As it does every year, summer turns to fall and the official start of a new school year.  This year will be unlike most though.  With the catastrophic funding situation in California, Saddleback Valley Unified School District, like nearly all public school districts in the state, faces an uphill push to maintain excellence in education. 

Yet, with all of the cuts weÃve been forced to make, SVUSD opens the doors this September to more than 32,000 students with 28 schools that have received State Distinguished School recognition and 12 schools that have received National Blue Ribbon status. Nearly 100% of our teachers are fully-credentialed and hold English learner certifications.   Over 90% of SVUSDÃs graduating seniors plan to go on to higher education. A vast majority of our schools have met or exceeded their state testing targets.   The release of the latest round of statewide testing results show that SVUSD students continue to make gains. Here are some highlights:

English-Language Arts

*        80% of major 2009 CST assessments in this content area show an increase from 2008 CST scores (10% remained the same).

Mathematics

*        55% of major 2009 CST assessments in this content area show an increase from 2008 CST scores (18% remained the same).       

Science

*        57% of major 2009 CST assessments in this content area show an increase from 2008 CST scores (14% remained the same).

History-Social Science

*        100% of major 2009 CST assessments in this content area show an increase    from 2008 CST scores.

In addition, it should also be noted that the start/end times for a few of the schools have changed.  Here is a complete list:

It is recommended that you check with your childÃs school in order to verify specific dates and times unique to that site.  Here is the link to the district page listing all of our schools: http://www.svusd.k12.ca.us/schools.asp

The district will continue to work hard in maintaining excellence during the tough times.  Your support and understanding throughout will go along way in helping to further improve our schools and student learning.