At WHPS, we pride ourselves on maintaining an open-door policy with families at all times. We know this is one reason families choose our school. As we kick off 2023, we hope all families take full advantage of the close partnership with teachers and the school leadership team. This month, we held an informal Coffee & Chat session with our school leadership team, PAWS co-presidents, and WHPS families. For anyone who was not able to join us, you can find a brief recap of some of the items discussed. 

* FRIENDLY REMINDER *
Please don't wait for the next parent coffee!
Come to me or our team in real-time with other suggestions, desires, or concerns.
We know you are choosing to invest in a WHPS education, and we are here to help make the most of it!

Topics Discussed at the January Parent Coffee

• After-School Programs
  • Academics - While we provide after-school STEAM programs, families inquired about reading/writing support or special academic programs. We are looking into some additional programs to help address this desire. 
  • More Yoga & Mindfulness - While this is incorporated into the school day, we are looking at additional after-school options as well.
  • Homework Club - Some families did not realize that teacher-supervised Homework Club is a free part of extended care. 
• Singapore Math - Parents wanted to better understand the theory behind our math program and how to help with homework.
  • Parent Workshop - We will be hosting a professional Singapore Math instructor on February 16 to provide a program overview designed for parents and will have some grade-specific "homegrown" workshops to address any further questions.
• Middle School - Parents asked when WHPS will have a middle school. While there is not a definite timeline for that, we discussed our middle school counseling process to ensure students get into their school of choice.
  • Alumni Middle School Panel - Families that would like to hear more about how WHPS students transition into middle school should join us in October 2023 for our next Alumni Panel Discussion. 
• School Safety - In the times we live in, this is always a hot topic. We answered some parent questions about campus safety and also mentioned:
  • Coming changes to the Oxnard campus entrance area.
  • Professional campus safety audits have taken place, leading to many incremental improvements. 
  • Predictive profiling training was completed with the entire staff and scheduled ongoing professional training for staff.
• Nutrition - Some families were concerned about the number of sweets and birthday treats being brought to school. We continue to encourage families to look for healthy alternatives for birthday and holiday treats. Even mini-cupcakes are better than full-size. 
• Parking Lot
  • Pavers - Parents expressed the desire for more pavers to cross the grass on muddy days, which we are adding.
  • Enforcement - There were some requests for additional parking lot staffing and enforcement, and we are looking into what would be most helpful. We also continue to remind families to be patient and courteous and consider less-peak times for drop off/pick up. 

No doubt, you went to bed last night agonizing about the news broadcasts about the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas. Our deepest sympathy and hearts are with the CHILDREN, PARENTS, families, teachers, and entire community experiencing this tragedy. When events like this happen, it can strike a chord in us that goes deeper than just knowing there’s not any credible threat to our school community. These are raw and valid feelings that parents, children and teachers may be experiencing.

AT SCHOOL TODAY

• Morning Assembly: We did point out to the students at Morning Assembly that the flag will be halfway down through Saturday. We used brief, simple terms, saying that this is a way we show our support for people in our country, far away from us, who are very sad. 
• Morning Meeting: During Morning Meeting, especially in upper elementary classrooms, we provided space for children to share what they have heard and ask questions. Throughout the day and week, if elementary students ask questions, we will continue to answer them honestly, following the guidelines and rules of thumb below.

While violence and death are incredibly sensitive topics that each family will ultimately decide to address in their own way, we wanted to share some information and resources that we utilize as educators in deciding how to talk to children when they have questions. 

ENGAGING IN DIFFICULT CONVERSATIONS

How do we reassure children that they are safe, while still being honest with them about what happened? We've compiled some resources that we hope can support these kinds of conversations

• The Child Mind Institute's Recommendations for Going Back to School After a Tragedy
• The Child Mind Institute's Video on Caring for Kids After a Traumatic Event
• The Anti-Defamation League's Guide to Talking with Older Children about Gun Violence
• The National Association of School Psychologists Guide to Talking to Children About Violence: Tips for Parents and Teachers

RULES OF THUMB

• First and foremost, a rule of thumb for parents and teachers when discussing any mature topic, whether it has to do with school safety or puberty or peer pressure, is to follow the child’s lead.
• Don’t avoid talking to your child about what happened. If you avoid the topic, your child may find the event even more threatening or think it is simply too horrible to speak about.
• Invite your child to tell you how s/he feels, but avoid leading questions, such as “Are you worried about being safe at school?”
• Answer the questions they’re asking honestly but reassuringly, but don’t delve deeper into the topic than they take it. Give children the facts they need to know now, but avoid discussing your fears or anxiety about the future.
• Correct any inaccurate information: If your child has misconceptions or inaccurate information, correct them in a simple age-appropriate way.
• Reinforcing safety is important with very young children. Emphasize that the incident happened very far away from us and let your child know that we have wonderful people who are doing everything they can to make school a safe place for learning and having fun with friends and classmates.
• Stay calm and use “emotional self-control” when talking about this topic. The emotions you express will influence your child’s feelings. If you are feeling emotional, it’s better to STOP and take some time to get more regulated and think about what you want to say to your child. 

SCHOOL SAFETY PLANS

At times like this, parents often have questions about school security and safety. Here are some of the steps we have taken and are taking to ensure the continued safety of our community.

