Since the opening of Foothill Technology High School (Foothill Tech) in 2000, the students have shown outstanding progress and achievements in their academics. Renaissance, which was created in 2001, has been Foothill Tech’s way of showing appreciation for the hard work and dedication put in by the school’s students. However, on Jan. 23, 2025, staff and teachers at Foothill Tech received an exciting email from Melanie “Captain” Lindsey, teacher and Associated Student Body (ASB) advisor, detailing the recent grade reports of Foothill Tech’s students. The email stated that 85 percent of the student body of Foothill Tech has above a 3.0 GPA or has made a 0.5 improvement, which is 795 out of 936 students.
Directly after COVID-19, students at Foothill Tech experienced a blow in Renaissance acceptance, with only 68 percent of students having a GPA of 3.0 or higher, as opposed to the years before, where students averaged between 70 and 80 percent. This data shows a direct correlation with the impacts of COVID-19 on the student body, showing how drastically the pandemic changed the school system. Assistant Principal Katie Tedford agreed with this statement, saying that she believes “COVID impacted both students and teachers in a lot of ways.”
Furthermore, Tedford stated that “Teachers teach differently post-COVID, maybe for the better, in terms of looking at what our students need and being adaptive.” COVID-19 completely shifted many classroom dynamics in schools across the country, forcing teachers to adapt to more online tools and personalized learning approaches. Instead of reverting back to traditional methods of teaching post-COVID, many teachers have continued to take a more adaptive approach even for in-person learning.
Every student learns differently, and coming up with creative ways to meet their learning needs is exactly what COVID-19 brought. For some, this may look like typing notes instead of handwriting, or reading a book as a class as opposed to reading individually. These methods allow students to progress based on their individual understanding and skills. For these reasons, some Foothill Tech students have noticed a bump in their grades, hardly ever dipping below 80 percent, and making Renaissance since the second quarter of 2020.
Another reason why teachers have been more accommodating to students’ needs in recent years is because teachers at Foothill Tech have adopted “The Case Against the Zero” method of teaching. According to Empowered, The Case Against the Zero states that “If a student doesn’t turn in or doesn’t complete the task tied to the standard, then we don’t have any evidence to support and validate the grade. By putting a zero in the grade book, we are saying the student has provided evidence that they have absolutely no level of mastery of the standard.” Captain stated that at Foothill Tech, “teachers have embraced the idea of The Case Against the Zero and have adjusted grading scales so that students don’t feel helpless when they do not do well or complete assignments.”
While some may argue that giving students a zero for a missing assignment will prepare them for the real world ahead of them, this doesn’t account for the fact that some students may have much more to offer. Implementing the idea of The Case Against the Zero gives students the opportunity to show what they can bring to the table academically.
Ultimately, this achievement was due to the work of both students and teachers at Foothill Tech. “If teachers are using standards and mastery based grading that means that students are meeting standards and achieving mastery,” Captain said.
Foothill Tech’s record-breaking semester displays the hard work and dedication of all its students and staff. The data shown in the email sent out by Captain truly shows how far Foothill Tech has taken its improvement. The future of Foothill Tech’s achievements looks bright, and this journey of academic perseverance will continue as our Dragons strive for excellence.
