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Cesar Chavez Elementary highlights culture, vocabulary-focused instruction and expanded after-school offerings
Summary
School leaders from Cesar Chavez Elementary detailed initiatives to strengthen vocabulary and language development, positive school culture, family engagement, and expanded after-school clubs including LEGO robotics and coding at the March 13 board meeting.
Cesar Chavez Elementary principal Amel Mercado and assistant principal Andrina Ocho presented the school's recent work and priorities to the Greenfield Union School District board during the March 13 meeting, highlighting language and vocabulary development, positive school culture, family engagement and a range of after-school offerings.
Why it matters: Presenters described school-level strategies intended to support multilingual learners and build teacher collaboration and intervention systems. The presentation illustrates site-level implementation of district priorities including family engagement and extended-learning activities.
Presentation highlights: Mercado said the school's goals center on vocabulary and language strategies across subjects so students better understand texts and classroom tasks; "Our goal for our school year is to really enhance that learning with language and vocabulary, with those strategies in the classroom," Mercado said. School staff described a positive-school-culture program (Kindness Week, spirit and award assemblies), career day and Read Across America author visits. Instructional work includes teacher collaborative professional-learning communities (PLCs), guided data review, an intervention model where students are grouped by need for daily targeted intervention, and professional development drawing on research about teacher efficacy.
After-school and enrichment: The site described a growing after-school program offering soccer, coding club, LEGO robotics and an ELA Academy; parents requested and the school now hosts an LPAC club and sixth-grade tutoring. School leaders said these activities were driven by parent requests and local staff. The presentation included examples of LEGO robotics and a planned LEGO open-house night.
Family engagement and staff recognition: Mercado and Ocho underscored outreach through a parent cafe, PTA-supported events and other family nights, and they recognized staff members including school psychologist Gabby Villagomez and special-education staff for their contributions.
Board response: Trustees and the interim superintendent praised the site presentation, with members noting observed implementation of training at Cesar Chavez and encouraging continued family engagement and community partnerships.
Next steps: The school invited board members to the LEGO open house and to other family events, and staff indicated ongoing efforts to sustain teacher collaboration, intervention work and family engagement activities.
