Hello, Conejo Oaks Academy Families and Community Members!

We are very excited to start a new school year and for students to return to our campus or start their first year at Conejo Oaks Academy.

We are a small but mighty program! We have three classrooms and three amazing teachers. Our teachers are:

*Caroline Hugar

*Alice O'Kieffe

*Marjorie Dalgarn

Each student will be assigned to one teacher/case manager at Conejo Oaks Academy. Assignments will be communicated via email to students and/or guardians no later than Sunday, August 18th.

Below you will find more information to help you prepare for the first days of school. One major program change we will have this year are monthly minimum days to allow for staff planning and collaboration. Please see below for the dates and times of our minimum days this school year.

Looking forward to seeing you all very soon!

Amanda Glover MS.Ed.

If you have any questions, concerns, and/or compliments for our program, you can always reach me at aglover@conejousd.org or at 805-660-5262.

• August 19- Student Orientation at COA (10:00am-11:00am)
• August 21-First Day of the 2024/25 School year AND Picture Day (see details below)
• September 2- Labor Day (No School)
• September 3-Coffee With The Coordinator (Job Application Q&A 2:15pm-3:00pm)
• September 19- CVUSD Annual College Fair and COA Minimum Day

We will be holding an optional Student Orientation for all new students who would like to visit the campus and see their classroom before the first day of school. Orientation will include meeting your new teacher and Coordinator and directional support for drop-off and pick-up (see details below). Students and families who are not new are also welcome to attend!

Students and families can attend orientation at Conejo Oaks Academy on Monday, August 19th from 10:00am-11:00am. You can plan to be at the school for approximately 15-20 minutes.

Picture Day is Wednesday, August 21st . All students will be photographed. There is no need to fill out any forms or submit payment on Picture Day. Approximately 1-2 weeks after Picture Day, you will receive an email link to view your proof and order online. For more information and tips on what to wear, please see the PDF attached and click this video link: CLICK HERE TO WATCH! or ¡HAGA CLIC AQUÍ PARA VER!

**Students will be riding in the program vans to Century Academy from 10:00am to 1:30pm to get their pictures taken. We recognize the picture day is scheduled on the first day of school and you may prefer to drive your student to get their picture taken. Please inform your student's teacher if you will be picking up your student to take them to get their picture taken. If a student is unable to get their picture taken on the 21st for any reason, we will inform you when there is an opportunity for picture retakes. **

Century Academy

33 Greta Street

Thousand Oaks, CA 91360

The 2024/25 Field Trip Form attached below must be completed and signed and either emailed to your teacher OR printed and signed and brought to your teacher no later than the first day of school in order for you/your student to ride the van and get their picture taken at Century Academy on Picture Day.

Our first day of school is Wednesday, August 21st.

Conejo Oaks Academy's hours are:

8:00am - 2:00pm

Monday-Friday

*Minimum Day hours are 8:00am-12:30pm*

(Transportation will be provided on minimum days)

Minimum Days (Thursdays):

September 19

October 17

November 21

January 23

February 20

March 20

May 15

Conejo Oaks Academy

1025 Old Farm Road

Thousand Oaks, CA 91360

Below is a general weekly schedule.

Please note that schedules may change when different Community Based Instruction (CBI) opportunities arise. Your student and teacher will be communicating with guardians to ensure they are aware in advance of any changes to the schedule. I will be working with teachers at the beginning of the school year to determine which subjects each teacher is teaching. Students and teachers will notify guardians prior to the rotating schedule starting.

Why are we rotating classes this year?

Rotating classrooms will provide students with options and varied experiences between different teachers, ensure continuity between classrooms, and offer more opportunities for student voice/choice. Rotating classes will also enhance and expand student's interactions with staff on the campus which will prepare them for real-world scenarios where students will interact with various individuals in work, school, college, and community settings.

We recognize that this is a significant change. We will monitor the schedule throughout the year and offer opportunities for feedback from stakeholders once the schedule has been fully implemented for a period of time.

School meals will be provided for all students free of charge. You can access more information about school lunches HERE.Your student also has the option to bring their lunch each day from home.

Your student will also be participating in weekly a lunch off campus as one of our Community Based Instruction (CBI) activities. More information from your student's teacher about CBI will be provided once classes start.

