Good Afternoon Castle View Families,

We have had a wonderful start to school. There were a few issues with bus routes and stops, but we worked through them and I believe everyone is now on the right bus getting on and off at the right stop. We currently have 560 students enrolled at Castle View!
If you were on campus this week, you have seen the new student door. It brings in lots of light to the office and allows us to see who is coming and going on campus. It is a wonderful addition and again, I want to thank the M & O department for getting this done over summer. We are still anticipating an additional parking lot on the lower field for our staff who work in the D portables. Construction will begin sometime in November. I will keep you posted.
I am proud to announce that Castle View met their API goal! All 2nd through 6th grade students take the California Standards Test (CST) in May. The scores from that test determine our Academic Performance Index, or API score. Castle View API was 800 last year which is considered proficient on the state level. Castle View raised the API score to 808! We have looked at the progress and determined what programs and instructional techniques were in place which supported the increase, and what we can continue to do or change to continue the upward achievement of our students. Castle View staff members are very committed to your students and they are planning to improve not only the API scores, but to ensure that every child moves up in proficiency. I will be providing an over view of school wide results at Back to School Night including our performance relative to No Child Left Behind goals. You will see we have work to do in increasing proficiency for all students to meet the NCLB goals. I hope you will be available to attend. Back to School Night begins at 6 pm in the MPR.
If you have been on campus, you can also see how full our classes are. It was determined last year, due to the state budget crises that RUSD could no longer maintain the 20 to 1 ratio in Kindergarten through 2nd grade. In our Kindergarten classrooms, we currently have between 22 and 24 students, our first grade classrooms have up to 27 students, and our second grades are between 20 and 24. We will continue to provide quality instruction to all students. You can help by providing assistance to teachers in preparing materials or volunteering in the classrooms. We are also beginning a parent reading program to support First and Second grade students who need support in decoding and phonics. We will be sending home information and asking for volunteers. The more volunteers we have, the more students we can support. Please think about volunteering, even 20 minutes a week can make a difference.
I held discipline assemblies today (8-26) for K-5 and will meet with 6th graders tomorrow. I talk to students about positive behavior and following school and class rules. I also let them know what kinds of behavior will result in violations or suspensions. But I always compliment our students (and parents) because Castle View has very well behaved students who take learning seriously. I thank you for sending your students to us well prepared to learn.
Lastly, I want to introduce and welcome Mrs. Julie Bow - K teacher; Ms. Jaemy Zavala - Community Assistant; and Mrs. Christina Velasquez - Bilingual Instructional Assistant. We are fortunate to have them join our staff.
Thank you for your continue support. I am looking forward to a great year.
Sincerely, Mrs. Calhoun