Dear Parents,

Flora Vista students using technology as a powerful learning tool.

One can not read a newspaper, listen to the radio or watch television without receiving negative messages. Even our weather turned negative this past winter thanks to El Nino! Unfortunately the world surrounding us tends to emphasize the negative aspect. A constant diet of negativism is not healthy for children or adults. That is why, as role models for our children, it is imperative that all stakeholders of the Encinitas Union School District focus on the positive things that are happening in our lives. I am pleased, therefore, to report on some of our district's successes during this school year.

The past few months have afforded me the opportunity to visit our classrooms, to speak at a number of our school's PTA/School Site Council meetings, and to work closely with a variety of parent/community groups throughout our district. I have addressed audiences regarding the district's vision and our strategic planning process for making the vision a reality for all our children, parents, staff and community. As a result of our strategic planning process we have enjoyed numerous successes over the past few years. Some of those successes this year include:

• Implementation of class size reduction for our kindergarten classes, which completed our full implementation of class size reduction for kindergarten, first, second and third grade at all schools;
• Selection of three schools! -- Capri, Mission Estancia, and Park Dale Lane -- for California Distinguished
• School validation site visits during the month of March;
• California Distinguished School Honorable Mention for Flora Vista and Ocean Knoll;
• Development of performance standards and assessments in math, language arts and physical education;
• The completion of the Proposition O field renovation plans for Capri, Ocean Knoll and Pacific View/Paul Ecke Central;
• Development of a comprehensive infrastructure plan to be implemented via Proposition O for all sites;
• Continued implementation of the district's Technology Plan with the completion of the Wide Area Network, new servers for all sites, and the distribution of 100 new classroom workstations.

These are just some of the successes that are propelling us closer to our vision for our children. As I visit classrooms I am impressed by the powerful strategies teachers are using to actively involve children in the learning process. Furthermore, teachers are using both standardized and performance-based/ applied skills assessments to measure individual student knowledge, skills, and progress in order to improve the instructional program for each child.

As we approach the end of the 1997-98 school year we will continue to work with all stakeholders to determine the next steps we need to take to move us closer to our vision for our children.