Letter to the Community

Westside Union School District

August 11, 2023

Staff/Community Update

Thanks to everyone for helping get our 23-24 school year off to a great start. Many of our schools held well attended Back to School Night Programs already. Scheduled for the coming weeks are:

8/16 Leona Valley School 4:00 p.m.
8/17 Hillview Middle School 4:30 p.m.
8/24 Joe Walker Middle School 5:00 p.m.

At the regular meeting of the Board on Tuesday, August 15th, teachers of Kindergarten-2nd grade students who made significant academic progress in 22-23 will be honored. The meeting will be held in the Cafeteria of Hillview Middle School beginning at 6 p.m. The school is located on the corner of Peonza Way and Rancho Vista Boulevard, Palmdale.

Please be sure to update your children’s emergency contact information through the parent portal on PowerSchool. When completing those contacts, please concentrate on local contacts who could pick up your children in the event of an emergency.

This school year we are welcoming 67 new teachers, 1 new principal, 1 new vice principal, 3 new counselors, 2 new psychologists and 200 new classified employees to our District. We are also welcoming over 1600 new students and their families and we are welcoming nearly 300 students to our Transitional Kindergarten program (part of our Universal Pre- Kindergarten Program). We also have over 1500 students participating in our Expanded Learning Opportunity Program for up to 3 hours after school daily. This is an exciting opening for our schools and we are so pleased to welcome all of those new to the District. We are thankful you’ve chosen to join us.

Looking for a job? Westside is hiring now. We are looking for substitute teachers, instructional assistants, playground supervisors, substitute custodians and many others. Please check Edjoin on our website for a listing of the positions currently available.

Regular attendance at school has proven to be one of the most important factors in students’ academic success. Please work with your children to have them attend school daily, so they gain the most from classroom instruction. School is a great place to BE!

We are happy to have volunteers in our schools. To be a volunteer be sure to schedule your fingerprinting appointment with our District Office and at the same time arrange to have your picture taken. As teachers need volunteers in the classroom this will ensure your eligibility.

Again, thank you for helping us get our school year off to a great start!