Principal's Message

My name is Melanie Carmona, and I am honored to serve as principal of Valencia Park Elementary. We are honored and fortunate to welcome Susan Ha as our returning assistant principal. She has been hired in an official capacity for the 2026-27 school year, replacing Soraya Ramos, who is now the principal of Woodcrest Elementary.

Our theme this year is One Pride, One Purpose. It reflects our shared commitment to ensuring every child learns, grows, and feels a true sense of belonging. While each of us plays a different role, we are united by one purpose: helping every student reach their full potential. When families, staff, and our community work together as one Pride, we create a school where students feel supported, challenged, and inspired to succeed.

To keep our Pride connected, we communicate regularly with families. Our weekly newsletter, The Pride, is sent by email and posted on our school’s Instagram and Facebook accounts. Teachers also share updates through their own weekly newsletters, email, ClassDojo, Google Classroom, Seesaw, and phone calls. In addition, the red folder goes home every Wednesday and should be returned every Thursday—it contains important school and class communications. Please remember to check your child’s homework folder and backpack for other items as well. We also encourage you to join our amazing PTA, which organizes a variety of activities each year. Membership does not require volunteer hours, but it does ensure you are informed and involved.

In addition to keeping students physically safe, we strive to make our school an emotionally safe and positive environment through PBIS (Positive Behavior Intervention and Support) and our Valencia Park Way. Students pledge to be a LION—Lead Responsibly, Interact Respectfully, be Overly Ready, and Navigate Safely. We teach and reinforce these expectations throughout the year, recognizing students with Pride Cards they can use at our Student Store or for prize drawings every other week. We hope to have parents join us in running our Student Store this year, as well!

In teaching and learning, we are continuing IMSE (Institute for Multi-Sensory Education) strategies using Orton Gillingham Comprehensive (grades K-3) and Morphology (grades 4-6) curriculum. This evidence-based approach supports all learners and has produced incredible gains in reading proficiency. Our test scores continue to rise using these methods and we are excited to see our community of learners become stronger readers.

In math, we will continue using number sense routines and CGI (Cognitively Guided Instruction) story problems to help students build a strong foundation in mathematics. These activities encourage students to explain their thinking, solve problems in different ways, and develop confidence with numbers.

Students will work together to solve meaningful math problems, share their thinking, and learn from one another. Our goal is to help every student become a confident problem solver while developing a deeper understanding of mathematical concepts.

To better prepare students for state assessments, we will thoughtfully incorporate assessment-style questions into daily instruction. This approach helps students become familiar with a variety of question formats while continuing to build strong mathematical understanding and problem-solving skills.

In all areas, we will be incorporating research-based approaches that actively engage students in collaborative and cooperative learning.

We can't wait to see what our Lions will achieve this year!

Sincerely,

Melanie Carmona, Principal & Susan Ha, Assistant Principal