The Gateway to Extraordinary Possibilities
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Get to Know your School Board Members
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Sarah Kirby-Gonzalez was first elected to the WUSD School Board in a special election in March 2013. She was elected again in November 2014 to a full, four-year-term. Sarah has served on the UP4WS Preschool Commission, the City/School District 2x2 Committee, and currently serves on the WUSD Curriculum Council.
She is a National Board Certified Teacher, 2011 Folsom Cordova Unified School District Teacher of the Year, and Area 3 Writing Project Teacher Consultant. Sarah has devoted a significant part of her career outside her own classroom – improving the quality of education by training and mentoring teachers and modeling best practices. She serves on the College of Education Advisory Board for Sacramento State University. Sarah currently teaches fifth grade in Rancho Cordova.
Sarah served as president of the School Board from 2016-2017. Since becoming a district trustee, she has helped lead the hiring of Superintendent Linda Luna and supported the expansion of visual and performing arts programs, social-emotional supports for students, school gardens, and preparing students for the world beyond WUSD by expanding high school pathways, options, and supports. She was a champion of voter-approved Measure V and has helped assure that the bond directly improves the learning environment for West Sacramento students. She also helped establish the annual District Appreciation Celebration that honors outstanding teachers and district staff every spring during a River Cats game at Raley Field.
Passionate about education, Sarah ran for school board because she feels teachers – who are immersed in our children’s education every day – should have a voice in policy-making. Her focus continues to be to improve neighborhood schools that parents, students, teachers and the community can be proud of.
Sarah earned her bachelor’s degree, with an emphasis in child development, from Sacramento State University in 2003. She then went on to earn her teaching credential in 2004 and a Master’s Degree in Curriculum and Instruction in 2008.
Sarah and her husband have been residents of West Sacramento since 2007, raising two young children – a preschooler and a second grader in WUSD. Outside of her role on the WUSD Board, Sarah serves as a Board Member on Bridgeway Play, a group of parents focused on improving the play opportunities for West Sacramento kids. She was an assistant coach in West Sacramento's recreational U8 girls soccer league and is currently a Girl Scouts Co-Troop Leader. Sarah can be reached on her email at
[email protected].
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WUSD Family Night
- This year’s Washington Unified School District (WUSD) Family Night at the River Cats game was held on Friday, May 25th featuring a National Anthem performance by more 170 intermediate band students from all our K-8 schools and on-field recognition for our employee of the year honorees!
Ticket sales hit all-time high with more than 600 students, families, employees, and friends coming together at the end of the school year for a fun-filled district-wide event showcasing pride in our schools and community.
Read more about each of our employees of the year and let's give a big round of applause to all our stellar WUSD employees who were nominated this year!
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As the school year comes to a close, we are hoping to gather valuable parent and community input regarding our district-wide TK-8 School Uniform Policy. You input on the topic will assist us in assessing the effectiveness of our current standards and provide us with the insight we need to better serve our families in the future.
For more detailed information regarding our current school uniform expectations please visit our
website and review our current
board policy.
Please take a few moments to participate in the
short survey.
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Kinders Go To College - Washington Unified kindergarteners participated in “Kinders Go To College” from 9 a.m. to noon Friday, May 18, at Sacramento City College’s
West Sacramento Center.
About 90 young students were treated to a number of college “classes” (10-minute workshops) in fields such as dental assisting and hygiene, nursing, art, public service and robotics. This year’s participating school is
Westmore Oaks Elementary.
Sacramento City College (SCC) is partnering with the Yolo County Office of Education (YCOE), Washington Unified, the City of West Sacramento and PG&E on this unique program. Additionally, PG&E contributed $7,500 toward the event.
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Employee Appreciation Days - May was a month of excitement and anticipation for what lies ahead, but also an opportunity to reflect and celebrate what has led us to this point.
Our schools are at the center of our community. They are filled with teachers, classified staff, support professionals, and administrators who work tirelessly every day to ensure our students are engaged in their education. Our employees are truly everyday superheroes—committed to fostering a positive, caring, and inclusive environment where ALL students can grow to be successful.
