4.0 Communication
4.1 One School, One Campus Update
In March, 2019, the Governing Board approved the relocation of Transitional Kindergarten and Kindergarten students back to the main campus at Village Elementary School, effective school year 2020-21. Action taken by the Governing Board included direction for the Superintendent to provide monthly updates and timelines on efforts made to adequately prepare the facilities, staff, students, and community for the transition.
The decision to integrate our Transitional Kindergarten and Kindergarten students was predicated on five initiatives; to increase safety and support, to maximize instructional programs and staff collaboration, to centralize resources and services, and to provide budget and operational efficiencies.
Facilities
The 700 Pod is not the only building experiencing a renovation this Spring at Village Elementary School. In anticipation of a Fall return to campus and the relocation of our Transitional Kindergarten and Kindergarten programs, the VES library is being redesigned. School libraries are so much more than a place for book storage, they represent a designated space on campus for student learning. Our staff help students select books of interest to encourage more reading. Teachers align units of study with resources available to enrich learning experiences. Students feel empowered when selecting their own books and this, research shows, increases leisure reading and creates better learners.
The new ‘media center’ at Village Elementary will become a hub of communal activity for the school. There are designated spaces and flexible seating for students to work independently or in small groups, classes to assemble for a lesson or research project, and space for staff collaboration and professional development. Technology is integrated throughout the media center, and ideation walls (similar to those installed in classrooms and the iLAB) promote creativity.
The iLAB (Innovation Lab) at Village Elementary is up and running for all students! All students at Village main campus have access to new designated space where STEAM learning will come to life. Innovation Lab is a STEAM-integrated special(s) course. Students learn, build, and create in small cooperative learning groups in order to solve real-world problems through the engineering and design process. The iLAB utilizes the Project Lead the Way “Launch” curriculum, which focuses on Engineering and Computer Science. The iLAB is part of CUSD’s TK-12 STEAM pathway supported by CSF. One of the highlights of the iLAB is the integration of the VEX-IQ lab kits which allow students to build simple and complex machines, including robotics and aircraft.
The new media center is going to serve as a perfect complement to the iLAB. We are thrilled to have these new learning environments available to our TK-5th grade students at Village Elementary this fall.