Egan Junior High School
Encyclopedia
Ardis G. Egan Junior High School is a middle school
for seventh and eighth graders in Los Altos
, California
. A lot of people go here. It is part of the Los Altos School District
. Most of Egan's five hundred students live in Los Altos
and Los Altos Hills, though a few live in Mountain View
. Egan is named for Ardis G. Egan
, founder and former Superintendent of the Los Altos School District.
Egan is mainly fed by local elementary schools of the same district, Almond, Santa Rita
, and Covington. Egan has inherited these school's high success rates, ranking as one of the top intermediate schools in the state
.
and has often scored high in STAR
testing. It has been reported as the public school with the highest STAR test scores in California numerous times. From 1999-2000 through the 2001-02 school year, Egan was ranked as the top junior high school in the state based on its performance on the Academic Performance Index (API) Growth Reports.
level. Greatschools awarded Egan a 9/10 due to its high API scores, which were among to top 10% in California. Despite this positive ranking state-wide, however, Egan's 2007 API score dropped 4 points since 2006.
According to the California Department of Education
, Egan's educational staff, on average, have more experience and credentials than that of the state's average, although they lack personnel with necessary emergency credentials and training. It is also among one of the few schools which reside in the Bay Area that offers two Spanish classes: the regular Spanish 1A class and a Spanish Conversation class. Like all schools in the Los Altos School District
, Egan has a musical program. Their band
, orchestra
, and chorus
visit Disneyland every year to perform at a concert (Magic Music Days
).
Egan is well funded with a variety of electives, including Technology
, Music
, Languages, and Miscellaneous Items, such as Art
, Newspaper
, Yearbook
, Leadership
, and Foods. It includes a variety of classes that allow students to learn teaching, secretary skills, and librarian skills. It also has many well-funded main courses, Algebra
, Science
, History
, English
, and Physical Education
. Los Altos
's wealthy environment helps Egan's education funding.
Egan has sports programs for boys and girls in soccer, basketball
, tennis
, track and field
, cross-country
, volleyball
, wrestling
, football
, and others. Egan students also compete in the national MathCounts
and AMC8 Math competitions.
Students are given awards for a variety of achievements, the most notable being the "Block E", which is earned through sports, after-school activities, and service to the school.
Along with "Block E" awards students are also awarded with three different types of honor roll, "4.0", "A",and the "B" honor roll. By doing this each student has a chance to achieve in getting an honor roll. Each student that achieves one of these honor rolls receives a dog tag that is proudly hung upon their backpacks.
Scattered throughout the year, there are a few other spirit days and school holidays varying from year to year, such as: Turkey Trot, Movie Night, Bowl-a-Rama, Mystery bucket (also Disney Day), Nerd Day, and Trash Day Superhero,and Sports Day.
(BCS) also has its campus on the east side of Egan's grounds bordering San Antonio Road. The Los Altos School District
(LASD) offered to let BCS use this space (known at the time as the Egan camp school) beginning May 1, 2004. The charter school has been located here ever since. Also Portfolio Day happens once a year. This is a chance for 8th graders to show adults from the community the work they have accomplished over their two years at Egan.
Middle school
Middle School and Junior High School are levels of schooling between elementary and high schools. Most school systems use one term or the other, not both. The terms are not interchangeable...
for seventh and eighth graders in Los Altos
Los Altos, California
Los Altos is a city at the southern end of the San Francisco Peninsula, in the San Francisco Bay Area. The city is in Santa Clara County, California, United States. The population was 28,976 according to the 2010 census....
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. A lot of people go here. It is part of the Los Altos School District
Los Altos School District
Los Altos School District serves the elementary and intermediate educational needs of Los Altos, California, United States, led by Superintendent Jeffrey C...
. Most of Egan's five hundred students live in Los Altos
Los Altos, California
Los Altos is a city at the southern end of the San Francisco Peninsula, in the San Francisco Bay Area. The city is in Santa Clara County, California, United States. The population was 28,976 according to the 2010 census....
and Los Altos Hills, though a few live in Mountain View
Mountain View, California
-Downtown:Mountain View has a pedestrian-friendly downtown centered on Castro Street. The downtown area consists of the seven blocks of Castro Street from the Downtown Mountain View Station transit center in the north to the intersection with El Camino Real in the south...
