District Dialogue Bi-weekly news from the Laveen Elementary School District
August 26, 2016
Paseo Pointe Opens Laveen’s eighth school opened its doors to over 850 students this school year. The school, located on 55th Avenue north of Dobbins, was constructed in under a year and completed over the summer. Paseo offers a Dual Language Immersion in Spanish option beginning in Kindergarten and first grades. It is led by Principal Kristi Pashley, formerly of Vista del Sur, and Assistant Principal Bill Stewart, formerly of Rogers Ranch. A grand opening celebration will be held September 15 at 5:00 p.m. The public is invited and tours will be conducted.
Governing Board calls for override election
Laveen implements new science curriculum
The Laveen Elementary School District Governing Board has called for an election to be held Tuesday, November 8, 2016 to request voter authorization to continue the 15% Maintenance and Operations Override. If approved by voters, funds will be used for: Free Full Day Kindergarten: The State only provides school districts funding to offer a half-day kindergarten session. Override funds allow Laveen to offer a full day program for free. Special Class Offerings: Art, P.E., and music are part of Laveen’s regular curriculum. Override funds help pay for the course teacher and supplies. Competitive Salaries/Benefits: Competitive salary and benefit packages allow Laveen to recruit and retain the most talented teachers and staff from across the country. For more information on how your tax dollars are being used, visit http://www.laveeneld.org/your-taxesat-work/
Laveen’s new science curriculum is being implemented across the district this year in Grades K-8 For three months in the spring, a team of 17 Laveen teachers and administrators spent nearly 350 hours researching, reviewing, and evaluating four K-8 science programs. The committee unanimously selected Discovery Education’s Science Techbook. Science Techbook is completely digital, allowing the content to be continually refreshed. The curriculum engages students in authentic scenarios that reflect the practices of science and engineering in the real world using digital media and interactive virtual learning activities. It offers enrichment opportunities for advanced students to investigate science in greater depth while also providing intervention resources for struggling learners. Science Techbook meets both Arizona’s current science standards as well as Next Generation Science Standards.
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Enrollment up in Laveen
Laveen students visit ASU for coding workshop
Enrollment numbers for the first two weeks of school show the Laveen District continues to grow. Districtwide, Laveen is up approximately 200 students compared to this time last year. Other than Paseo Pointe, which began the year with 850 students, Rogers Ranch and Vista del Sur schools both showed an increase in students. The other Laveen schools have fewer students enrolled than last year thanks to the shift in attendance boundaries for Paseo Pointe, which was built to alleviate overcrowding.
Over 70 students from the Laveen visited Arizona State University’s Tempe campus in June to participate in The Secret Code of Business. This day long coding workshop was hosted by the Department of Information Systems within ASU’s W.P. Carey School of Business. Its goal is to inspire junior high students to consider pursuing STEM degrees and future careers in computer information systems or business data analytics. Following a tour of the campus, students participated in computer-based data games. Playing these animated games creates data which students then analyze. Using math and statistics concepts helps students improve game play. To reach the higher levels students must be able to understand the data and mathematical concepts. During the working lunch, participants learned about the responsible use of technology. Then, they participated in an “Hour of Code” where they executed computer code by following animated instruction modules. In addition to computer coding, students were also introduced to data analysis and other important business concepts such as teamwork and group business presentation. It was facilitated by current W. P. Carey School of Business undergraduate students majoring in Computer Information Systems or Business Data Analytics. Laveen students made up the majority of attendees – 73 of the 86 students that participated were from Laveen’s seven schools.
Summer meal program a success This summer, our Child Nutrition Department served over 29,000 free meals to children. Over 11,000 breakfasts and almost 18,000 lunches were served between May 23 and August 3 at four of our school sites. This is an increase in 5,500 meals served over last year. The annual program provides all children with free breakfast and lunch. The program is sponsored and funded by the United States Department of Agriculture.
Two teachers recognized by D-Backs Two Laveen teachers were recognized as Most Valuable Teachers by the Arizona Diamondbacks in May. Trailside Point’s Theresa Dowling and M.C. Cash’s Andrew Drenth were both recognized on the field and received a $1,000 check for classroom supplies. Dowling and Drenth, far left, are recognized by the Diamondbacks.
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August 25, 2016