To ensure all students are safe on our campus that we share with the Adult Education School, we have specific drop-off and pick-up locations and driving routes. Please refer to the map below for more details.

On the first day day of school, if you are driving your student to campus, please park your car and drop your student off at the designated drop-off spot. A teacher or paraprofessional will meet students and walk them to class.

• Follow the directional arrows on the map and the flow of traffic for a safe drop off and pick up experience.

• Both cars and buses must line up single file along the back drop off/pick up area.

• Please keep all students and staff safe by adhering to the 5 miles per hour speed limit.

If you haven't already done so, to receive bus transportation, fill out the attached transportation form (below) and send it to transportation@conejousd.org or call 805-498-4557 x 7525.

Once the application has been received it will take about 10 days to get on a route. In the meantime, the student needs to be transported by someone until they hear from the bus transportation company.

If you have not received your bus schedule prior to the first week of school, please contact American Transportation Directly:

American Transportation: 805-500-8512 ext. 3

To support the development of employment/vocational skills, our program includes internship and work experience opportunities that are aligned with students' area of interest and abilities. Upon the completion of an application, students can also have a grant-funded opportunity to be paid for their work. Below you can access the attached application for your review. Our first Coffee With the Coordinator for the 2024/25 school year will be an opportunity for a Q&A session with HR to support the completion of the job applications. Students who were paid for working last year, will not need to complete the entire packet again. Coffee with the Coordinator will be held on September 3rd at COA in Room 15 from 2:15pm-3:15pm. It would be helpful for everyone who did not complete applications last year to bring a copy of their Social Security Card and ID (student/state) to Coffee with the Coordinator. I hope to see you there!

We enjoy having guests at COA. To ensure the safety of our student's we ask that all visitors/volunteers check-in and receive badges prior to coming on to school campuses. Our comprehensive campuses have the equipment needed to print badges in the front office. Since Conejo Oaks Academy does not have a front office on site, we ask that people visiting our program first check in at the District Educational Center (DEC) before coming to our campus. The DEC is located at 1400 Janss Road. Please contact your Coordinator, Mandi Glover, if you have any questions and to arrange a visit.

Please reach out to Mandi Glover if you would like to arrange a time to review the site safety plan or have any other questions about site safety.

We will be practicing safety drills throughout the school year. See the schedule below. More information will follow in future newsletters and from your student and/or teacher.

Safety Drills Schedule

• Earthquake Drills-October/February
• Fire Drills-September/January
• Intruder Drills-November/March

• Occupational Therapist- Rachel Yashouafar
• Psychologist- Shannon Higgoda
• Adapted PE Teacher- Victoria Alvarez
• Deaf and Hard of Hearing Teacher- Karen Mestre
• Speech Pathologist- Jennie McIntosh
• Board Certified Behavior Analyst- Karli Karamanlian
• Nurse- Jill Chen

• VCOE Transition to adult life resources: https://www.vcselpa.org/For-Families/Transition-to-Adult-Life
• Tri-Counties information/link: https://www.tri-counties.org/
  
• Department of Rehabilitation information/link: www.dor.ca.gov

In June, a Town Hall was held at COA to reflect on the 2023/24 school year and to share hopes and goals for the 24/25 school year. The following was discussed by those in attendance:

Safety Updates:

• Bollards have been added to the parking lot
• Sport Court has been completed
• Parking lot has been repaved with fresh coat of paint
• Staff training completed for utilizing the vans and active intruder responses
• Guard shack installed (currently not occupied)

Successes

• Parents expressed the successes of their individual students in the program
• Teachers have diversified experiences for students (ie. adding the Aspen job site and attending a therapeutic horse farm)
• A noticed in increased confidence and pride of student workers
• Increased communication and improved website
• Safety concerns have been taken seriously
• Gratitude for Workability grant funds being used for student employment
• Exploring a partnership/collaboration with CLU
• Appreciation for Coffee with the Coordinator and Town Hall Meetings

Areas of Growth

• Partnerships with large corporations
• Would like the website and social media to be improved
• Would like CVUSD to reach out to Moorpark College for possible partnerships
• Increased participation with SEDAC's Transition Committee
• Consistency with related service providers (ie. Speech)

Email: aglover@conejousd.org
Website: https://www.conejousd.org/Page/1724
Location: 1025 Old Farm Road, Thousand Oaks, CA, USA
Phone: (805) 660-5262