Superintendent Newsletter

February 2023

Elementary School STEM Expos

As you may know, STEM Expos are taking place this month through early April at all elementary schools! Every year, TK through 6th grade students at all of our elementary schools have the opportunity to participate in the annual LASD STEM Expo and display a project of their choice. This is an exciting opportunity for students to stretch an idea for a typical science fair project into a project with a STEM focus.

Students can choose to create projects in the following categories: Reverse Engineering, Invention, Rube Goldberg, Wearable Design/Technology, Robotics or Scientific Inquiry.

This event lends itself to myriad learning experiences within the classroom or at home. Students may work individually or collaboratively with peers or adults. Students then get to showcase their STEM work in a fun and unique venue at their school, with learning opportunities for our families and community.

For more information on the events and how your child may participate, visit the LASD STEM Expo website.

STEM Career Days and Nights at Our Junior High Schools

Earlier this month, our junior high schools hosted STEM Career Days and Nights--events designed to inspire our students to learn more, and potentially pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and math. During the school day, professionals in STEM fields presented information and answered questions about their exciting careers in innovative fields right here in the Silicon Valley.

Egan hosted the STEM Career night, inviting students and families from across the district to hear presentations and a Q&A with key leaders in the STEM world.

Ge Wang, an Associate Professor at Stanford University’s Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics (CCRMA) presented on his research in the artful design of tools, toys, games, musical instruments, programming languages, expressive VR experiences, and interactive AI systems with humans in the loop. A 2016 Guggenheim Fellow, Ge is the author of /Artful Design: Technology in Search of the Sublime/, a photo comic book about how we shape technology -- and how technology shapes us.

Robert Rose shared information about his 20-year career in engineering across aerospace, self-driving cars, robotics, gaming and consumer products, including his senior roles at Google [X], Tesla, and SpaceX. His long-term interest in aviation led him to build Reliable Robotics, an autonomous aircraft company.

Anarupa Ganguly is founder and CEO of Prisms, a VR learning platform that teaches secondary math and science concepts spatially and steeped in real world contexts, before building up to symbolic notation. Her team presented information about how Prisms is transforming math education in the United States by deploying spatial-computing devices across K-12 districts, training teachers to integrate VR into their instructional models, and offering immersive content and collaborative sandboxes.

It was a wonderful evening of learning for all and we thank all of these talented leaders in the STEM field for sharing their experiences and expertise with our community.

Incoming 7th Grade Parent Information Nights

This is the time of year when we begin to prepare our 6th graders to transition to the exciting new world of junior high school! This month, Egan and Blach held their annual incoming 7th Grade Parent Information Nights. Families heard presentations from principals, as well as students, and had the opportunity to ask questions.

The transition to Junior High can be both an exciting and nervous time for students and parents. Junior High provides incredible and new opportunities for academic development, but also important social and emotional growth. This is why we take great care in providing opportunities for both families and students to get to know their new school principal and their new school before school begins in the fall.

Our principals and staff at Blach and Egan are experienced and skilled at creating a safe and nurturing environment where our students can explore their interests through clubs, sports, music, and elective classes.

Registration for the 2023-24 School Year

Registration for the 2023-34 school year is still open. If you, your friends, or your neighbors haven't registered their incoming TK, Kindergartener or new student for our excellent neighborhood schools yet, now is the time! Registration is easy to complete online here.

To learn more about our schools visit our Media Gallery.