. Egan is named for Ardis G. Egan
Ardis Egan
Ardis G. Egan was the founder of Egan Junior High School, in Los Altos, California. He was also superintendent of the Los Altos School District during the 1950s. During his 21 year-term, he spearheaded a campaign that resulted in the construction of 14 new schools as he watched the elementary...
, founder and former Superintendent of the Los Altos School District.
Egan is mainly fed by local elementary schools of the same district, Almond, Santa Rita
Santa Rita Elementary School
Santa Rita School is an elementary school located on the north side of the district, approximately one mile from the downtown center of the City of Los Altos.Santa Rita generally students feed into Egan Intermediate School for 7th and 8th grades.-History:...
, and Covington. Egan has inherited these school's high success rates, ranking as one of the top intermediate schools in the state
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
.
Awards and recognition
Egan is a well recognized school. In 1988, 1990, and 2009, Egan was chosen as a California Distinguished SchoolCalifornia Distinguished School
A California Distinguished School is an award given by the California State Board of Education to public schools within the state that best represent exemplary and quality educational programs. Approximately five percent of California schools are awarded this honor each year following a selection...
and has often scored high in STAR
Standardized Testing and Reporting
The Standardized Testing and Reporting Program measures performance on the California Achievement Test, Sixth Edition Survey , the California Content Standards Test and the Spanish Assessment of Basic Education . The STAR Program is the cornerstone of the California Public Schools Accountability...
testing. It has been reported as the public school with the highest STAR test scores in California numerous times. From 1999-2000 through the 2001-02 school year, Egan was ranked as the top junior high school in the state based on its performance on the Academic Performance Index (API) Growth Reports.
Education
Egan has considerably above average mathematics, language, and eighth grade history departments. 10% of the students currently attending Egan qualify for GATEGifted education
Gifted education is a broad term for special practices, procedures and theories used in the education of children who have been identified as gifted or talented...
level. Greatschools awarded Egan a 9/10 due to its high API scores, which were among to top 10% in California. Despite this positive ranking state-wide, however, Egan's 2007 API score dropped 4 points since 2006.
According to the California Department of Education
California Department of Education
The California Department of Education is a California agency that oversees public education. The department oversees funding and testing, and holds local educational agencies accountable for student achievement...
, Egan's educational staff, on average, have more experience and credentials than that of the state's average, although they lack personnel with necessary emergency credentials and training. It is also among one of the few schools which reside in the Bay Area that offers two Spanish classes: the regular Spanish 1A class and a Spanish Conversation class. Like all schools in the Los Altos School District
Los Altos School District
Los Altos School District serves the elementary and intermediate educational needs of Los Altos, California, United States, led by Superintendent Jeffrey C...
, Egan has a musical program. Their band
Band (music)
In music, a musical ensemble or band is a group of musicians that works together to perform music. The following articles concern types of musical bands:* All-female band* Big band* Boy band* Christian band* Church band* Concert band* Cover band...
, orchestra
Orchestra
An orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...
, and chorus
Choir
A choir, chorale or chorus is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform.A body of singers who perform together as a group is called a choir or chorus...
visit Disneyland every year to perform at a concert (Magic Music Days
Magic Music Days
Magic Music Days is a program put on by the Disneyland Resort, the Walt Disney World Resort, the Disneyland Resort Paris and the Hong Kong Disneyland Resort. It brings in school and community groups to perform in the parks and/or take part in workshops or clinics...
).
Egan is well funded with a variety of electives, including Technology
Technology
Technology is the making, usage, and knowledge of tools, machines, techniques, crafts, systems or methods of organization in order to solve a problem or perform a specific function. It can also refer to the collection of such tools, machinery, and procedures. The word technology comes ;...
, Music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
, Languages, and Miscellaneous Items, such as Art
Art
Art is the product or process of deliberately arranging items in a way that influences and affects one or more of the senses, emotions, and intellect....
