- Community and Parents
June 16, 2022
Dear Westside Parents and Community Members,
I hope that you are enjoying your summer break, finding time to do all the relaxing and restful activities that sometimes are difficult to schedule during the school year. For those with children in our intersession programs, I hope they are enjoying additional opportunities to explore activities of their choice. However you are spending your summer time, please know we will look forward to your children returning to school for the 22-23 school year on Wednesday, August 3, 2022.
School Safety
The recent tragic school shooting in Texas was devastating. Our hearts go out to the families and the community of Uvalde as they continue to grieve the loss of the lives of students and teachers.
Safety of our schools continues to be a priority. We will continue to review our procedures to maintain that safety, add more training related to active shooters on campus, and step up our practice on all of our safety drills when we return to campus in August. Together we will continue to ensure that the highest safety standards are in place for everyone on campus. Your suggestions and participation will be greatly appreciated.
Employees of the Year
We also celebrated our employees of the year as well during the May Board meetings. Congratulations to Jennifer DeMoor, District Teacher of the Year. Congratulations to John Nelson, Full Time Classified Employee of the Year, Jessie McLaren, Part Time Employee of the Year, and Daniel Rojas, Playground/Crossing Guard Employee of the Year. Confidential Employee of the Year, Tonya Williams, and Classified Manager of the Year, Shawn Cabey.
Site Administrative Assignments 22-23
Anaverde Hills School Principal, Shine Khalifa Vice Principal, Casey Boggs
Del Sur School Principal, Justin Holfreter Vice Principal, Natalia Compton
Esperanza School Co-Principals, Kathryn Conner, Renee Hofmann
Gregg Anderson Academy Co-Principals, Jessica Kott, Kristin Kruizinga
Hillview Middle School Principal, Jonathan Weber Vice Principal, Jill Stanford
Vice Principal, Mark Thomas
IDEA Academy Principal, Tom Morreale Vice Principal, Sandy Jones
Joe Walker Middle School Principal, Felicia Goldovsky Vice Principal, Ana Penaloza
Vice Principal, Corey Stanis
Leona Valley School Principal, Rebecca Davis
Westside Academy Principal, Rebecca Davis
Quartz Hill School Principal, Trudy Valenzuela Vice Principal, Noelle Zuaro
Rancho Vista School Principal, Reyna Smith Vice Principal, Melinda Taylor
Sundown School Principal, Amy Brouwer Vice Principal, Shameka Andre
Valley View School Principal, Erin Belcher Vice Principal,Sylvia Borg-Otting
Interdistrict/Intradistrict Transfers
Our enrollment staff is still completing the transfers requested for the 22-23 school year. If you requested a transfer for one of your children, the lotteries have been completed and notices will be sent to you via the email address you provided. This will be for both approvals and denials.
Enrollment
Registration for the 22-23 school year can be completed online at www.westside.k12.ca.us.
Students entering UPK (formerly TK) must be 5 by February 2, 2023. Currently this program will be held at The IDEA Academy at Cottonwood, Rancho Vista, Esperanza, Sundown and Quartz Hill Schools. Additional classrooms at other sites may be added as enrollment increases. Students entering kindergarten must be 5 by September 1, 2022. If you have questions that aren’t addressed on the website, please contact us at 661-722-0716, extension 40901.
Employment
If you are looking for a job in your local community, please consider applying for a job with the school district. Employment opportunities are listed on our website at www.westside.k12.ca.us.
Volunteer Pictures
Please mark your calendars for volunteer pictures which will be taken on August 10, 2022. More information will be posted on the website as the date approaches. Volunteer badges will remain in force until August 10, 2022 in the event you wanted to help at your children’s school during the first week of the semester. Our volunteers are certainly a valued part of our school communities.
Local Control and Accountability Plan
The proposed Local Control and Accountability Plan for the 2022-2023 school year was reviewed at the District English Language Advisory Committee meeting on May 13 and at the Superintendent’s Advisory meeting on May17.
The following includes a written response to questions asked by the advisory committees on the proposed actions and services in the 2022-2023 LCAP:
● Question referring to Goal 3 Action 13: Building Social Emotional Competency and Action 14: Building Self-Efficacy Through Experiences
○ Why is it best for the parents and students on the field trip to the All It Takes Camp to be separated?
○ The social emotional learning targets for parents and students are different at the All It Takes Camp. It is important for students to be in an environment in which they can take risks within the team building experiences with their peers. Parents have sessions that include strategies to build relationships with their children, which can include addressing challenging behaviors. The field day experience is reflective and provides the opportunity for parents to communicate openly about raising and caring for their children; therefore, it is important for parents and students to have individual opportunities to learn and grow.
● Question referring to Goal 3 Action 12: Addressing Barriers to Student Attendance, Goal 3 Action 13: Building Social and Emotional Competence, and Goal 3 Action 5: Implementing Systems for Academic, Behavior, and Social Emotional Support
○ Why will there be additional administrative support and counseling support for both Joe Walker and Hillview in the 2022-2023 school year?
○ In reflecting on data related to discipline, chronic absenteeism, and social emotional learning responses within the California Healthy Kids Survey, there is evidence of an increased need to support challenging and severe behaviors, the development of social and interpersonal skills, and strategies to build a motivating and inclusive school climate. The additional staffing will work directly with unduplicated student groups to support skill development and well being.
● Question referring to Goal 3 Action 5: Implementing Systems for Academic, Behavior, and Social Emotional Support
○ Will there be some sort of help with “Student burnout?”
○ All students across the District are supported with a tiered comprehensive counseling support program provided by a team of counselors. Student motivation and burnout is addressed in the tier1 lessons that students receive in their classrooms. Lessons can include various topics, which may involve coping skills, goal setting, self-care, and how students can learn to self-advocate for help from teachers and counselors. Additionally, students will participate in the social emotional learning curriculum from Leadership Development Through Physical Education and Boys Town.
● Question referring to Goal 2 Action 14: (AVID) Student Engagement in a Challenging and Relevant Program
○ Do students receive the AVID strategies to support reading, writing, note-taking, and study skills?
○ All Westside Union School District sites implement the AVID program. 11 of 12 schools are AVID certified. The College and Career Readiness program begins in kindergarten and includes strategies embedded in lessons to support Writing, Inquiry, Collaboration, Organization, and Reading (WICOR). Both Joe Walker and Hillview have separate AVID electives which involve collaborative and inquiry-driven tutorial groups and college readiness strategies.
● Questions referring to increasing parent engagement
○ How can we encourage more parents to complete surveys including the Income Verification Survey?
○ Parents are encouraged to provide feedback through surveys distributed electronically through text message, email, and Google. Messages are sent through the School Messenger system and the Income Verification Form will be sent home with the back to school information in the fall.
○ How can parents support their children at home with educational strategies?
○ Increased services within the 2022-2023 LCAP include an expansion of parent support workshops and communication to provide assistance with technology, core content curriculum, attendance, and social emotional learning. Workshops may be provided through an online platform and/or in person.
Thank you for your continued support, understanding and cooperation this past school year. We look forward to working with you again in the upcoming school year. Please enjoy the rest of your summer break.
Happy Summer,
Regina L Rossall
Regina L. Rossall
Superintendent
- Letter to Parents