A Note From Lynn Prentiss

The school year is upon us and with it brings so much to be grateful for – the smiling new and returning faces of our students; dedicated and engaged families; and staff who come to us after a summer of learning, play and relaxation. I am incredibly proud of who we are, what we stand for, the kids we get to educate, and our Board members and community partners we have the privilege of working with. This year is, without a doubt, the continuation of something even more beautiful than the year before (if that’s possible!).

I want to welcome us all back for another year of teaching and learning (and a little fun, too). Last year was big for us! In the 23-24 school year, we:

• Cut our suspensions in half (yes, in half);
• Dropped our chronic absenteeism by over 30% since 2022-23 school year
• Acknowledged over 50% of our students for their academic, behavioral and attendance achievements at 8 different grading periods during the year;
• Improved our onboarding processes for students who enroll throughout the year;
• Revised our Mission, Vision and Core Values to represent the ever-changing work of our school; and
• Increased our staff’s Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) and Equity skills!

This year, we continue to strive towards excellence and improving outcomes for kids. We are focusing on:

• Implementing strategies to better address the needs of our students with Multilingual Learner (MLL) services;
• Growing our students’ skills to better show what they know on state assessments;
• Bringing our families together to help guide our school improvement efforts, learn and understand their student’s academic progress, and engage in events that further build relationships;
• Providing additional academic support for more students; and
• Weekly visits by our Math Interventionist and Enrichment Teacher to provide additional support in the math and ELA classrooms.

I look forward to providing updates on all of this work throughout the year! A big thank you to the generous donors who provide UCAP with the support to make it possible for us to ensure that we level the playing field for every student!

With great respect,
Lynn (LP) Prentiss
Executive Director