Welcome to Savanna School District!
What an exciting year 2011-12 will be for students and staff in the Savanna School District with our philosophy of “Great Expectations…The Best Is Yet To Come!” When a school district holds great expectations and believes that the best opportunities are yet to unfold, wonderful things can and will happen for students in the coming year. We are so very grateful and fortunate that the Savanna community supported and passed Measure N in November 2008. Because of this funding, we have completed our first comprehensive modernization project at Hansen School and will begin modernization of Cerritos School during the 2011-12 school year. Cerritos School will move to our Interim Campus during the coming school year while their home school undergoes capital improvements. Our other two schools will move to the Interim Campus in subsequent years, one year at a time, as their campuses are modernized. These capital improvements will affect our children's education and our community for generations to come. It is the goal of the Savanna School District to provide the most exemplary educational opportunities for children both now and into the future, demonstrating “The Best Is Yet To Come!”
Our great expectations for student learning can be evidenced in the goals outlined by the Board of Trustees:
- Our focus will consistently be student-centered and forward–looking.
- Our role is to develop academically capable students who will be prepared to be the leaders of tomorrow.
- Learning occurs best in a safe, caring and orderly environment.
- We are a ‘learning community’ with expectations and opportunities for students, parents, and staff to learn and grow.
- We are accountable to our community for setting clear expectations and aligning our resources to meet our goals.
- Commitment from students, home, school, and community is essential to student success.
- We will provide the best, expect the best, and accept nothing less.
It is the goal of the Savanna School District to provide the most exemplary educational opportunities for children both now and into the future.
Our great expectations for student learning can be evidenced in the District’s commitment to a full-day kindergarten program and the implementation of a transitional kindergarten program. We are very excited that kindergartners will once again be provided with this increased instructional time, allowing them to excel in reading, writing, and math as well as having time to enjoy science, social studies, art, music, and physical education lessons. The Transitional Kindergarten program will follow the kindergarten curriculum while adding a developmental focus taught at a pace designed to meet the children's individual social and emotional needs. It is an option for those students who turn age five between July 1, 2011 and February 1, 2012, and whose parents believe their child is not ready socially or academically for an academic kindergarten program.
Another indication of “Great Expectations…The Best Is Yet To Come!” is our continued focus on reading fluency, comprehension, and student engagement. Teachers will continue to utilize frequent assessments in reading and language arts at all grade levels during the 2011-12 school year to ensure that the instructional program is appropriate to students' needs. These assessments will assist teachers in determining whether students are meeting or exceeding standards. Fluency is the ability to read a text accurately and quickly. When fluent readers read silently, they recognize words automatically. They group words quickly to help them gain meaning from what they read. Fluent readers read aloud effortlessly and with expression. Fluency is important because it provides a bridge between word recognition and comprehension. Engaging all students in lessons is essential to ensure student achievement. This commitment to having Great Expectations for our students will indeed result in incredible success!
The difference between a good school district and a GREAT school district is “people”; people like the Savanna School District staff who are committed to do everything they can daily to demonstrate that ‘The Best Is Yet To Come!’; people like our parents who provide the home support for our students so that they can meet our Great Expectations; and people like all those in our community who contribute to our successes in so many ways. Our successes are YOUR successes. The entire Savanna School District staff and Board of Trustees welcomes you to the 2011-12 school year and look forward to fulfilling Great Expectations….. The Best Is Still Yet To Come!
About the District
What a special place Savanna School District is! Encompassing parts of the cities of Anaheim, Buena Park, Cypress and Stanton, Savanna School District is an elementary school district with approximately 2400 students. These students attend one of our four schools: Cerritos, Hansen, Holder and Twila Reid Schools. We also serve about 250 preschoolers in state and privately-run preschools on our campuses.
Our size is one reason that Savanna has a family-like atmosphere among the faculty, support staff, students, parents and the community we serve. While our small size enables us to maintain this small town feel, our location provides students and staff access to a wide variety of resources within the community.