Dear Walt Disney Elementary Community:
With a couple of months under my belt, it is gratifying to be able to say that the friendly faces of the children, parents, and staff that greeted me at the start of the year are now joined by knowing many names and a familiarity of the people who make up our wonderful community. I have enjoyed and learned a great deal by meeting you and observing, whether it be during drop-offs or pick ups, during community events, meetings, or inside the classrooms.
Our staff “sprinted out of the gates” fast this year, establishing connections with students and families to open the year. If we can engage and capture students first, the process of teaching them becomes much easier.
Congratulations Walt Disney Elementary: The state’s Academic Performance Index (API) was a bit delayed this fall compared to past years, but they were released recently. This is the score that is a result of the STAR (State Testing and Reporting) tests that our second through fifth graders took last spring. Walt Disney’s growth API came in at 917, a 9 point increase from our base API from last spring. Congratulations to everyone! I know this is a result of an incredible amount of work on the part of our staff, students, and parents.
Bridging our 21st Century Learning Gap: among the seven survival skills for tomorrow’s work force (our students, your children) include critical thinking / problem-solving, collaboration across networks, effective oral and written communication, accessing and analyzing information, and innovation/curiosity/imagination (Tony Wagner, 2008). These are the skills we need to teach and foster in our students so they can have a competitive opportunity in tomorrow’s global environment. Our staff continues to work diligently to continuously improve our teaching and learning, striving to teach our students in a relevant manner. Technology tools are an integral part of teaching these skills. This is where our community can help. Most of our computers in the classrooms are terribly outdated (over 7 yrs old). Additionally, if our computer lab is occupied, teachers have no other ways to have students actually use technology and the internet from inside the classroom. Our Disney Elementary School Education Foundation (DESEF), Parent Teacher Association (PTA), and staff are working together to host a “town hall” meeting to discuss how we can overcome our technology situation. The meeting will be scheduled for November 19 at 6:30 pm. If bringing more technology to our classrooms is important to you, come and watch a presentation and have an opportunity to ask questions, provide feedback, and be a part of our solution.
Thank you for your continued support of Walt Disney Elementary and its children!
Sincerely,
Joe Nguyen
Principal
