Abraham Lincoln, Lakeview and Ironwood Share Highlights at February 8th Board Meeting

Last week, Abraham Lincoln Traditional School, Lakeview Elementary School and Ironwood Elementary School gave excellent presentations prior to the February 8th Governing Board meeting. It was a great opportunity for the schools to share their most recent work and achievements. We thank them all for taking the time to share what makes their school so special with the WESD Family. To watch the schools' shared highlights on YouTube, please click here.

Superintendent Dr. Paul Stanton Honors February 2024 SUPER Kids and SUPER Staff

It was an honor to celebrate the February 2024 SUPER Kids and SUPER Staff yesterday from Chaparral Elementary School, Sweetwater School and Tumbleweed Elementary School. Each SUPER Kid received a certificate and an award for a free pizza from Peter Piper Pizza while SUPER Staff earned a certificate and a $10 Amazon gift card courtesy of Veregy. Congratulations to all of the outstanding recipients. To learn more and view the February 2024 SUPER Kids and SUPER Staff, please click here.

WESD Provides Mid-Year Update

At the February 8th Governing Board meeting, a report was shared summarizing the progress of our students in the area of reading as measured by our District and state assessments. As partners in increasing academic outcomes for our children, we would like to share key points of the information that was included in the presentation.

• The latest reading results for students in grades K-2 reveal that 41% of our young learners have reached the important milestone of being "At or Above Benchmark." This means they are meeting the expected skill level for reading at this point in the school year at their grade level.
• An impressive 25% of our K-2 students are in the high growth category, indicating that they are progressing academically at a faster pace compared to their peers nationwide.
• Students in grades 3-8 have seen a 3% increase in the number of students scoring in the "Proficient or Above" performance level for reading compared to the previous school year.
• The number of K-3 students performing at the "Minimally Proficient" level has decreased signifying overall improvement in reading skills.

As schools review the data from the assessments our students take, they will use this information to make decisions as to how best to support student learning and instructional practices in classrooms. Following are specific examples of how specific schools are acting on the data:

• Increased classroom walkthroughs observing small group intervention strategies,
• Teachers meet weekly to review their student data to determine what skills need to be focused on during intervention times,
• Students are put into groups based on the specific skills they need to work on and are provided intervention in small groups,
• Intentional and close look at the data results to determine if a different strategy is needed to support skill development during interventions, and
• Creation of additional small groups for focused intervention and instruction.

To review the full presentation of the update, please click here.

Teach for the WESD

The WESD is looking for passionate teachers to join our award-winning district. Our next Teacher Interview Fair is on Saturday, March 9th, from 8:00 to 11:30 a.m. at Arroyo School, located at 4535 W. Cholla St. Our District offers competitive salaries of $51,610-$66,150 including performance pay, student loan forgiveness, multi-layer teacher support, professional development, medical, dental and vision benefits, employer-matched contributions to Arizona State Retirement, and much more. Please share this opportunity with your friends, family and neighbors who are teachers or soon-to-be-teachers. To learn more, please call 602-347-2622.

WESD to Host Free Immunization Clinic on February 21st

In partnership with the Phoenix Fire Department Baby Shots program, the WESD will host a free immunization clinic on Wednesday, February 21st, from 3 to 6 p.m. at Cholla Middle School, located at 3120 W. Cholla St. General childhood vaccines, flu vaccines for children and adults, as well as Tdap, hepatitis A/B, and COVID-19 vaccines for children, and pneumonia vaccines for adults will be available. Walk-ins are welcome. However, if you wish to schedule an appointment, please contact Kim Bradfield at 602-347-4876.