Arcadia Unified highlights New Educator Academy as schools reopen

Arcadia Unified trustees opened their Aug. 27 board meeting by praising the district’s New Educator Academy and K Camp as part of a successful start to the 2024–25 school year. Dr. Mendoza presented a recap of K Camp — a three-week program begun around 2017 designed to acclimate kindergarten families and build relationships between students and site teachers — and described the New Educator Academy’s four days of intensive onboarding for 33 new educators.

"I just wanted to say that I'm really excited that school's back in session and also to be with everyone for a 2nd year," said Michelle Fan, the student representative, as she opened the student report. Dr. Mendoza described the district’s intent to hire AUSD teachers for K Camp to foster early relationships and to explore expanding the program to include transitional kindergarten (TK) in a future summer pilot, depending on enrollment and site construction constraints.

The district provided Chromebooks, name badges and a program of sessions during the New Educator Academy. Staff said the program included breakout sessions by grade level, a bus tour to familiarize new staff with district sites and a final "draft day" celebration. A short DCI intern video highlighting the academy was shown to the board; communications staff praised the work of student interns who produced the clip.

District leaders said the New Educator Academy and K Camp help preserve culture and continuity as new teachers are hired. Superintendent Dr. Munoz Dahl and other board members praised the program and thanked staff for coordinating logistics and materials. The board asked staff to monitor enrollment and logistics with a possible TK pilot in 2025–26 if site conditions and enrollment warrant it.