Dear VCS Community,
The time between spring break and the end of the year always goes fast, but this year time is compressed even more because of the late spring break. As culminations are around the corner, we are savoring all of our last moments with our 5th and 8th graders before they take their next steps. As always, time with them feels bittersweet.
TK / Kindergarten students visited Travel Town last week.
Please read below for late spring highlights and upcoming events, important information about the SY 25/26 Local Control Accountability Plans (LCAP) for each school, and reminders about important dates to mark for the 2025-2026 school year.
VCS Recent Highlights and Upcoming Events
VCS Staff Appreciation Week: Our staff is what makes us VCS. Our approach to instruction and social-emotional growth would be meaningless without the staff members who understand it, believe in it, and work really hard to bring it to life.
So, a huge thank you to all of our staff, as well as to the VCS families and students who let their appreciation shine these past few weeks! Thank you to the volunteer parents for showering our staff with love and appreciation, with a special thanks to Sandra Arroyo, Tirzah Flores, and Adrian Aviles for organizing events at VCMS and Alicia Avery, Tirzah Flores, Dee Ann Newkirk and Lori Simon Snyder for organizing events at VCES. We appreciate you right back!
Family Volunteerism: Something we wanted to highlight as we near the end of the school year is our gratitude for how our families show up to help our schools so often, in so many different ways.
From forming a dad band (with mom singers!) to volunteering for field trips to decorating the campus for Super Mario Math to facilitating an after-school game club to organizing culminating class gifts, and SO much more, our Valley Charter families support our students and our community every day. Thank you!
VCMS Science Fair: On April 10th our middle school scientists presented their projects at a PACKED science fair. Families, alumni, board members, and staff members came out to acknowledge the hard work of students and the VCMS science team, and provide valuable real-world opportunities for students to present their findings. Great work, VCMS scientists!
VCMS 826LA Writing Lab Field Trip: On May 7th and 13th, small groups of 7th grade students traveled to 826LA to participate in a creative writing workshop!
VCMS Grad Nite: On May 9th, our 8th grade students marked a major milestone
in their middle school journey with a special Grad Nite celebration at Six Flags Magic Mountain! This event was a joyful way to honor the hard work, growth, and resilience our students have shown during their time at VCMS. Eligible students who met academic, behavioral and community service expectations were able to participate, and we are proud of each one of them for upholding those standards and earning this well-deserved experience. It was an evening filled with fun, laughter, and memories that will stay with them long after graduation. Congratulations to our 8th grade class on this exciting chapter—we look forward to celebrating more milestones leading up to culmination!
Special thanks to Mr. Cruze, Ms. Medina, Mr. Ruiz, Ms. Cerda, Mr. Gomez, Ms. Clarke, and Mr. Martinez for chaperoning this incredible experience!
VCES Earth Day Celebrations: On May 1st, VCES students celebrated Earth Day across all grade levels. A few highlights include 5th graders making s’mores with solar ovens, TK taking a nature walk, and 3rd grade learning about the environmental impact of beef.
VCES Jaxx Performance of Beetlejuice: Right before spring break, VCES students put on a wonderful and hilarious production of Beetlejuice! Congratulations to all of the students who participated and thank you to all of the family members who support this work, which is such an important part of our students’ growth and development.
CAASPP testing: Both VCES and VCMS are in the midst of state testing, which includes ELA and math for all 3rd through 8th graders, and the science exam for 5th and 8th graders. While we know this can be a stressful time for students, we have encouraged them to stay focused and use this opportunity to demonstrate their learning. Thank you to all of our families for helping students to eat well, get rest, and show up for the exams with a positive attitude!
Mark Your Calendar for Upcoming Events!
VCES 1st grade restaurant! Ms. Nakano and Ms. Salonga’s classes will be hosting a pop-up restaurant for 1st grade family members and school staff on Friday, May 16th! The entire restaurant (front of house and back of house) will be run by our 1st graders!
