teen boy in baseball cap with test tube glowing, teacher standing in background

August 20, 2023

We are continuing to monitor Tropical Storm Hilary as it moves through our region. At this time, all school districts in the county, including Escondido Union School District, will be open tomorrow – Monday, August 21 – with the exception of San Diego Unified School District, which chose to postpone its scheduled first day of school until Tuesday.

EUSD will be operating all schools and programs as usual tomorrow, August 21. If there is any indication of a circumstance that would impact our normal school operations, we will notify you. Thank you for your ongoing support of our students. We wish everyone continued safety through the rest of the weekend.

Here are this week’s updates and reminders.

In EUSD, every student is an Empowered Learner! Our students are curious and self-directed, and they don’t let challenges stop them from pursuing their goals and interests. They take risks and approach learning with a growth mindset.

As you may recall, an Empowered Learner is one of the six whole-learner outcomes that comprise the new EUSD Learner Profile in our Framework for the Future

Even in the first week of school, our students were immersed in Empowered Learner experiences. In Bruce Peterson’s science classroom at Rincon Middle School, 8th-graders actively took part in the lab safety demonstration. In Mayra Mendoza’s dual language immersion classroom at Pioneer Elementary, kindergartners contributed to a discussion on what it means to be a good listener – buen oyente – rather than simply being told a list of classroom rules. At Reidy Creek Elementary, Jonathan Schoon empowered his 3rd-graders to use math and memory skills to get to know one another. And this was just the first day of school! 

teacher standing in front of kindergartners with large display notepad

To kick off the 2023-2024 school year on the previous Friday, we invited several groups of our empowered learners to share their talents and experiences with more than 1,600 EUSD educators and support staff members who gathered for an exciting all-employee kickoff event, “This is EUSD.” These dancers, musicians, and student leaders illustrate the extraordinary impact of being an empowered learner in EUSD! We are pleased to share these student performances, as well as conversations and reflections on our successes and what’s on the horizon in the new school year. The video is now available here on the EUSD YouTube channel.

Work with EUSD: If you are looking for meaningful work in a vibrant, diverse community, then be sure to join us at the next EUSD hiring fair, scheduled for 8:30 a.m. to noon Tuesday, August 22, at the district office, 2310 Aldergrove Avenue. Human Resources team members will guide individuals through the application process, for numerous essential full- and part-time positions across the district. Please review the event details and pre-register on Eventbrite. On-campus and district office positions include licensed vocational nurse; AVID tutor; noontime supervisor; nutrition assistant; paraeducator; orientation assistant fluent in Qʼanjobʼal; school library technician; speech and language pathology assistant; and more. Employees who work more than five hours a day are eligible for enrollment in EUSD benefits and retirement programs. Find all employment opportunities here.

Student registration: If you have not yet completed the required registration of your student returning to EUSD for the 2023-2024 school year, please do so by clicking the following link: Returning Student Registration. The Returning Student Registration takes just minutes to complete online, and will help ensure proper placement of your child, assist staff in determining your child’s eligibility for assistance program benefits, and confirm that necessary emergency contact information is up to date. If you have a child who is new to EUSD, visit our New Student Enrollment webpage for information and click the Enroll Here button. For EUSD State Preschool, visit the Preschool website for information on eligibility and an application. 

Absence notifications: In order to create a more uniform notification process for attendance, families of students in TK through 8th grade will receive automated phone calls at 10:15 a.m. on days when their student is absent from school.

– Luis Rankins-Ibarra, Superintendent of Schools
Escondido Union School District
libarra@eusd.org