Welcome to Columbus Elementary School where our mission is to “create an inclusive, collaborative leadership school community. All students and staff will feel safe and encouraged to be curious and creative critical thinkers who are motivated to “Soar Like an Eagle.” Students will become lifelong learners and leaders using the Leader In Me framework. We dedicate ourselves to teaching the whole child the academic and social-emotional skills necessary to build confident, kind, and resilient citizens of tomorrow. Success will be measured by our academic and social-emotional progress using internal and external benchmarks and surveys.”

Our theme this year is “Columbus Shows Up.” We are building a community where every student feels they matter. We are helping them to understand that school isn’t simply a place they go, it’s a place they belong. We are building a fresh vision and belief that when they show up it makes our school a better place. Showing up every day, in every way is what makes Columbus a great community and a great school!

At Columbus, we have many special programs starting with our preschool classes and ending with our 5th grade classes. We have Transitional Kindergarten in addition to three Specialized Academic Instruction – self-contained classes for primary-aged students in transitional-k through fifth grade with students ranging from moderate to severe in their academic, social, or behavioral exceptional needs. Because of our concentration, we are able to provide general education teachers with the necessary support to mainstream and include many of these students in the general education program with great success.  

Our Staff focuses on positive, caring, effective approaches to building self-esteem by teaching children respect for themselves and others by continuing our implementation of Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) where we teach, model, and practice how to “Be Safe, Be Kind, Be Responsible, and Be Respectful” in every area of our school. We have a schoolwide matrix that shows our expected behaviors in each area of the campus, in addition to the classroom matrices created by the teachers for their own classrooms.  

Educating our children for their futures takes a commitment from all of us.  I enjoy having parents and guardians active in school activities by volunteering in the classroom or at various school events, joining me in our Coffee with the Principal gatherings or being a member of our School Site Council, attending parent conferences, or serving as our DELAC representative.  There are so many ways to be involved and I’d love to have you join us!

At Columbus we have collectively embraced the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) and see the value in challenging all of our students, both in general education as well as our students with exceptional needs, to meet these rigorous demands. We know that by doing so, our students will complete elementary school with a stronger foundation for what higher education, as well as the demands of life, require for success while embracing differences and supporting each other in the process. This said, our focus this year is to provide engaging and differentiated instruction to all students in mathematics incorporating real-life problem-solving scenarios. We will also be focusing on grade-level fluency in math facts and in reading.  I’m excited to see the growth in all of our students as a result of taking on this challenge.

We are committed to the success of all of our students and are determined to provide our best to students each and every day.

Please contact our front office at (818) 242-7722 if you have any questions, would like additional information, or would like to schedule a meeting with me. Also, follow us on our Instagram page @columbuseaglesgusd for all the updates.

Sincerely,

Principal Jill Firstman