Elementary Ed Council visits Rea Elementary

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Members of ACSA’s Elementary Education Council pose in front of a mural at Rea Elementary School in the Newport-Mesa USD. From left, Rea Elementary Principal Lorie Hoggard, Teri Schad, Diane Standring, Jean Joye, Kimberly Mitchel-Lewis, Myra Lozano, Tina Hollander, John Schilling and Staff Liaison Mary Gomes.

May 20, 2024

The ACSA Elementary Education Council business meeting was held at Rea Elementary School in the Newport-Mesa Unified School District on March 19. The council rotates the spring business meetings from Northern to Southern California each year. The purpose of the in-person meetings at the school sites is to provide council members with the opportunity to view exemplary leadership systems and programs in action and how the unique actions of the school help to meet the needs of all students.

Led by Principal Lorie Hoggard, Rea Elementary benefits from its dynamic, innovative and experienced leader who demonstrates a strong commitment to student learning through site management combined with instructional leadership and vision.

Rea Elementary is a preschool to sixth grade school. The current enrollment is 371 students with 90 percent of students classified as socio-economically disadvantaged. This year, 58 percent of students were classified as English learners and 51 students were reclassified as fluent English proficient last year. In 2023, Rea Elementary demonstrated the most growth on the CAASPP assessment in the Newport-Mesa Unified School District with a 12 percent increase in students meeting or exceeding standards in ELA and a 10 percent increase in math.

Hoggard attributes the increase in student achievement to current instructional priorities to accelerate achievement through high leverage practices for ELA across the grade levels and early literacy instruction aligned with the science of reading. Rea Elementary is a certified AVID school and the intentional instruction and school routines foster the development of academic habits and growth mindset that students need to be successful in middle school, high school and college.

While the dedicated staff at Rea Elementary are focused on student achievement, the team is equally as committed to fostering a positive school experience for every student and family, with robust systems for PBIS, expanded learning and family engagement.

As council members visited Rea Elementary classrooms in March, they were able to view firsthand the systems and programs employed by the school to meet the needs of students. This offered valuable insight into the effective strategies and supports being implemented, but also the importance of a systematic approach to improvement. The systems-level approach to continuous improvement includes leadership teams, ongoing professional development, a collaborative planning process anchored in data analysis, communication routines, efforts to address chronic absenteeism and a schoolwide master schedule designed to maximize instructional impact.

Council members in attendance were:

Tina Hollander (Region 7), principal, Orchard elementary school, Sylvan Union School District.

Diane Standring (Region 3), principal, Robert J. Fite Elementary School, Elk Grove Unified School District.

Kimberly Mitchel-Lewis (Region 4), principal, Solano Windemann Leadership Academy, Vallejo City Unified School District.

Myra Lozano (Region 14), director of schools, TK-6th, ABC Unified School District.

Jean Joye (Region 12), director of elementary education, Redlands Unified School District.

John Schilling (Region 10), superintendent/principal, Southside Elementary School District.

The collaboration with ACSA and our local districts demonstrates the collective commitment to the challenges and opportunities within our educational system and making a difference for students.

Showcasing exemplary leadership and systems-level approaches to continuous improvement provides our council members with job-related professional development impacting students across our organization.

ACSA Elementary Education Council members recently visited Rea Elementary School to gain insights on instructional leadership. From left, Myra Lozano, Tina Hollander, Kimberly Mitchel-Lewis, Diane Standring, Jean Joye, John Schilling, Kurt Suhr, Teri Schad and Rea Elementary Principal Lorie Hoggard.