Attend Future Middle Schooler Night on February 20th

Future Middle Schooler Night in the WESD takes place next Thursday, February 20th, from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. Parents and guardians of future middle school students, please attend the event at either Cholla Middle School, Desert Foothills Junior High School, Mountain Sky Junior High School, Palo Verde Middle School or Royal Palm Middle School to discover all of the educational possibilities awaiting your child. It will be a great opportunity for you and your future middle school student to tour the school’s beautiful campus, meet their awesome staff and learn about the programs and school culture. We hope you can be there to prepare for this exciting step in your child’s education.

To learn more and find out which middle school your child should attend, please click here.

Join Us for Our March Teacher Interview Fair

The WESD has another exciting opportunity in March for those looking to teach in our award-winning district. Please attend our upcoming Teacher Interview Fair on Saturday, March 1st, from 8:30 to 11 a.m. at the WESD Administrative Center, located at 4650 W. Sweetwater Ave. Whether you are a seasoned educator or just starting your teaching career, we want you to join our team. Contracts will be offered for the 2025-2026 school year.

Our District offers competitive teacher salaries of $53,000-$84,950 with performance pay, student loan forgiveness, school-age child care discounts, medical, dental and vision benefits, employer-matched contributions to Arizona State Retirement and much more. The WESD also provides the most support for teachers including instructional coaches on every campus, weekly Professional Learning Communities (PLC), an award-winning mentoring program and social workers on each campus.

Walk-ins are welcome. If you would like to schedule an interview, please call Lydia Garcia at 602-347-2622. To review our current job openings and apply online, please click here.

Register Your Future Kindergartner for WESD Jumpstart

Parents and guardians of incoming kindergartners can help their children gain the tools they need to be successful by registering them for WESD Jumpstart, a free, four-week, half-day kindergarten readiness program. Available at 27 locations in the WESD, the program will be offered this summer from May 27th to June 19th. During the program, children will make friends, learn kindergarten routines and practice kindergarten readiness skills. Free breakfast and lunch are also included. As an early reminder, registration for Jumpstart classes will open on Monday, March 24th.

To participate in the program, children must be registered for kindergarten in a WESD school for the 2025-2026 school year. To register online, please click here or visit the WESD Welcome and Registration Center, located at 3200 W. Cholla Ave. For more information regarding the Jumpstart program, please call 602-347-2641.

WESD Shares Update on Mid-Year Data

At a recent Governing Board meeting, the Assessment Department shared mid-year results for English Language Arts (reading) and Math for all grade levels. Data shared was from the STAR ELA diagnostic assessments which measure a student’s reading comprehension, vocabulary, fluency and other reading skills and the iReady math assessment which measures a student’s understanding of math concepts.

Reading (English Language Arts)

Overall Improvement:

• STAR assessments show strong progress in reading for students in kindergarten through eighth grade.

STAR CBM (Kindergarten to Grade 3):

• Beginner Readers: 41% now meet or exceed the reading benchmark, up from 38% last year.
• Kindergarteners: 51% now meet or exceed the benchmark, an improvement from 42% last year.

STAR Early Literacy (Grades K-2 at Moon Mountain):

• 37% of students are in the High Growth category.
• Sixteen schools improved beyond last year’s benchmark.

Grades 3-8:

• 33% of students are growing faster than expected.

Math

Overall Growth:

• 13% of students in grades K-8 are in the “Early On, Mid or Above Grade Level” category, which is a 6% increase since the school year began.
• Every grade level is making progress.
• Kindergarten and Grade 6 had the highest percentage (28%) of students reaching this level.

Subject Areas:

• Student proficiency in different math areas ranges from 44% to 64% in the “Early On, Mid or Above Grade Level” category.

School Highlights:

• For kindergarten to second grade, 33%-72% of students are making typical annual growth, and 24%-51% are meeting their “Stretch Growth” goals.
• Every WESD school had more students in grades 3-8 at the “Mid or Above Grade Level” at mid-year than at the same point last year.

If you have any questions about the mid-year data, please contact Carrie Giovannone at Carrie.Giovannone@wesdschools.org.

Administrative Center Employees Receive SUPER Staff Recognition

Employees who work at the WESD Administrative Center were recognized last week as part of our January 2025 SUPER Staff recipients. These deserving staff members were celebrated for their incredible contributions to the WESD Family. Congratulations to:

• Nathanyal Covarrubio, truancy officer in Safety and Mentoring;
• Carol Kenyon, coordinator in Special Services; and
• Leticia Marquez, truancy officer in Safety and Mentoring.

We appreciate all of their hard work and are grateful for everything that they do.

Transportation Staff Enjoy Pancake Breakfast in Honor of Love the Bus Month

Each February is dedicated as Love the Bus Month, a time to recognize and celebrate the hardworking bus drivers, bus assistants and mechanics who ensure students get to and from school safely every day. In honor of the month-long celebration, our incredible Transportation staff enjoyed a pancake breakfast earlier this week as a special 'thank you' for the important work that they do.

The WESD Family is very grateful for these critical staff members and appreciates the positive impact they make each day. To view more photos of the Transportation pancake breakfast, please visit the WESD Facebook page.