Welcome Back for an Exciting New School Year!

As we embark on this new school year and return to in-person learning, we remain relentlessly committed to our Board of Education priorities to provide a rigorous and culturally relevant and responsive education for all children, support our students’ social emotional growth, protect the health and safety of our students and employees, and foster a positive and inclusive culture of learning at each of our schools.

This year, we are specifically focused on four key areas:

Academic acceleration – Students receive instruction aligned to grade level standards and additional support to ensure they understand underlying concepts in order to master new learning. Opportunities for one-on-one tutoring and personalized support are available for students at every grade level. Our middle and high schools are implementing a block schedule to allow deeper engagement in the content and more opportunities for teachers to target specific student needs.

Health and safety – Since the beginning of the pandemic, we have implemented robust health and safety measures across our district. We continuously update and refine our operations as new state and county public health guidance becomes available. We are pleased to partner with our local healthcare providers to offer opportunities for vaccination, and we continue to utilize strict protocols for testing, quarantine, isolation, contact tracing, notification, and testing in the event of a COVID-19 exposure.

Social emotional wellness – We are proud to offer new and improved mental health services for students and families, and increased professional development and social emotional support for our educators and staff. This includes one-on-one counseling, organized support groups, schoolwide wellness campaigns, and training for stress management and positive school culture.

Equitable access to resources – We are committed to addressing the individual needs of all students, including students with special needs, English learners, foster/homeless youth, and historically under resourced and underrepresented student groups. We continue to provide learning technology and individualized support and services for students who need it. Additionally, this year we are pleased to offer free meals for every child and free before- and after-school care for every family.

We remain focused on elevating student voices, supporting our educators and staff, and partnering with our families and community to offer dynamic learning opportunities for every child. We are excelling together to prepare our youth for success in college, career, and life!

Glendale Unified Board of Education and Superintendent of Schools