Principal's Message

March 2008

For the first time ever, Dearborn Street School has been nominated as a 2008 Distinguished School. Our application passed the test and we are on to the next phase in the process. This involves a full day validation visit. A team of fellow educators will visit our school on Monday, March 10 to validate the application we submitted. If all goes well, and I believe it will, we will receive a call from State Superintendent Jack O'Connell on April 15th. An award ceremony will be held on May 16th at the Disneyland Hotel.

Dearborn is on a roll. We were notified that we have met all of the criteria and will receive a Title 1 Academic Achievement Award in April. This is quite an honor, and it is a true testament to the incredible teachers and support staff at Dearborn. Our missions statement says, "Dearborn Street School provides a rigorous academic curriculum and social foundation to meet the needs of our diverse learning community in a safe, supportive environment." Our goal is to have students achieve their greatest potential and become caring, responsible, contributing, well-educated citizens. We accomplish these goals through the excellence of teachers and staff, the collaboration of parents, and the commitment of the community. Because all Dearborn stakeholders work together, we have been able to achieve so much.

I am pleased to announce that Dearborn has also received an Inclusive School Award. Our Assistant Principal will attend the Awards Celebration and will do a short presentation about the ways we successfully meet the needs of our students with disabilities.

The School Accountability Report is issued annually for each school in the state of California and provides an assessment of selected conditions related to the schools resources, enrollment, teachers, facilities, finances, accountability, and areas of improvements needed. You can access the report on line through the LAUSD web site on the "Inside LAUSD" web site, at http://www.lausd.net. On the navigation bar go to "School", choose Dearborn and click "Retrieve", On the right side of the page you will find "Academic Performance Indicators". Click on the drop down menu and click on "SARC". An easier way is to ask the main office, at school, for a copy to read. We keep them on file for five years.

We have scheduled another "Coffee with the Principal" for Thursday, March 27 at 8:00 am. This informal meeting is for parents of students in first and second grade. The focus of this activity is to review the academic, social, and emotional needs of our primary students. It is also an opportunity for parents to network and have their questions answered. I hope you will plan to attend.

I would like to take this opportunity to introduce our new Literacy Coach, Mrs. Julie Cornell Klein. Mrs. Klein will begin at Dearborn in March. She is an experienced classroom teacher with a very strong literacy background. Most recently, Julie taught fifth grade SAS at Germain Elementary. In addition, Julie has had experience working with all elementary grade levels, English learners, and Title 1 students. SHe will lead her first parent literacy workshop in April.

On March 4, I will attend the District Enrollment Road Show. At that time, I will find out whether or not we can continue to offer Child Care Permits and if we will be allowed to offer any Open Enrollment Permits. Last year, 27 families were selected in our Open Enrollment lottery. There were more than 100 families that applied for these slots. As the District builds new schools, the number of permits we are allowed will be reduced. If you have friends, neighbors, or relatives who are interested in learning about enrollment for the next year, please have them call the office at 818-349-4381. We will continue our tradition of offering school tours; they are scheduled for March 26, April 30, May 7, and May 28. The general school tours will be held at 9:00 am to 10:00 am, and the SAS tours will be held from 10:30 am to 11:30 am on all dates.