Soquel School District’s Exciting News for the 2013-14 School Year …

Our planning for the 2013-14 school year is electrifying! We have hired two outstanding individuals for the position of principal. The hiring of a school principal is one of the most important jobs of the Superintendent. Ms. Gerri Fippin will be the principal at Soquel Elementary School and Ms. Kerry le Roux will be the principal at Santa Cruz Gardens Elementary School.

Both of these individuals have extensive educational backgrounds and their leadership styles will embrace our commitment to create educational excellence for every child throughout our district. I have been very impressed with the extensive training that both Gerri and Kerry have received from their former employers. Their knowledge of our new state Common Core standards will benefit our district immediately.

In addition to the hiring of two new principals, we have also been hiring teachers to meet our projected student growth. We are extremely fortunate to have the opportunity to add recent graduates to our educational program. The energy and excitement of our new hires is contagious. Being a district that carries an excellent reputation has enabled us to hire some of the best and brightest teachers.

In our efforts to create a dynamic early literacy program, we have invested tens of thousands of dollars to provide each Transitional Kindergarten student and each Kindergarten student with their own student licenses for Imagine Learning. The Imagine Learning Early Literacy Program is just outstanding! For the first time all children in Transitional Kindergarten and Kindergarten will receive daily instruction in the area of early literacy through this software program. We will equip every Transitional Kindergarten and Kindergarten class with a new computer workstation.

By committing to Imagine Learning, we expect all of our Kindergarten students to be highly prepared for first grade. In addition, the Imagine Learning software program will allow parents to observe and monitor their child’s progress. A special feature of Imagine Learning will enable parents to work side by side with their child during homework sessions. We now have the ability to expand beyond the school day by utilizing the web-based component of Imagine Learning. The interactive software is so engaging for students that often students are disappointed when they have to log out of the program.

Another exciting program that will be implemented in our district this year is AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination). The AVID program will be implemented at New Brighton Middle School. The focus of AVID is to identify talented students through mentoring and guidance in anticipation that they will be the first generation to attend college.

The AVID program has been around for thirty years and today over 750,000 students throughout the United States and worldwide participates in AVID instruction each year. Our dynamic AVID team at New Brighton Middle School received three intensive days of training this summer to prepare for the launching of this program. The 7th grade students who are participating in the AVID program have made a two-year commitment for AVID instruction. Our children are very fortunate to have self-motivated teacher teams who are willing to bring and support new programs at their schools. The long-term goal is to implement AVID instructional strategies for all students.

This summer we provided special training opportunities for teachers at Soquel Elementary School. Nearly half of their staff had the chance to either go to New York City (Columbia University) or Redondo Beach for specialized training in the area of reading or writing. I truly commend our outstanding teachers who were willing to take it upon themselves to attend workshops that would improve their teaching skills.

A major focus in the district is Reader’s/Writer’s Workshop. We are planning to expand upon the Writer’s workshop component that will improve the writing capabilities of our students. Through the support of the Cotsen Foundation, we will increase our staff development training and provide opportunities for staff to visit other school sites where outstanding writing and reading programs exist.

It is without question that the 2013-14 school year is going to be filled with new programs, great energy and excitement. I strongly encourage parents to get highly involved in their child’s education. Our community is rich in resources and your direct support at your child’s school will make all the difference in the world. Please continue to stay involved and actively recruit additional parents to volunteer in the classroom. I look forward to seeing all of you in the near future.