Community Update

It gives me great pleasure to report that the state of our district is strong. Our students are thriving at higher levels than ever. And, our community continues to synergize around student success.

Every year, the entire City of Vista - including the Mayor, City Council Members, the Chamber of Commerce, business leaders, community leaders, and many more citizens of Vista, gather to celebrate the State of the Community. This event demonstrates the power of collaboration by combining three important updates on the state of our great community: City Government, the Chamber of Commerce, and the School District. I am so proud of the strong relationship we have built with city officials and the business community. These relationships not only make our district stronger, they make dreams and career aspirations come true for our graduating seniors.

Please review the State of the District report I delivered during the State of the Community Event on January 22, 2024. We look forward to posting our annual Year in Review 2024 report and video in the coming months.

Website Link

Link to State of the School District

The Regular School Board Meeting will be held at the Morris B. Vance Community Room (200 Civic Center Drive, 92084) on Thursday, February 15, 2024 starting at 6:00 p.m. We are using this larger venue to celebrate the annual Golden Apple Award Ceremony.

A variety of Measure LL projects are at, or our nearing, completion. The new Career and Technical Education classroom building is now opening and provides welding and residential construction labs for the school. This modern facility permits students to engage in real-world design challenges with industry standard classrooms and outdoor learning spaces. There are two indoor construction laboratories, and two outdoor covered learning spaces, with additional staging grounds for the large scale projects that this program will be producing. With enrollment at capacity, even before the opening of the facility, this in demand program supports students in exploring their options for careers in high wage, in demand, and projected workforce stability and longevity to support a prosperous future. You can learn more about he dististrict’s innovative career and technical education programs by clicking here.

oin us in helping develop our recipe for success for VUSD as we build our Local Control and Accountability Plan (LCAP)! The LCAP is like a special recipe for our district. Families, staff, students and community members all get to be chefs, sharing their ideas about what ingredients the district needs to make sure everyone has joyful learning experiences.

Everyone has a say in what's important, like whether the district should have more art classes, smaller reading groups, or facility improvements. We also talk about how much money the district has to "buy" these ingredients, so we have to choose carefully! Once all the ideas are gathered, it's time to mix them together into a delicious plan. This plan says exactly what the district will do to help students succeed, and how much it will cost. We are needing to think about ways to still create a great recipe for success for our students, but may need to adjust the types of ingredients we might use, so we’ll need your help in determining the most cost effective recipe.

But just like with a real recipe, the LCAP isn't set in stone! The chefs (families, staff, students and community members ) keep checking on the plan to see if it's working well. If something needs to be adjusted, like adding more after-school programs or changing the way math is taught, we work together to make sure the recipe keeps everyone learning and having fun!

We have many opportunities for you to help us choose the right ingredients for our recipe! We have both in person and virtual meetings scheduled if you’d like to hear a presentation from our team and contribute your ideas and/or you can help us by participating in our School Community feedback survey. Click here to see the meeting dates. Visit our website to learn more.

Survey (short version) English Spanish

Survey (long version) English Spanish

February kicks off the annual Black History Month celebration. Starting February 1st, people across the nation come together to highlight the achievements and history of African Americans. This year’s Black History Month theme is “Rhythms of Resilience: One Soul, One Sound.” and centers on the concept that Black history, culture, and music embody a tapestry of diversity and interconnection, rather than being a single narrative. Over the next several weeks, students in all grades will demonstrate their learning through visual and performing arts, literature, poetry, culinary and other forms of cultural expressions. Families can find resources to further their learning about Black History Month at commonsensemedia.org .

Please join us as we acknowledge our Vista Unified School Counselors during National School Counseling Week February 5-9th, 2024. National School Counseling Week 2024 (#NSCW24) focuses public attention on the unique contribution of school counselors within U.S. school systems and how students are directly impacted as a result of counselors' passion and dedication to the profession. This special week provides recognition for school counselors who implement comprehensive school counseling programs, a vital part of the educational process for all students as they meet the challenges of the 21st century. NSCW directly aligns with our Framework for the Future reflecting the work of all school counselors who are removing the barriers to learning by addressing students’ academic needs, postsecondary options and social/emotional skills. Their school counseling programs help to increase student achievement and provide a much-needed resource for students, parents, teachers and administrators.

The Community School Coalition gathered on January 10th to support the work of Community Schools throughout our district. Framed around the purpose of working together to achieve a common goal, this meeting highlighted upcoming events at several of our schools. Community members stepped up to learn more about how their organizations could support the work.

This month’s Partner Highlight focused on Palomar Family Counseling Services and their dedication to building mentally healthy communities, families, and students. If you are interested in contributing to the work of Community Schools, please consider joining us at our next Community School Coalition on March 5, 2024 at Foothill Oak Elementary. All are welcome!

As parents, we all want the best for our children, especially when it comes to their education. One crucial skill that lays the foundation for lifelong learning is reading. The ability to read not only opens up a world of knowledge but also enhances cognitive abilities and critical thinking. Behind the seemingly magical process of reading lies decades of research around how the brain learns to read. Our brains are not wired to read when we are born and research has shown that reading is a skill that must be systematically, explicitly taught and practiced to reach “automaticity”, or the quick and fluent processing of written text.

The Science of Reading identifies 5 essential components that require this type of instruction, phonological/phonemic awareness, phonics/spelling, fluency, vocabulary/syntax and comprehension. Parents are essential partners in helping to practice these components at home to ensure that each child becomes and effective and efficient reader. This link provides more information about each component and related resources for parents.

District leadership and School Board Members have prioritized providing resources and support to our elementary schools to ensure that every child has the opportunity to learn to read effectively and efficiently. Over the past two years, elementary teachers and principals have participated in professional development related to the Science of Reading.

This school year, all principals and assistant principals participated in a three day workshop and each principal has a coach that comes to each school, reviews student progress data, provides personalized professional learning and models effective lesson design and strategies. In July, we launched our first 5-day Reading Academy and had nearly one-third of our elementary teachers attend. We also hosted an academy in the late fall/early winter and have three additional cohorts scheduled between now and the start of the next school year. Our goal is to have 100% of our elementary staff to be highly skilled reading teachers.

In addition to professional learning, our School Board has supported the purchase of a new reading curriculum for all teachers in all grade levels, specialized reading intervention curriculum for students who may have gaps in reading competencies, and the allocation of a full time teacher to provide intensive intervention at each elementary school. Our first cycle of data is showing that students are making tremendous progress and we are looking forward to our midyear Fastbridge assessment results to show the growth that has been achieved at each school. With all efforts collaboratively directed toward improving student reading instruction and practice, we are sure to accelerate all students toward reading effectively and efficiently.

Magnet School applications are still being accepted for families interested in having their student attend one of Vista Unified’s five magnet schools. Applications and additional information can be found by visiting the Vista Unified Magnet School Webpage. The window to apply for a middle or high magnet school closes on February 23rd at 4:30pm. The application window for elementary school remains open through March 22nd.

The City of Vista is taking a proactive approach to revitalizing their community parks. They want your feedback as they develop a Master Plan for City Parks.

Email: webmaster@vistausd.org
Website: vistausd.org
Location: 1234 Arcadia Avenue, Vista, CA, USA
Phone: (760) 726-2170
Twitter: @VistaBlueprint