Dear Mt. Pleasant Community, 

March is National Reading Month, and there are many fun and exciting activities our schools are hosting. Our educators and staff are inspiring our students to develop a love of reading, as this is a crucial component of the advancement of every child’s education opportunity.  

Our district has many resources for reading during school and after school during the ELOP program, including volunteers! We are currently looking for more volunteers so we can bring the Reading Partners Program to more MPESD schools! 

Four of our retired teachers are providing Reading Interventions and we have our own certificated teachers providing extra reading and math support after school at each site.  

I encourage families to continue motivating your students to stay focused while learning and studying. State academic testing will be happening soon. As always, we encourage families to connect with your teacher for updates on your student’s educational progress. I appreciate your support! 

In community spirit, 

Dr. Elida MacArthur 

Superintendent 

Please watch a special message from Dr. MacArthur

Trimester 2 ends on March 10th and the report cards will be sent home the week of March 20th. Our Spring Teacher-Parent Conferences will be held on March 22nd, March 23rd, and March 24th. Please note that students will have early release on these days. The teachers will contact parents if they need to meet with them based on each child’s academic and behavioral needs. 



As a parent you can always request to meet with your teacher. Please contact the school front office to be connected to your child’s teacher before and after school. You can always email your child’s teacher to meet as well. Please give the teacher up to 48 hours to respond to your call or email. 

Reading is essential for a successful educational experience. In March, our schools are celebrating National Reading Month with many activities! The events include: 

• Walking field trips to the Mount Pleasant Neighborhood Library 
• Reading different themed books each week as a school site  
• Principals reading to students 
• Older students reading to younger students 
• Reading student interest books 
• Learning about authors 

Parents can support these efforts by reading their child’s favorite book together and/or visiting the online or local library. 

MPESD has various reading supports during school and during the ELOP program. The Reading Partners Program at MPIJA and volunteers from The Villages Golf and Country Club will be helping dozens of students with reading. We are currently looking for more volunteers so we can bring the Reading Partners Program to more schools. 

During School: 

The most important reading intervention takes place with your child’s classroom teacher during small group instruction during the school day. All of our teachers receive on-going professional development to stay updated on best practices to accelerate reading instruction throughout the year. Teachers are closely monitoring your child’s iReady reading data and for elementary students their Benchmark Digital Oral Reading Records (DORR) . 

The Reading Partners Program at MPIJA provides tutors who will read with the identified students at their reading levels for up to 1 and ½ hour weekly and go over the reading skills and strategies. If you’re interested in being a volunteer, please contact Mrs. Dina Chung at [email protected] or call 408-223-3783. 

As additional support during school, we are also working with retired teachers. We have four retired teachers providing Reading Interventions at our two Title 1 Elementary Schools. The identified students are in groups of 4 or 5 and receive intensive reading intervention with phonics, fluency, comprehension, and writing. 

After School: 

We have our own certificated teachers providing extra reading and math support after school at each site as part of our ELOP Program. 

It is important to know how our students are progressing with their learning. There are different tools we use to assess students’ progress! 

Local:  

• The students are finishing up their local reading and math assessments for Trimester 2
• iReady Second Diagnostic Test for reading and math for grades K - 8 
• Kinder Universal Screening 
• Benchmark DORR for K - 2 
• Core Curriculum Assessments for K-8 

State Level 

In March, TK-8th grade English Learners will take the Summative ELPAC Assessment. ELPAC stands for English Language Proficiency Assessment for California. The students in grades TK-8 with IEPs may take the Alternate ELPAC as determined by the IEP team. The students in TK-2 will be assessed individually. ELPAC and Alt. ELPAC are federally required and may not be waived. 

This year, our students in grades 3-8 will be taking the CAASPP (California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress). It consists of the following:

• Smarter Balanced English-language arts or mathematics (SBAC) - Grades 3-8 
• California Alternate Assessments for English-language arts or mathematics (CAA) - Grades 3-8 in Special Education 
• California Science Test - Grades 5 and 8 

The California Department of Education also requires that the students in grades 5 and 8 complete the Physical Fitness Test (PFT). 

The students will be taking the CAASPP in April and May. Please contact your school principal for the CAASPP schedule. 

You can learn more with the following resources and video:

Starting Smarter 

Parent and Guardian Resources  

California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress 

This special time to rest and enjoy days of vacation will start Friday, April 7 and last until Friday, April 14. Students will be back in the classrooms on Monday, April 17. 

The safety and wellness of our school community is a key priority. MPESD will be distributing free COVID-19 tests for all students to take home before the beginning of Spring Break (Friday, April 7 – April 14, 2023). We kindly ask that all students test for COVID-19 before they return to school on April 17, 2023. This is a critical effort to protect the health of our students, staff and families. Thank you for supporting the well-being of the Mt. Pleasant community! 

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging (DEIB) are core values at MPESD. We are committed to creating an anti-racist, compassionate and inclusive school culture where every individual is treated with dignity in our diverse community. Our DEIB lessons being shared in March are about Women's History Month, Irish-American Heritage Month, Suffrage Movement, International Women's Day, St. Patrick's Day, Ramadan and Cesar Chavez Day. The character trait being recognized is Perseverance. 

For the month of April, the lessons will focus on National Deaf History Month, National Arab American Heritage Month, National Autism Acceptance Month, Passover and Easter. The character trait being recognized is Empathy. 

If there are questions or you are interested in learning more about DEIB, please reach out to your school to further the conversation. Thank you for supporting an inclusive school community!

Supporting our students’ education and the school community in a welcoming and positive environment is so rewarding! Are you or someone you know interested in becoming part of Mt. Pleasant Elementary School District? MPESD is hiring for a variety of roles!   

Our small school district provides a warm and caring environment for students, staff, parents and guardians. Families know each other and are invested in the success of our schools. Our district is deeply committed to making a positive impact in the lives of our students, and leadership is consistently focused on teaching the whole child. 

Growth opportunities are available for everyone. Education opportunities are available to employees who are interested in becoming teachers, and there are opportunities for teachers to study for an additional credential. As employees earn college units, their salaries are increased as they reach specific landmarks. And as employees show their dedication and skill set, they are rewarded by assuming higher positions within and above their classifications. 

MPESD is an opportunity to be part of a community dedicated to making a difference in the lives of students. The district offers employees a generous welfare and benefits package and an excellent state pension plan, and there are many job opportunities available in our school district that do not require a college degree.  

We invite you to learn more on EdJoin or connect with our  Personnel Office at (408) 233-3720. 

Our Board of Trustees will meet April 19 and May 10, 2023.  

The job of the Board of Trustees includes the following:  

• Setting the vision and goals for the district 
• Adopting policies that give the district direction to set priorities and achieve its goals 
• Hiring and evaluating the superintendent 
• Adopting and overseeing the annual budget 
• Managing the collective bargaining process for employees of the district 

To learn more about these sessions, please visit our website.  

Watch our March 8, 2023 Board meeting here.