VESD Recent District History

We’ve come a long way

Foundation: To pay for two years of education at Victor Valley College. We will establish accounts for selected 6^th grade students to provide the finances for our students to get started in college.

School to Career Program: We are piloting a 4-6 grade career development curriculum that incorporates the state standards. The program helps students to begin exploring their interests and engaging their parents in a conversation about their future. The goal is to provide our students with hope and a direction for their lives.

Non-Fiction Writing: Increasing the quantity and quality of non-fiction writing as it is the #1 variable out of 800 variables that improves student achievement.

Building Schools: Our newest school West Palms Conservatory was completed ahead of schedule and focuses on music instruction, performing arts, and foreign language instruction.

Board Monitoring System: The school board is developing a dashboard of gauges to monitor the progress on district goals and objectives. We will monitor monthly at a regular school board meeting.

Grammar for All: Preparing a structured Grammar for All curriculum following our very successful Math for All curriculum.

Bell to Bell Instruction: We are continuing to focus on improving the amount of time our students are actively engaged in learning state standards from the first day of school until the last day of school as well as from the first bell to start the school day until the last bell to end the school day.

Project Based Learning: This year we are introducing the concept to our principals. The concept is to engage our students with real life projects connected to state standards which will be of more interest to students than lecture to students all day.

Years ago VESD had very little money. Schools were poorly maintained with leaking roofs, no air-conditioning, no libraries, badly conditioned fleet of district maintenance vehicles, a portable classroom was our maintenance building, and it was inadequately equipped. We had very few busses, and they were old and in need of repair.  The road into Village School was dirt, and  washed out in the rain. Several of our schools had no cafeterias.

We had No direction; No standards; No curriculum and textbooks were limited. Instructional and classroom supplies were limited.

Our staff was one of the lowest paid in the high desert. Our benefit package was almost non existent.

We have moved from an old run down “do nothing, go no where, broke” district to an innovative, financially sound, collaborative district where schools have earned a positive reputation throughout the county.

The specifics:

1. We have an identified vision and mission with measurable goals and objectives. We monitor our progress once each month at a Board meeting.

2. Our recent community survey showed a 90% approval rating of our district’s Vision Statement and direction.

3. We have had a 20 year planning process that involves staff, parents, students, and community members for the purpose of helping us to stay focused while being innovative.

4. We have built a strong budget and  consistently have one of the highest ending reserves:

·        2006-2007 our total ending reserve is  $16.5 million

·        1985-1986 our total ending reserve was $1 million

5. Our schools receive more general fund dollars per student than any elementary school in San Bernardino County: ($117.50 per student)

6. Our teachers and classified employees are #1 in total compensation with comparable districts.

· 1^st year teacher’s earn $44,000 with fully paid medical, dental, vision, and retirement.

· 20 year veteran teacher earns $87,500 with the same benefits

· In over twenty years we are proud that we have never had an employee layoff.

7. In 2006-2007 we spent over 1 million dollars to fund staff training as we know it is the skill and knowledge of our staff that improves student achievement and district effectiveness.

8. We have technology throughout the district and in every school with a data system to track student achievement. We have developed and are piloting a technology curriculum in classrooms across the district.

9. VESD District Administration costs are below both the state and county averages. The average statewide administrator to teacher ratio is 8% and that is the same for our San Bernardino County. As a district we are at 5%.

10. Our district credit rating is an A. This is the highest rating a school district receives.

11. We have more California Distinguished Schools and National Blue Ribbon Schools and Title I Achieving Schools than any other district in the High Desert.

12. 7 of our schools scored above 800 on the California State Academic Performance Index. More than any other district in the high desert.

13.  As a district we consistently meet all NCLB growth goals. 

14. As a district, we have shown consistent growth on our state test results (from 590-763 API) while our poverty rate and non-English speaking student population has significantly increased. Our staff has overcome seemingly insurmountable odds to continue to improve our academic achievement.

15. We have structured our curriculum to address state and national standards. Our teachers have written a math curriculum that has been purchased by other districts throughout the nation.

16. There are sufficient textbooks for our students, and our schools were able to save over $1 million dollars of their budget for future projects as they had enough money to meet all their needs in each of the last two years. This money stays at the school and is added to their next year’s budget.

17. We are the only district in our county to receive a California Council for Excellence, Prospector Award, and second in the state (San Jose was the first) to receive such an award.

18. Annual surveys of our employees and parents consistently show an approval rating of our district between 93%-99%.

19. All of our schools are well maintained, air-conditioned, with new paint and playground equipment.  Our schools are safe and secure.

20. We built a new maintenance facility that is well equipped with a warehouse well supplied with instructional materials.  We are currently building a new transportation facility to keep up with the infrastructure of our district in order to better serve our rapidly growing community, and we regularly add new busses to our fleet. We do not charge our parents for transportation.

21. As a governing board we have always been forward thinking and never backed away from a problem. As a result of this kind of leadership, our district’s achievement continues to rise, and more parents choose to transfer into our district than to transfer out (461 vs. 312 in 2005-2006).

We realize that it is the skill and knowledge of our staff working together as a team that produces our results. The board provides our schools with the direction and the fiscal resources to create a culture of continuous improvement.  As high performing schools, they have earned our highest admiration and respect.

As board members, we will continue to provide strong leadership to continue to improve the quality of our district for the benefit of all our students and their families.  We are committed to providing safe schools with well-disciplined students. We will continue to adopt and enforce policies that will not tolerate the misbehavior of the few to interfere with the learning of the many.