SAUSD Community Schools

02/25/2025

True parent engagement in action at Pio Pico! 🙌🏽💡 Mrs. Pascuala Chan shared her expertise in milking cows 🐄🥛, and her husband built a 3D cow to bring learning to life! 🎨🔧 This is what shared leadership and elevating family assets looks like—parents, educators, and students learning together to create rich, meaningful instruction. 💛🏫

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01/16/2025

Huge kudos to Moises Plascencia from SAUSD Nutrition Services for putting together today’s amazing event! 🎉 It was such a treat to visit Jerome’s Park Community Garden and learn more about the incredible work happening there. 🌿

Did you know that the City of Santa Ana has five community gardens? 🤯 These spaces are such a fantastic way to engage with nature, learn about sustainability, and connect with our community—which aligns perfectly with our Community School Strategic Initiative! 🌍✨

Hearing from Ms. Rosa about the origins of Jerome’s Park Community Garden was truly inspiring. 🌟 She started as a parent, working to make the park a better place for our community. Now, her daughter Thalia has taken the reins as the garden’s coordinator—what a beautiful full-circle moment! 💚🍅

From composting workshops to farms providing fresh food for our neighborhoods, this is what community-based learning is all about—connecting with what matters most to our communities. 🫱🏽‍🫲🏾🌾

Thank you to everyone who made this event so special. Here’s to continuing to plant seeds of change—literally and figuratively! 🌸✨ 🌱

01/10/2025

🍋🥑 A Flipped Classroom & Guacamole Lessons! 🥑🍋

Tonight, we witnessed something truly transformative: preschool teachers and parents collaborating in a unique way—with the roles reversed! Parents stepped up as the experts, teaching their very own guacamole recipes to our teachers. And let me tell you, it was a flavorful explosion of learning and culture!

From recipes featuring purple onion, pepper flakes, cheese, and even milk, each creation showcased the diversity and creativity of our community. But the real star of the evening? The science that naturally came alive during these lessons! 🌟

Parents shared their knowledge about:
🧂 How lemon or lime breaks down rock salt for the perfect guacamole.
🥑 How to keep guacamole from turning brown (a science experiment on its own!).
👀 Engaging the five senses during the process.
🍎 The age-old question: Is an avocado a fruit or a vegetable?

This was true parent engagement at its finest. Both parents and teachers were open to learning from one another, valuing each other’s expertise, and building meaningful relationships.

💡 This is what Community Schools and community-based learning are all about: leveraging the strengths of our families to create enriching experiences for our students. We can’t wait to see these amazing parents teaching even more lessons in the classroom—it’s the next step in transforming education!



Let’s celebrate the power of collaboration, community, and of course… delicious guacamole! 🥑✨

09/24/2024

🚨 We’re Hiring! 🚨

Are you passionate about making a difference in your community? Santa Unified School District is looking for a Community School Coordinator to help co-create vibrant, inclusive school environments with and for our communities. 🌱

In this dynamic role, you’ll partner with students, families, teachers, certificated and classified staff, and community members to ensure every voice is heard and valued. We’re building structures that work for our community, and we need high-energy, driven individuals to make it happen!

💡 If you’re ready to work with and for your community, apply today and join us in making lasting change! 💼✨

SITE COORDINATOR OF COMMUNITY SCHOOLS JOB SUMMARY: Under the direction of the Executive Director of K-12 Teaching and Learning and/or designee, assist in the management and day-to-day operations of the practice of community schools. The Site Coordinator of Community Schools will develop and implemen...

08/26/2024

Today, we celebrate Women’s Equality Day, marking the 1920 milestone when women gained the right to vote. ✊🏽 While we honor this progress, we recognize there’s still much work ahead, especially for women of color. Let’s continue to stand together, push for true equality, and uplift every voice. We’ve come far, but the journey isn’t over. 💪🏽

08/14/2024

🌟 School Visits Recap and Highlights🌟

Yesterday, I had the pleasure of visiting several schools across SAUSD, starting at George Washington Carver Elementary and moving on to Wallace Davis Elementary, Monroe Elementary, and ending at Diamond Elementary. It was heartwarming to witness our students in preschool, TK, and Kindergarten classrooms showcasing incredible skills and cultural wealth, right from day two of instruction!

At Diamond Elementary, I met a young TK student who impressed me with her precise scissor skills, confidently rotating the paper as she cut—an essential skill that typically takes time to develop. Kudos to our preschool teams and families for preparing our students so well!

While some little ones were understandably anxious, by the time I circled back through the classrooms, they were already making friends and engaging in activities that honed their fine motor skills. From creating imaginative Play-Doh birthday cakes at Davis Elementary (I was even offered a tiny slice!) to building with magnetic tiles at Diamond Elementary and crafting adventurous snow people at Carver Elementary, our students’ creativity and resilience were on full display.

At Davis Elementary, I had a great time discussing squares with students as they explored the importance of shapes in their environment. Despite being only day two, it was clear that no time is being wasted—our students are ready, eager, and better prepared than ever before!

I’m truly excited to continue visiting our schools and witnessing firsthand the amazing things happening in SAUSD. The future is bright, and I’m proud to be a part of this journey!

08/12/2024

🎉 Excited to kick off the 24-25 school year in SAUSD! We are thrilled to welcome students across the district. The excitement is contagious—here’s a glimpse at Carver Elementary! Our teachers, administrators, and classified staff have been working tirelessly all summer to prepare for this moment, and it’s finally here. We’re ready to welcome new families, new students, and of course, our returning community members. It’s going to be an incredible year, and it wouldn’t be possible without the support of our entire community. 🤩

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08/11/2024

We’re thrilled to kick off the school year with our incredible Itinerant Support Teachers! They’re ready to support not just our community schools but all elementary schools. Our team is focused on delivering culturally relevant lessons where student voice and choice lead the way. This approach allows our elementary teachers to engage in professional development while students experience high-quality, community-based learning. From connecting classroom activities to real-world experiences to celebrating local culture and values, our students are at the heart of everything we do. Here’s to a year of growth, learning, and community! 🌟📚