, Newspaper
Newspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
, Yearbook
Yearbook
A yearbook, also known as an annual, is a book to record, highlight, and commemorate the past year of a school or a book published annually. Virtually all American, Australian and Canadian high schools, most colleges and many elementary and middle schools publish yearbooks...
, Leadership
Leadership
Leadership has been described as the “process of social influence in which one person can enlist the aid and support of others in the accomplishment of a common task". Other in-depth definitions of leadership have also emerged.-Theories:...
, and Foods. It includes a variety of classes that allow students to learn teaching, secretary skills, and librarian skills. It also has many well-funded main courses, Algebra
Algebra
Algebra is the branch of mathematics concerning the study of the rules of operations and relations, and the constructions and concepts arising from them, including terms, polynomials, equations and algebraic structures...
, Science
Science
Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe...
, History
History
History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...
, English
English studies
English studies is an academic discipline that includes the study of literatures written in the English language , English linguistics English studies is an academic discipline that includes the study of literatures written in the English language (including literatures from the U.K., U.S.,...
, and Physical Education
Physical education
Physical education or gymnastics is a course taken during primary and secondary education that encourages psychomotor learning in a play or movement exploration setting....
. Los Altos
Los Altos
Los Altos is the name of several places, including:* the former state of Los Altos, Central America, now divided between Guatemala and Mexico.* the city of Los Altos, California, in the United States....
's wealthy environment helps Egan's education funding.
Egan has sports programs for boys and girls in soccer, basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
, tennis
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
, track and field
Track and field
Track and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...
, cross-country
Cross country running
Cross country running is a sport in which people run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open country, and include hills, flat ground and sometimes gravel road...
, volleyball
Volleyball
Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules.The complete rules are extensive...
, wrestling
Scholastic wrestling
Scholastic wrestling, sometimes known in the United States as Folkstyle wrestling, is a style of amateur wrestling practised at the high school and middle school levels in the United States. This wrestling style is essentially Collegiate wrestling with some slight modifications. It is currently...
, football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
, and others. Egan students also compete in the national MathCounts
MathCounts
Mathcounts is a middle school mathematics competition held in the United States. Its founding sponsors include the CNA Foundation, the National Society of Professional Engineers, and the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. The competition is designed for sixth, seventh, and eighth...
and AMC8 Math competitions.
Students are given awards for a variety of achievements, the most notable being the "Block E", which is earned through sports, after-school activities, and service to the school.
Along with "Block E" awards students are also awarded with three different types of honor roll, "4.0", "A",and the "B" honor roll. By doing this each student has a chance to achieve in getting an honor roll. Each student that achieves one of these honor rolls receives a dog tag that is proudly hung upon their backpacks.
Spirit Days
Along with academics, Egan has "spirit days." These days include two "blue and gold days", when students dress in conventional to wacky blue and gold clothing; four dances per year; the Spring Fling talent show; and Holiday Faire, in which students make their own crafts and items and sell them in order to socialize, meet new people, and learn business skills.Scattered throughout the year, there are a few other spirit days and school holidays varying from year to year, such as: Turkey Trot, Movie Night, Bowl-a-Rama, Mystery bucket (also Disney Day), Nerd Day, and Trash Day Superhero,and Sports Day.
Miscellaneous
Bullis Charter SchoolBullis Charter School
Bullis Charter School is a public charter school located in Los Altos, California, USA, for grades kindergarten through eighth. As the Santa Clara County Office of Education charters the school, BCS operates independently of the Los Altos School District...
(BCS) also has its campus on the east side of Egan's grounds bordering San Antonio Road. The Los Altos School District
Los Altos School District
Los Altos School District serves the elementary and intermediate educational needs of Los Altos, California, United States, led by Superintendent Jeffrey C...
(LASD) offered to let BCS use this space (known at the time as the Egan camp school) beginning May 1, 2004. The charter school has been located here ever since. Also Portfolio Day happens once a year. This is a chance for 8th graders to show adults from the community the work they have accomplished over their two years at Egan.