Hi everyone! It’s April and Downey Unified is already off to a great start after a restful—and slightly wet—Spring Break. To kick things into gear on our first day back, the partially viewable solar eclipse was fully enjoyed throughout the district, with safe, eye protection and eclipse-viewing pinhole devices. It was an awe-inspiring way to start the last two months of the school year.

First off, congratulations are in order for Old River School Elementary! The Gators came in 1st place in our annual Dale Lostetter Carnival of Champions track meet. Talk about a rainy day! That was the first time anyone present could remember it raining on this special event since it all began in 1962. Kudos to everyone who picked up a blower or squeegee to make the track field playable. And to our fourth and fifth-grade families who hung in there until the end: your support of our nearly 400 student-athletes was genuinely appreciated.

In March and April, our elementary schools have celebrated literacy by hosting successful “Read Across America” events. This is when “Guest Readers” from DUSD and the City of Downey come to campus to our elementary classrooms. Whether readers bring a book from home or pick one from the school’s library, students are always excited to be read to. As a guest reader myself, I always feel lucky if at the end of our time together we can fit in an impromptu Q&A with questions like, “What is your job?”, “What’s your favorite animal?” or “How old are you?”.

I’ve also had the pleasure of attending several Open House events these past months, where families come back to campus and get to see what their students have been working on all year. I must recognize, that with the growth in classroom technology, the presentations by our students and teachers have really evolved since I began attending in 2006!

Our elementary classrooms come alive during our family visits with work displayed around the room, anchor charts for student support, and fun videos set to music with pictures of students interacting in class throughout the year. Student-generated QR codes give families access to see their students speaking in front of the classroom using their own devices. What a valuable experience that will help our young students’ presentation skills throughout their school careers and beyond! Even though there’s a lot of technology being used, the students still put pencil to paper, read a class library book, and write on the whiteboard. I appreciate how our Downey Unified teachers have blended the digital and analog worlds to give our students the best opportunities as they go forward in life.

Recently, it was an honor to attend two events that centered around our district’s Gallup CliftonStrengths initiative, which is an assessment trusted by over 31 million people—including Downey Unified and Fortune 500 companies—to empower people to succeed! The first event was the Professional Growth Workshop for our classified employees and the second was the very first Student Greatness Club awards.

Almost all DUSD employees and 210+ students have completed the assessment, supported by our very own Certified CliftonStrengths Coach, Anna Beth Fishman. This program identifies your positive strengths instead of the negative, and can’t we all benefit from more positive reinforcement?

Lastly, a group of our Board Members walked the Warren High campus with Principal Dr. Cari White to see some of the exciting classes on campus! For example, Engineering: Mechatronics introduces students to robotics, computer science, electrical & mechanical engineering principles. The Computer Numerical Control (CNC) machines we saw, were being used by inquisitive students learning about safety before running these big, and complex machines.

We also stopped in an Early College class, taught by Cerritos College faculty. Early College, offered at both Downey and Warren high schools, allows enrolled students to earn up to 46.5 CSU/UC-approved college credits after four years in high school. Incredible! Current 8th-grade students had the opportunity to apply to the Early College program this spring to begin earning college credit when they start high school next year. For more details on both high schools’ Early College programs, visit web.dusd.net/early-college.

April Shout-outs

DHS Football’s Coach Jack Williams received the State’s CIF Model Coaching Award

Elementary Education’s Dr. Shannon received the ACSA Regional Administrator of the Year – Central Office Award

DHS’s Cheer Team won 1st place at the U.S.A Spirit Nationals

DHS Senior Christina Osorio is the CIF State Girls Wrestling Champion

WHS’s Senior, Jessica Brooks won the Grand Golden Bear Award

WHS’s new student-run podcast, “Hanging in Bear Country” is available on Spotify/YouTube, and tackles mental health, relationships, career paths, the TikTok ban, and more. Check it out!

VEX Robotics teams from Griffiths, Stauffer & Sussman middle schools will compete this month in the World Championships in Dallas, TX. Good luck!

FIRST Robotics teams from DHS & WHS will compete this month in the World Championships in Houston, TX. Go Striking Vikings & Warbots!

Save the Dates:

4/20 – 5th Annual Robolympics, WHS at 8:30 am
4/23 – Old River School Community Night, 5 pm
4/25-27 & 5/2-4 – “In the Heights,” WHS Emerson Theater, 7:30 pm
4/27 – Mariachi Festival, Griffiths MS, 11 am
5/2 – Unsworth Open House, 5 pm
5/10-11 – “Mean Girls, High School Version” Downey City Theater, 7 pm (Fri) & 2 pm (Sat)
5/10 - Leap Open House, Pace Education Center, 4 pm

I hope you are enjoying these articles and updates. Take the time to be KIND,

Nancy A. Swenson
President, Downey Unified Board of Education