May 3, 2010

 

     Welcome to the official internet home of the Leuzinger High School Olympians! I am our new principal, and am very excited to have the opportunity to lead our school’s improvement efforts. After nearly six weeks on the job, I have had the chance to visit with students, observe every teacher at least once, and meet with several community members. I am very impressed with the level of commitment that each of these stakeholders has for helping our students reach their potential.

 

     Many people have asked me what I would like to accomplish during my time at Leuzinger. My purpose as principal is to ensure that every graduate has multiple choices for life after high school that includes attendance at a four-year college or university. Eligibility to attend a four-year college or university is an indicator that students have received a rigorous, standards-based, and well-rounded high school education. It is also an indicator that access to higher level programs and courses is open to all students. Achieving this goal will be the driving force of our school’s reform efforts.

 

     Since becoming the newest member of the Olympian family in March, many exciting accomplishments have already been made:

 

• Our staff has overwhelmingly voted to implement a new bell schedule for the 2010-2011 school year that will provide time for them to collaborate. Collaboration time is a vital component of high performing schools. More details about this will be available soon.

 

• I have visited with every student in grades 9-11 to discuss the importance of the upcoming California Standards Tests (CST), and the impact that their results have on perceptions about our school.

 

• We have implemented a rewards program to recognize and celebrate student performance on the CST exams.

 

• We have implemented an incentive program to improve student attendance.

 

• Members of the school community have been meeting regularly with district officials and representatives from an architectural firm to plan the future of Leuzinger’s facilities. We are ready to break ground on a brand new state of the art building with 44 classrooms and labs that will be equipped with the best educational technology available. This building will be open in 2011.

 

• Our custodians have been working extremely hard to keep our campus clean, and have partnered with local community agencies and organizations to make our school beautiful.

 

• In the hallways of our main building, displays honoring our seniors who have been accepted to four-year colleges and universities are being put up to recognize their accomplishments and to help us build a “college going culture.”

 

• A student was accepted to Harvard University on a full-ride scholarship! This is the first student from our school who has been accepted to such a prestigious university in many years – we hope that this is just the beginning.

 

• Our small learning communities, the Environmental Careers Academy and Multimedia Careers Academy, are flourishing and attracting many new students to want to be a part of our school community.

 

     As you can hopefully tell, this is a great time to be an Olympian! Please feel free to contact me or any other member of the staff if you have any questions, comments, or concerns. We are here to help you!

Finally – you are welcome to follow us on Twitter and receive frequent updates about what is happening at Leuzinger High School – http://twitter.com/leuzinger_hs. This is a great way to keep in touch with our school.

 

Yours in Education,

 

-Ryan D. Smith, Ed.D.

 

Principal, Leuzinger High School