VCMS will host the last Student Honoree Award Ceremony of the school year. As we wrap up our 4th quarter, Valley Charter Middle School will host a special community meeting to celebrate and recognize outstanding student achievements on May 19th at each site.
The VCES Laps 4 Learning Jogathon will take place on May 22nd at 8:00am.
VCMS will host a Spring Festival on Friday, May 23rd from 12:45–2:45 pm at our Van Nuys Blvd campus. The event will include fun activities, games, and food. Eligibility is based on GPA, attendance, and behavior. Our 6th graders will walk to the event to allow us to celebrate as a whole school community. Please see school communications for full details.
VCES 5th grade culmination will be held on Tuesday, June 3rd at 3:30. This will be held at the VCES campus in the sanctuary. Please see VCES communications to 5th grade families for more details.
VCMS 8th grade culmination will be held on Wednesday, June 4th at 4:30. This will be held at the 7th/8th grade campus at 6952 Van Nuys Boulevard in the sanctuary. Please see VCMS communications to 8th grade families for more details.
The VCES annual 5th grade vs. staff kickball game will be held on June 4th.
The last day of school is June 5th!
- At VCMS, students will take part in an epic obstacle course competition in the courtyard at our Van Nuys site. In addition to the competition, VCMS will host our end-of-year school dance, giving students a chance to hit the dance floor, and enjoy one final shared memory from SY 24/25 with classmates and friends. Our 6th graders will walk to the event to allow us to celebrate as a whole school community. This event is a VCMS tradition designed to reward students for their hard work and positive contributions all year long.
- At VCES, students will celebrate their year with classroom fun planned by each teacher! Each grade level will also have a special activity with Dr. Adams, such as bubbles, drawing, or kickball practice throughout the week.
Provide Feedback on the SY 25/26 Local Control and Accountability Plan for Each School
At the board meeting on May 15th, 2025 we will be presenting a draft version of the LCAP for each school for public comment. The final version of the LCAP will be presented on June 27th to the BOD for approval. You can review the drafts here and provide feedback in the LCAP feedback survey.
Budget Context for SY 25/26
What is VCS doing in the face of this uncertainty? VCS has taken a number of on-going steps to support fiscal stability and sustainability over the years, including maintaining a strong reserve, investing our reserve in CDs to leverage savings, strategically pacing out one-time funding allocations, and utilizing grant opportunities through LAUSD. We will continue to be judicious with our funds, putting student needs and the maintenance of our instructional program first.
What can VCS families do? The most important way that families can help our budget and sustain our programs is by ensuring that your child attends school every day, when not ill. Every day that a child is absent, not only does the child miss out on important instruction and experiences, but VCS also loses revenue that we use to pay for the program we offer. Our biggest priority is maintaining our wonderful program and staff for all VCS students, so we ask that each family do your part by contributing to high student attendance.
Other things you can do to support a healthy budget at VCS:
- Spread the word about Valley Charter to your friends with school age children! While we have strong application numbers every year, we want to maintain this trend!
- Donate to the Annual Giving Campaigns in the fall and fundraise for the student-led campaigns at each school in the spring!
We Are Still Accepting Applications for the 2025-26 School Year!
We want more families like yours! If you know someone who is still looking for the right elementary or middle school for their child, please encourage them to apply. In particular, we are working on expanding our 6th grade class, so if you know families with students entering 6th grade next year, please pass along this information!
Please help us spread the word by sharing the image below and posting it on your social media accounts. Download it or right-click and select ‘Save Image As’ to save it to your device.
Mark Your Calendars for the 2025-26 School Year!
The first day of school will be Wednesday August 13th, 2025 and this will be a minimum day. VCES’ meet the teachers event will be August 11th and VCMS’ student orientation event will be August 12th. A reminder that the 2025-2026 school calendar for next year is available on our website.
Enjoy the wild ride to the end of the school year!
Carolyn
Valley Charter Schools 