On Wednesday, May 16, 2018, the Superintendent’s Cabinet Team visited each of our WUSD schools to thank our amazing employees and drop off assorted goodies as a token of our appreciation.
We would like to encourage our entire WUSD community continue the celebration and share your gratitude with these individuals wishing them a great summer recess!
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Seniors Walks 2018 - On Tuesday, May 29th, all elementary schools throughout the WUSD participated in the second year of an exciting new tradition—Senior Walks!
Members of the River City High School Class of 2018 returned to their former elementary schools while wearing their caps and gowns to walk the halls celebrating their achievements—serving as an inspiration the next generation of graduates to continue working hard and to stay focused on their goals. It was a touching moment allowing students, teachers and staff to reminisce and share the joy of graduation. Visit our
Facebook page to view more photos.
Congratulations to the Class of 2018!
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May is officially designated as Water Awareness Month and each spring all students in Yolo County are encouraged to participate in a Student Art Contest illustrating a water awareness theme. The contest helps teachers educate students about the need to use water carefully and its importance in our everyday life.
All 2018 contest winners were acknowledged for their artistic talents with prizes and an award ceremony yesterday, May 22, 2018 during the Yolo County Board of Supervisors' meeting.
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Capitol Graduation Event - On Wednesday, May 16th, students representation the WUSD were celebrated at the 2018 Annual Capitol Graduation Event honoring graduating seniors and promoting middle school students from Senate District 6 for their efforts and achievements throughout the school year.
The event is hosted by the Office of Senator Dr. Richard Pan in conjunction with Assemblymembers Kevin McCarty, Ken Cooley, and Jim Cooper. School leaders were tasked with nominating one student they consider to be the “most outstanding” and one student they consider to be the “most-improved.”
By honoring two students from each school, the goal of the event is to reflect a diverse range of extraordinary achievements including but not limited to: art, music, community service, student government, academics and/or sports.
Congratulations to all our students and schools for all your hard work!
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PIQE 2018 - Please join us in extended a major congratulations to a special group of parent graduates from Westmore Oaks Elementary who complete this year’s nine week PIQE parent engagement workshop!
Parent Institute for Quality Education (PIQE) programs are designed to educate, empower , and transform parents to actively engage in their children’s education and strengthen parent-school collaboration in order to improve the academic success of students.
Our school district has a long standing partnership with PIQE and began the 2018 series of workshops in early spring. We are so proud of this remarkably supportive group of parents and look forward to working closely with them in the future. Congratulations!
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LCAP Parent Survey - Each year school districts throughout California are required to gather Parent / Community feedback regarding our Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP).
The questions in the attached
LCAP Survey are specifically designed to address the Washington Unified School District LCAP while following the guidelines outlined in our state priorities.
We are asking that parents and/or guardians please take a moment to share your feedback with us so that we can better support the success of all our students. Please shares with friends and families that have students in the WUSD! Thank you for your time!
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Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) - In 2015, California adopted a state EITC to accompany the federal EITC. These are cash back tax refunds that you, or someone you know, may be eligible to receive. If you worked last year, received a 1099 Form or W-2, and made $22,300 or less, you may eligible to receive the Cal EITC.
Both credits are available this tax season and may provide you with a refund or reduce the amount of money you might owe. Californians that qualify for the Cal EITC will likely also qualify for the federal EITC. This will significantly boost household income for eligible families and individuals.
Please review the attached
fact sheet or visit
CalEITC4Me.org to check your eligibility and use the refund calculator to estimate your potential refund.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to our WUSD
Food Services Department (916) 375-7604 ext.1061.
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The mission of the Washington Unified School District,
THE GATEWAY TO EXTRAORDINARY POSSIBILITIES
, is to challenge and support each student to develop effective critical thinking, problem solving, and communication skills as a life-long learner acting in an ethical manner to serve a broader community through a community of learners characterized by:
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- Engaging learning experiences in safe, positive environments;
- Highly-qualified, reflective and adaptive educators;
- A culture of innovation responsive to student needs and aspirations;
- A community promoting family involvement, strong partnerships, and school pride.
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