Principal's Message
Welcome to Orangewood!
Orangewood Elementary School is committed to growing global learners. Together with our families and our community, the staff and students of Orangewood work toward clearly focused educational, personal, and social goals. Parents are strongly encouraged to become involved with our school.
I am proud to be part of the Orangewood community. I firmly believe all of us are on a journey of continual learning and must keep ourselves open to the academic and life lessons that are regularly presented to each of us. I approach each year with refreshed energy and commitment to serve the children, families, and staff of our community.
Orangewood is an authorized IB World School. IB World Schools are schools that share a common philosophy—a commitment to high quality, challenging, international education that Orangewood Elementary believes is important for our students. Our students will be working toward internalizing and exhibiting all of the attributes of the IB Learner Profile—Knowledgeable, Courageous, Inquirer, Balanced, Principled, Reflective, Caring, Communicator, Thinker, and Open-minded. Our students learn through six transdisciplinary units. All students receive Spanish, IB Dance, PE, and Coding.
Orangewood offers Dual Language Immersion in Spanish and Mandarin. Mandarin is a 50/50 model currently in grades kindergarten through second grade, and students are quickly learning the Mandarin language. Our Dual Language Immersion Spanish program educates TK-5th grade in a 90/10 model. Our DLI classes teach the same IB curriculum and focus on the attributes of the Learner Profile. Dual Language Academy is offered each summer, so students do not lose the language.
Typically, to help achieve a balanced and healthy life, our students participate in Physical Education, 100 Mile Club, and dance. We have a Learning Garden on campus where students plant, grow, and sample the food grown.
For the past four years, we have been awarded National Showcase School for Capturing Kids’ Hearts; CKH is the positive behavior program we implement at Orangewood. Each class develops a Social Contract for standards of behavior in their own class. On a daily basis, students are greeted at the door, encouraged to share “Good Things”, motivated to write “Affirmations” to their classmates, and are sent off with a positive launch at the end of the day. We also have Community Essential Agreements for moving in our outdoor and common spaces.
It is evident West Covina Unified School District has a deep love and commitment for the students, staff, and families of this community. Along with all of the valuable programs listed above, the district has a commitment to have every student reading on grade level at 4th grade. They have invested in one-to-one technology for our TK-5th grade students, reading intervention teachers, and an explicit, systematic phonics program to ensure this success.
Our PTA theme this year is I Can Change the World. Orangewood PTA continues to support our students in many ways throughout the year; our executive board and members are very involved. Joining the PTA helps support student activities such as virtual/in person field trips, virtual/in person family nights, virtual/in person assemblies, and much more.
We continue to Inspire, Empower, and Take Action!
Ms. Janet Shirley
Principal of the International Baccalaureate Programme at Orangewood Elementary