Washington Charter School
45-768 Portola Avenue Palm Desert , CA 92260
760-862-4350
Allan Lehmann, Principal
WCS Chatter
April 26, 2013
I recently attended a Charter School Conference and the information shared there was quite interesting. The first Charter School in California opened its doors in 1993. Washington Charter School was granted our charter in July 1994 and we were charter number 52. The movement grew slowly for a number of years. In fact there was an initial cap of 100 charter schools that was then expanded to 300 before legislation was passed that lifted the cap on the number of charter schools that could operate in California. Last year alone 109 charter schools opened their doors. Today there are more than 1,000 charter schools in California and they meet the needs of 420,000 students; currently that amounts to 8% of all students enrolled in public schools in California. Charter schools are more prevalent in urban areas. For example, in the Los Angeles Unified School District, 19% of children are enrolled in a charter school. When the legislation was passed the expectation was for increased flexibility -- a charter school must show academic progress or face closure. In the past four years 124 charters have closed their doors, some for low performance and others for fiscal or governance issues. I commend Charter Granting Agencies for closing a Charter School that is not performing and meeting the needs of its stakeholders.
Learn About Common Core State Standards
In education we are in a transition phase. There are significant changes coming in regard to grade-level expectations; how information is delivered to students; technology being used as an instructional tool; a re-emphasis on critical thinking and creative problem solving, and using information from multiple subject areas to solve complex problems. What you see your students bringing home for homework will look different. With change there are questions and some anxiety. I hope this has piqued your interest a bit. On Tuesday, May 14 at 7:00 p.m., WCS teachers and I will host the first in a series of Parent Forums on Common Core State Standards and explain the timeline for implementation at Washington Charter. This is a parent-only forum and there is no supervision for children provided.
STAR Testing
In the coming days our 2nd-5th grade students will be STAR testing. This is an opportunity for our students to demonstrate what they have learned this year. There are many tips that our classroom teachers have shared to optimize performance. I will highlight a few ways to help your children do this best:
* Have your child eat a healthy breakfast
* Be sure Students are well-rested
* Be positive and encouraging. Talk about testing when eating dinner
* Arrive at school well before the 8:15 a.m. bell
Congratulations to the Following Super Students
Kevin Martinez, Daniel Garcia-Wills, Dayanara Casillas, Yahaira Olivares, Hudson Washington, Daniel Yi, Valerie Battaglia, Sebastian Hernandez Resendiz, Michelle Zavala, Ayzia Brown, Charlie Hernandez-Resendiz, Leo Reyes, Jaydan Limon, Benji Juarez, Grace Novall, Buford Wiley, Lauren Farrell, Jillyan Priest, Keegan Jones, River Berry-Pearce, Harmony Renquist, Kyana Rivera-Acosta, Isaac Duran, Emma Graham, Kieley Brooks, Andrew Felix, Drake Reiter, Danae Lopez, Austin Hause, William Anderson, Kelsea Robilio, Janely Arzapalo, Gabriela Noriega, Trysten Waggoner, Matthew Stenzel, William Wallis, Bradyn Hargate, Michaela Gustus, Grayson Washington, Ian Harker, Uriel Rojas-Dominguez, Makayla Hatch, Maarath Hinojosa, Adam Teves, Luke Busher, Gigi Galloway, Kaelia Leath, Will Hansen, Henley Swartz, Mikey Barrera, Lucie Absmeier, Nathan Goss, Maggie Johnson, Ilene Antonov, Chad Jordan, Valerie Callejas-Martinez, Benjamin Braun, Maxwell Morrell, Ally Halleck, Vincent Mangue, Cole Reber, Luke Overgaag, Sam Wysard, Reid Balog, Rachel Bond, Alex Huerta, Edna Salcin, Zoii Strong, Julissa Ramirez, Marlyn Montejano Rodriguez, Alessandro Lomeli, Shannel Ramos, Riley Raubolt, Adrian Wilcox, Joey Cornelius, Rachel Resendiz-Moran, Angelina Elraheb, Abygail Bowen, Juan Jimenez, Alissa Negroni, Luis Barragan, Ben Hernandez, Tonatiuh Mendez, Andres Medina, Alexandra Meeks, Lindsay Tidd, Andrew Elraheb, Javrie Seneres, Kimberly Lopez, Jeremiah Lockett, Evan Cross, Sarah Mahmic,Vidal Lopez-Urias, Dylon Capraro, Sontonio Renquist, Jeremiah Cordova, Braeden Kincaid, Makena Valpy, Anahi Pineda, Joseph Jimenez, Alessandra Horna, Lucas Herrera, Anjolena Brown, Noah Flaum
Upcoming Events
May 7 McTeacher Night at Palm Desert McDonald’s 5:00 p.m.-7:00 p.m.
May 14 Common Core Presentation 7:00 p.m. WCS MPR
May 15 Super Student Assembly
May 16 Talent Show 8:30 a.m., 1:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.
May 24 & 27 School Closed
May 29 Reading Carnival
May 31 Summer Free Dress Day
June 3 End of the Year Awards Assembly
June 4 5th Grade Promotion 8:30 a.m.
June 5 Last Day of School. School Dismisses at 12:30 p.m.
