Community Rallies Around Adelanto Elementary School District Improvements
Sponsored by: Adelanto Elementary School District
If it takes a village to raise a child, students in the Adelanto Elementary School District in Adelanto, CA, are in good hands – some 40,000 pairs.
That’s because the entire community has come on board to support the district’s plan to improve academics and increase parental involvement in students’ education.
“We are doing exciting things to engage our community,” says Superintendent Michael Krause.
“Cultivate Creative Kindness is our theme for 2023-24.”
Educating Students Through Eighth Grade
The Adelanto Elementary School District is in San Bernardino County, about 100 miles northeast of Los Angeles, and educates students through eighth grade. Krause became superintendent in mid-2022, after working in various administrative positions for the district.
Students in the Adelanto Elementary School District, like many around the world, lost ground during the COVID-19 pandemic. The district is reaching out to parents with tips on helping students improve their performance in reading and other subjects.
Setting high academic goals and supporting teaching excellence are things Krause believes every student deserves.
“To me, this is a calling,” he says. “I never give up on any child. I help them get a leg up. It can make all the difference in the world.”
Finding New Opportunities
After-school programs were added to give students extra educational enrichment while their parents are still at work. And a transitional kindergarten, or TK, program gets youngsters off to a good start.
“Parents can send their children to our TK program to ensure they will be prepared to enter our system. If they don’t start off right, they won’t end right,” Krause adds.
Plans call for a before-school program to start this fall.
“To be able to drop off students for activities and or tutoring early can get their brains stimulated and get their day started on the right track,” Krause says.
Meeting Individual Needs
Students can also expect more small-group experiences and an emphasis on reading, as well as programs for parents to assist children with certain skill sets and effectively supervise homework.
Krause says the Adelanto Elementary School District tries to avoid the “one size fits all” mentality.
“Just as every school isn’t the same, every student learns differently and families have different needs,” he adds.
In an example of creative problem-solving, when district attendance at PTA meetings and parent-teacher conferences dropped off, schools began hosting alternative events that are both fun and educational, such as movie nights and painting parties, Krause says. Parents have responded enthusiastically.
“If we make it worthwhile for families to come together at our schools, they’ll see it as a safe and cool space and want to spend more time there with the kids,” he notes. “And it motivates students to see their families at school.”
Still, academic achievement is always the ultimate goal.
“If they can’t read and write, they will not do well on any test,” Krause says. “If they don’t get those core skills, they’re never going to make it.”
Board President La Shawn Love-French agrees.
“My mission as board president is to support the district’s vision to make AESD the High Desert premier learning establishment, where dreams are awakened, academic achievement soars and integrity leads the way to future success.”
