools in the Cranston public school district. Students are doing pretty well on the 2010 NECAP Assessment especially on the Reading section. On the Reading section, the district of Cranston had a rate of 78 %, which is higher than the state rate of 71%. The Math section was a struggle for most Cranston students because the rate of proficient was 55 %. The attendance rate of all Cranston schools was 94% comparing to the state rate of 93%. Fortunately, the district of Cranston had a percent of students dropping out of 11.8 %. This percentage is low when comparing to the state’s percent of 13.9 %. Also the percentage of Cranston students graduating 79.5 % is higher than state’s percent of 75.5%. The district of Cranston spends $13,960.14 per student per year. The ratio of teacher to student is 1:10. Overall, Cranston is greatly improving and hopefully it will continue to do better in the future.



School Analysis

Cranston High School East was the first high school to be built in Cranston. It has over 1,700 students from grade 9-12 and 150+ faculty members. The current principal is Sean T. Kelly. Students from Cranston High School East are improving in all three sections of the NECAP every year. The rate of proficient on the 2008 Math section was 13% and it went up to 16% on 2009. The biggest improvements were the Reading and Writing section. They both went up by 16% on 2009 from 2008. Cranston High School East motivates their students to do well in school by providing them extra help. The Cranston Public School System offers a special program called Alternate High School Evening Program. It offers students to make up lost credits by going to night classes. These night classes are held twice per week and it covers all subjects like English, Mathematics, Science, and Social Studies. The climate of Cranston High School East is relatively safe. Base on SALT Survey, the high school had a lower percent of students engaging in drugs, smoking and alcohol than Rhode Island high school students in general. Health wise, Cranston High School East’s students are the same as Rhode Island high school students. They had the same percentage of students with overweight issues, dieting, and communication device usage. Cranston High School East has won many football, basketball, baseball, and swimming championships in the past years. Football, baseball, and basketball teams are in Division 1 of the Rhode Island League. Also, the school has one of the best music programs out there. Both the marching band and choir received many rewards for their performances.



 Conclusion

Overall, Cranston High School East is very good high school that takes the time to guide their students towards their future. It definitely shows when looking at their improvements on the NECAP Assessments. Not only the NECAP is good but also the learning and safe environment of the school. Students usually have a good understandment of each other’s background and culture. They learn to respect one another, thanks to their teachers. As they say, there is always room for improvements. From my experience, they need to supply more food to their students. Many times, the cafeteria will run out of food on the fourth lunch period. Other than that, Cranston High School East is a very educated and safe environment for students to grow.



References

U.S. Census Bureau Fact Sheet. (2009) Retrieved 2011 from  [|http://factfinder.census.gov]

RI Kids Count: Indicators of Child Well-Being. (2010) Retrieved 2011 from []

NECAP Assessments. (2009) Retrieved 2011 from []

CHSE Programs. (2009) Retrieved 2011 from []