Simi Valley students embark on ‘upgraded’ educational journey

School district ready to educate, protect children



WELCOME BACK—Above, Knolls Elementary Principal Shanda Weaver hugs fourth-grader Audrina Gonzalez, 9, on Simi Valley’sfirst day of school Aug. 15. At right, students in Tina Iafelice’sfifth-grade class enjoy new desks and chairs that were part of a school upgrade over the summer at Knolls Elementary. Photos by MICHAEL COONS/Acorn Newspapers

WELCOME BACK—Above, Knolls Elementary Principal Shanda Weaver hugs fourth-grader Audrina Gonzalez, 9, on Simi Valley’sfirst day of school Aug. 15. At right, students in Tina Iafelice’sfifth-grade class enjoy new desks and chairs that were part of a school upgrade over the summer at Knolls Elementary. Photos by MICHAEL COONS/Acorn Newspapers

Summer vacation ended Wednesday for 16,500 students in Simi Valley Unified School District, while a new year of “firsts” began, including campus safety upgrades and redesigned classrooms.

Knolls Elementary School, for one, has been newly configured, and Principal Shanda Weaver welcomed students back with hugs and high-fives.

“Good to see you!” Weaver said as first-grader Kameron Gonzalez walked up to the front gate with his parents. “You said you were going to be here before school started and you did it. I’m so proud of you!”

“I used to be late all the time, but not today,” the 6-year-old said, smiling proudly.

Knolls Elementary switched last year to a project-based learning model: The campus’ 300 or so students work on projects that challenge them to solve real-world problems or answer complex questions.

And Knolls is one of four SVUSD schools that received new classroom furniture over the summer.

Walls inside classrooms have been painted bright white and are now clutter-free. They await the installation of interactive white boards, which will take place within weeks, according to officials. Tables can be pulled apart and rearranged so that kids can study alone or in groups, and old-fashioned cupboards have been replaced with modern plastic stow boxes.

 

“They’re incredible,” SVUSD Superintendent Jason Peplinski said of the new classroom configurations. “Over the next eight years all the schools will be done.”

Modernized classrooms are being funded by Measure X, the $239-million bond voters approved in November 2016. Among the major projects the money will finance are new performance arts centers at Royal and Simi high schools, which should be completed by next June, the superintendent said.

Over the summer the bond money paid for dozens of campus improvements and repairs, including new or upgraded heating and air-conditioning, new roofing, new asphalt for parking lots and new fencing.

SCHOOLYARD FRIENDS— Kids play handball before the start of the first day of school at Knolls Elementary Aug. 15 in Simi Valley. MICHAEL COONS/Acorn Newspapers

SCHOOLYARD FRIENDS— Kids play handball before the start of the first day of school at Knolls Elementary Aug. 15 in Simi Valley. MICHAEL COONS/Acorn Newspapers

Mountain View Elementary got a redesigned library; Justin Early Learners Center got a new shade structure; Township Elementary received courtyard improvements; and several schools received new marquees.

Most projects are complete, but parents should be aware that work is still wrapping up at some sites, school officials said.

Santa Susana Elementary is close to having its parking lot expansion completed. Sinaloa Middle School and Royal High School will soon have shade structures completed on their campuses.

The bond money also is paying for new fences around schools and new security cameras and radios, which will be rolled out in stages at groups of schools beginning Aug. 30, officials said.

Fencing has been or is being installed at Atherwood, Crestview, Garden Grove, Katherine, White Oak and Wood Ranch elementary schools.

The camera system will allow police to “patch into” the video feed to their patrol cars—a unique feature that can give law enforcement a real-time view onto a campus in the event of an emergency, Peplinski said earlier this week.

“Before police actually get to a school, they will be able to look on their screens in their patrol cars to see where the incident is occurring, where there are students, where there are not,” he said.

The special radios, meant to be employed by staff members, can instantly pinpoint a user’s location in an emergency and enable help to arrive quickly where it’s needed.

The new cameras and radios will be phased in gradually over the school year.

Also this year, three Simi Valley Police Department officers— up from two last year—will be assigned to patrol campuses as school resource officers

In addition, in June SVUSD officials joined with officials from Moorpark College’s police department, Simi Valley police and county sheriff’s officials to create a task force to look at ways to make schools safer, Peplinski told the Acorn.

The task force has met twice thus far to share information on the kinds of emergency-response training school officials provide to students. Meanwhile, police have recommended ways to improve safety policies and procedures, the superintendent said.

“We wanted to make sure, first of all, that we were saying the same things to kids,” Peplinski said. “The other thing we talked about is sharing resources when we have a need.”

What SVUSD schools will not be getting now—or anytime in the near future—are metal detectors or armed security guards, he said. “We’ve looked into that—they’re not effective,” Peplinski said of metal detectors.

Unlike campuses in the Midwest and the East, where high schools typically have a single entrance at a main building, local high schools have multiple entrances.

“For example, at Simi High there are six set entrances into that school. We cannot funnel 2,200 students through the front main gate of that high school. Logistically, it’s just not possible. And it’s unsafe,” the superintendent said.

Police are concerned that large groups of kids waiting in line in front of school to pass through a metal detector could be seen as a potential target to a deranged person, Peplinski said.

In an era in which school shootings have ignited emotional debates about how far schools should to go to keep students safe, local officials are working to find a balance between protecting kids and maintaining a welcoming atmosphere on campuses, he said.

“We must do what we can with the resources we have, and our board is constantly looking at and reviewing our processes and procedures,” Peplinski said. “But we also know that we are not going to be able to turn our schools into armed fortresses that nobody can get into.”

While school officials try to let parents know what safety precautions and procedures the district takes, “we don’t want to tell people too much, for obvious reasons,” he said.

“It’s a very delicate balance between making sure people are informed but also making sure we are doing the best to protect our employees and our students.”