Principal Tanya McMillin

Dear Parents and Guardians,

 I am so excited about this upcoming school year. Despite the district and state financial woes we are still able to offer an enriching school experience for your children. The teaching team here at Dewey is phenomenal. They are dedicated professionals who center their work around getting your child to meet state standards as well as become a responsible, reliable, compassionate little person. I am proud to work with the staff and teachers here.

 We are proud of our Academic Performance Index ranking of a 9 (out of 10) and a score of 840 (out of 1000) from 2010-11 and are anxiously awaiting results from the state for our 2011-12 school year. We work hard here to academically push our students to their greatest potential. We teach a rigorous academic program as prescribed by California State Standards. We strive to meet the needs of the whole child and recognize strengths in all areas. I believe that you, as parent, are their first teacher and are vital to their academic and social success. So if you work closely with your child’s teacher you will see your child blossom.

 I have repeatedly said that I value the home- school connection and that we have to work as a team to support your child so that they can be socially and academically successful. I am looking forward to the 2012-2013 school year so that we can continue on our journey together.  I would still like to increase the number of volunteers in the classroom and around campus for such things as Art Corps, morning supervision, special events and fundraisers. So please don’t hesitate to get involved.

 Please know that good attendance in school still remains a strong predictor of the successfulness in life. Students that miss a lot of school are more likely to fall behind and drop out. Therefore it is not only a district –wide goal to improve attendance rates but also a goal here at Dewey. We are depending on you to get your child to school daily by 8:30 am and we will educate them until dismissal at 2:45 pm. Thursdays do remain our minimum day – school starts at 8:30 am and ends at 12:35 pm. There is NO supervision for your child if they are dropped off prior to 8:10 am. Thank you in advance for your diligence in getting your child to school on time daily. If you are struggling with this please don’t hesitate to contact me. I will do what I can to help.

 I do realize that Dewey has a significant number of parents/ guardians in the military and that vacations and deployments are sometimes unavoidable. If this is the case and your child will be missing school, please talk with your child’s teacher at least one week in advance so that an independent learning contract can be set up to ensure that your child has some school work to do. This certainly will not replace the learning they will be missing in the classroom however it may keep them from falling too far behind.

 Looking forward to a fantastic school year!

Sincerely,

Tanya McMillin