California junior scholarship federation

In 1967, the California Junior Scholarship Federation (CJSF) was founded to foster high standards of scholarship, service and citizenship in the middle school/junior high grades. Like CSF, CJSF emphasizes service to the school and the community while encouraging pride in scholastic achievement. The Santa Ynez Valley Christian Academy is a member of the California Junior Scholarship Federation (http://csf-cjsf.org/).  

Accelerated Reader

Accelerated Reader (AR) is a reading incentive program, which is designed to motivate students to read.  The Accelerated Reader program is arranged to allow students to select books that are in their own independent reading levels.  When a book is completed that student then takes a computer generated quiz.  The quizzes are not lengthy and are multiple-choice.  A report is immediately generated which give the student their score/percentage of correct answers.

• AR BookFinder - According the AR Bookfinder web site, you can search for book titles based on authors, topics, or titles of books. You can also perform an Advanced Search, where you can search based on Interest Level, Reading Level, Topics, etc. After searching you can sort your search results, select book titles to add to your AR BookBag, print a list of your search results, or start a new search.
• Renaissance Home Connect - This web site allows parents to review a child's AR reading history and progress. Use the user ID and password given to you by the teacher to gain access to your child's information. If you do not have your user ID and password, contact your child's teacher.
  • E-mail Notification - You may also set up your child's account to send you an e-mail every time your child takes a quiz. To set up e-mail notification, log onto your child's account, then select "E-mail Setup" on the top right of the screen. Fill in the applicable information, then press Add. An invitation email will be sent to the e-mail address. The recipient will need to respond and accept before more emails will be sent.

Renaissance Learning (the company that provides AR and AM) has created a Parent's Guide full of information on how to use their different programs.

Accelerated Reader Acronyms

• ZPD - "Zone of Proximal Development" - This is the student's Reading Range.
• IL - "Interest Level" - LG=lower grades, MG=middle grades, UG=upper grades
• BL - "Book Level" - Students should read books that have a book level within your Reading Range.
• AR Points - This is the number of points you will earn if you receive 100% on your AR quiz.

Other Web Links or Files related to Accelerated Reader

• Parent's Guide to Accelerated Reader
• AR Reading Log for K-5th Grade (PDF)
• Santa Barbara Public Library for finding books in our local public library system.
• Scholastic Book Club for finding books through Scholastic. See your teacher for details.
• AR Book Suggestions for Middle Schoolers
  • Middle School Book Suggestions (sorted by Title)
  • Middle School Book Suggestions (sorted by Author)
  • Middle School Book Suggestions (sorted by Book Level)

Accelerated Math

Accelerated Math (AM) is a progress-monitoring software tool that manages and monitors mathematics skills practice, from first grade math through calculus. Assignments are tailored to each student's current level to address each student's individual needs. The Christian Academy uses Accelerated Math as a supplement to regular math classes. 

• Renaissance Home Connect - This web site allows parents to review a child's AM progress toward math goals. Use the user ID and password given to you by the teacher to gain access to your child's information. If you do not have your user ID and password, contact your child's teacher. After logging into Home Connect, be sure to select the "math" tab at the top. (Default is the "reading" tab.)
  • E-mail Notification. You may also set up your child's account to send you an e-mail every time your child takes a quiz. To set up e-mail notification, log onto your child's account, then select "E-mail Setup" on the top right of the screen. Fill in the applicable information, then press Add. An invitation email will be sent to the e-mail address. The recipient will need to respond and accept before more emails will be sent.