05/29/2026
Congratulations to Odalys and Isaiah who recently scored 100% on end of year district assessments and were honored at the district Governing Board meeting. We are so proud of you!
Official page of James W. Rice Elementary School in the Alhambra Elementary School District.
Social Media Rules of Engagement
Our district social media pages are designed to communicate news from the Alhambra Elementary School District and our schools. The district reserves the right to delete or remove a post that violates any of the following rules:
-No profane, threatening, harassing, bullying, vulgar, obscene or discriminatory
material/language.
-No material that is likely to disru
05/29/2026
Congratulations to Odalys and Isaiah who recently scored 100% on end of year district assessments and were honored at the district Governing Board meeting. We are so proud of you!
05/29/2026
We were super proud today of two of our student leaders who joined a panel of students from across Alhambra Elementary School District to provide student input to a group of parents and staff working to bring a districtwide vision to life. The day’s theme was “Building Literacy Coherence: Defining the Student Experience in AESD.”
One of our amazing 3rd graders, even took the microphone and shared his thoughts with the entire group about the importance of teaching vocabulary. He explained that even if students can read the words, if they do not understand what the words mean, they cannot understand the meaning of the whole sentence.
Our students represented our school with confidence, thoughtfulness, and leadership. We are so proud of their voices, ideas, and commitment to learning.
05/23/2026
Congratulations to art teacher Rachel Giterman, pictured with CARES teacher Lydia Stevens, as we celebrate an amazing opportunity for our students.
We are deeply grateful to the Arizona Diamondbacks for selecting students in our CARES Autism Program to receive a generous $10,000 grant! This support will help us begin creating an adaptive physical education classroom designed to better serve all students and provide meaningful opportunities for movement, growth, and inclusion.
CARES stands for Communication, Academic, Responsive Intervention, Emotional Learning, and Social Skills — and we are proud to continue growing opportunities for every student at James W. Rice Elementary. 💙⚾
Congratulations to our Kindergarteners! We are so proud of you! Thank you to a parent, Ms. Ortega who made every one the beautiful stoles! We appreciate you!
05/20/2026
It was so much fun welcoming next year’s kindergarteners to our STEP UP Day! 💙🖤 Our Student Lighthouse Committee helped lead the way by walking across the street to bring our younger buddies to campus.
Once here, students toured all the important places — the library, cafeteria, gym, playground, and a kindergarten classroom — and even got to meet our school mascot and kindergarten teachers!
This special day was a wonderful example of our Learn, Lead, Connect vision in action as students built connections and practiced leadership while helping future Jaguars feel excited and welcomed for next year.
A big thank you to preschool teachers Ms. Austin, Ms. Tosh, Ms. Rubio, and Ms. White for bringing students on this special field trip! 🐾
Our 4th, 5th, and 8th grade students had an incredible opportunity to experience a car show right here on campus, organized by one of our student’s fathers!
Students learned about careers connected to show cars, including detailing and customization, what makes a car “show worthy,” and why certain vehicles are selected for shows. They also explored the engineering behind the cars by learning about motor sizes, speed, sound, backfire, and how engines work.
Thank you to everyone who helped create this engaging, hands-on learning experience for our students. Opportunities like these help connect classroom learning to real-world careers and passions!
05/19/2026
What a fun evening at our Family Dance hosted by the Teacher Lighthouse Committee! Families enjoyed line dancing, raffles, crafts, food sales and a special slideshow celebrating our community. Events like this support our Leader in Me work and our Learn, Lead, Connect vision by bringing students, staff, and families together in a culture of connection and support. We look forward to more opportunities to celebrate together!
💙🖤
05/13/2026
It’s a GREAT week to be a Jaguar!
This week, JWR brought home TWO district trophies!
Congratulations to our amazing student-athletes and coaches for showing what it means to be JAGUAR STRONG!
- It's What We Do!
Do you ever wonder what we do on Early Release Wednesdays?
Most Wednesdays, our staff is engaged in professional development—furthering our skills, learning new strategies to better support our students, and becoming even more proficient in the craft of teaching.
But once a year, during Staff Appreciation Week, we switch things up with a different kind of professional development! We invite the entire staff to learn, grow, laugh, and connect through friendly competition and team-building games.
This year’s activities included the Whitney Houston Song Challenge, “Can You Hear the Beat?” on the drum challenge, horse races, STEM challenges, and Bingo.
It was a wonderful opportunity to have fun together, strengthen relationships, and enjoy the process as a team. We are grateful for a staff that works hard every day and still knows how to laugh, learn, and grow together!