Theeeey’re Back!
And we’re thrilled to have them.
Today marked the first day of school at Natomas Unified, a time for greeting old friends, smiles, meeting classmates, filling backpacks, learning school rules, riding bikes, checking out new classrooms – and more than a few tears as kindergarteners bid their parents goodbye.
For the first time ever, District enrollment – including charter schools – has climbed above 15,000 students and the future looks bright. Now that the Natomas building moratorium is a thing of the past, new houses are going up, and enrollment is expected to climb by up to 9,500 students over the next decade.
The district is expanding its preschool program to Natomas Park and H. Allen Hight elementary schools this year. Millions of dollars in construction and facility improvements were completed this summer or are under way, thanks largely to voter passage of Measure J in 2014. They vary from campus to campus but include security fencing projects, library remodels, classroom construction, and reconstruction of a crowded parking lot.
NUSD begins classes this year with a fully accredited International Baccalaureate (IB) program at H. Allen Hight Elementary, Natomas Middle School, and Inderkum High School. A student entering NUSD in kindergarten or Transitional Kindergarten (TK) can take IB-related courses through high school graduation.
Natomas High School is launching a separate, rigorous diploma program this year, AP Capstone, featuring some of the most challenging coursework offered at the high school level to emphasize critical thinking and analytical skills vital for college and 21st century jobs.
All NUSD schools will receive more resources this year to address students’ individual academic, health and social-emotional needs. Every campus will have a full-time psychologist, for example, and all elementary, middle, and comprehensive high schools will have a full-time health assistant. Other staff resources will be available, too, by reallocating existing funds and cutting two Ed Center positions.
The stage is set for a productive and rewarding 2016-17, consistent with NUSD’s Board-approved Vision that, “All NUSD students graduate as college and career ready, productive, responsible, and engaged global citizens.”
Check out a collage of back-to-school photos below.