• PARTNERSHIP: We are part of a School Safety Task Force with LAPD Topanga Division. As part of the task force, we have a direct line of communication with the Senior Lead Officers, which enables us to work together quickly and efficiently on threat assessments, investigations, and any other safety concerns that may arise. 
• PLANS & PRACTICE: Our school has an approved School Safety Plan. School safety encompasses multiple domains within the school environment that must be reviewed altogether when assessing the level of safety for students and staff. All students and staff participate in safety drills to test their preparedness and understand their roles and responsibilities in the event of a crisis. Our most recent practice event was May 10, 2022, with all students and staff. We will also be working with the School Safety Task Force to determine what additional lessons, plans, or training we can glean from this most recent tragedy. Note: WHPS does not conduct high intensity lockdown drills.
• TRAINING: Our administration is in regular communication with our LAPD Senior Lead Officers, and we are discussing the latest information about school safety to maintain comprehensive plans for preventing and responding to threats. In addition, we have hosted training for other school directors in the San Fernando Valley.
• COMMUNICATION & MONITORING: We take every piece of information and every concern seriously. Parents, we ask you to continue to report anything you see, hear, or sense that could affect student, staff or school safety. In addition, we closely monitor the school grounds through our closed circuit camera system. 

Our administration team understands that this is an emotional and tricky topic to broach with children. If you have questions, concerns or other feedback, please don’t hesitate to speak with me or anyone on our administration team. It is incredibly important to us that ALL children and families feel supported as we process this most recent tragedy.

In sadness and solidarity with the Robb Elementary School community.

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Head of School

The article below addresses a recent longitudinal study that is getting a lot of attention. The study affirms many of our core beliefs about quality Early Childhood Education. Here are six of the top evidence-based practices families should look for in a quality preschool. 

Some new research was recently published that has had early childhood educators buzzing. For many of us, it reaffirmed what we already know about quality Early Childhood Education (ECE). For policy makers, it calls into question recent efforts to push more three and four-year-olds into elementary schools. Essentially, it demonstrated short term gains for overly academic ECE programs, which diminished by the end of elementary school. The research strongly points to the long-term benefits of developmental, play-based Pre-K over heavily structured worksheet-driven programs. 

"A statewide public Pre-K program, taught by licensed teachers, housed in public schools, had a measurable and statistically significant negative effect on the children in this study."

Why is PLAY so important for preschool aged children? Research has shown us that preschool aged children learn best through play and exploration.  Play with a purpose.  Play that allows children to discover concepts through hands-on activities that ignite all of their senses. Outdoor experiences that last longer than elementary school recess.  This is the type of learning that young brains are receptive to.  

As a parent, it’s difficult to know how to best prepare your child for the inevitable transition into kindergarten. Is it best to have a school day that resembles kindergarten, or should there be more time for play and overall social emotional development?  Which way better prepares young children for school-age learning? The study done in Tennessee public schools highlights why putting too much pressure on children in Pre-K programs does not always lead to higher success rates in the future.

Quality play-based preschool programs do not exclude children from learning literacy, math, and science. The way in which play-based curriculum is structured and presented embraces all developmental areas that quite literally builds the brain through its design. This is a timely reminder of the neuroscience that supports creating joyful, meaningful, enriched, and socially interactive experiences as part of a high quality ECE program.

Note: This is one of the reasons WHPS uses a comprehensive research-based developmental screening with all our applicants for TK and K. We take the decision about each child's placement quite seriously and work with each family on determining the best path and trajectory. If families have any questions about the best path for your child's success, please feel free to speak with our Preschool Directors or Elementary Principal.

February is Black History Month. February is a time to celebrate Black history; it’s also a great time to recommit ourselves to diversity and inclusion across the curriculum. 

CELEBRATION (see video below)

I’m very excited about this month's events and programming. PAWS brought in The Marshall Dance Company for a special student workshop. In addition, all Oxnard campus classrooms received customized Black History Culture Kits (from In KidZ, founded by one of our WHPS families), with teaching resources and even a set of multicultural crayons and some other cool swag for each student (thanks to the Rocklin family for this amazing donation!)

CURRICULUM
At WHPS, we believe schools can teach content in authentic, meaningful ways kids can understand and relate to, while still addressing some of the hard truths of the past and present. We are inspired by the work of Columbia University Teachers College Reading & Writing Project (TCRWP), whose research underpins much of our elementary curriculum and has come to the forefront of promoting curriculum that recognizes and fights oppression and promotes anti-racism. Our recent adoption of Stamped (for kids) stemmed from their work, and has led to some wonderful dialogue, perspective-taking, and critical thinking in class discussions. 

REPRESENTATION
As explained by one of the TCRWP staff developers, literature can serve as mirrors and windows to reflect children's own experience and help them appreciate and understand the experiences of others. Last year, we held a reverse book fair seeking to broaden all kinds of representation (race, gender, ability) in the classrooms. In the past several years, Elementary students conducted an audit of classroom libraries, and Preschool has been working on implementing quality anti-bias education and leveraging learning centers and play to expand representation.

LIFELONG LEARNING
Lastly, as adults we all need to remain committed to lifelong learning. We have some great resources on our blog and our YouTube channel that we find educational, interesting, and/or inspiring. I encourage families to check them out.