La Vista/La Sierra High School

Principal's Message

Ms. Sandi Layana

Hello La Vista and La Sierra Families and Students,
Welcome to the new La Vista/La Sierra High School web site. We are in the start-up phase of building this site so please be patient as we work toward filling in all the information in the various drop downs. When it is complete the site will provide up-to-date information to parents, students and community members on La Vista High School and all the La Sierra High School programs - Independent Study, Unit Make-Up, Opportunity, Home/Hospital, Endeavor, and Adult Transition.

We are very excited about the 2011-2012 school year. La Sierra is going virtual in its unit make-up program using APEX on-line curriculum. Sixty students at a time can participate in this virtual learning experience. Due to the initial success of this program La Sierra is expanding on-line learning on a pilot basis in its traditional Independent Study program, the Adult Transition diploma-bound program, the Home/Hospital program and the ABC Opportunity program. Students in the learning lab at La Vista High School will also get an opportunity to use APEX.

La Vista is currently participating in the Model Continuation High School application process. Our application was accepted with exemplary status. A validation team from the California Department of Education visited our school on November 10. They spent the day visiting classrooms, reviewing student work, and interviewing students, parents, teachers, community partners, classified staff, and District and site administrators. It was a very positive visit and the team reported that they will recommend LVHS for model continuation high school status. We should hear officially if we are going to receive this award in February.

One of our 2011-2012 goals is to improve parent participation at both schools. We hit all-time high attendance numbers at our recent Back-to-School Night and School Site Council meetings. Thank you to all the families who came out on those occasions. Studies show a strong link between student achievement and parent participation so your presence at these events is very powerful. In order to provide even more support to our families we will conduct a parent institute through the Parent Institute for Quality Education (PIQE) starting in February. The primary focus of this institute is educating parents on how to successfully assist their students as they transition from high school to college. Other schools in the District have used the PIQE program with great success and we look forward to providing the institute to La Vista/La Sierra families.

The 2011-2012 school year will be an exciting time for students as they work to catch up on units, to graduate on time, and/or to learn at an individual pace. Everyone at La Vista and La Sierra is dedicated to helping our students achieve these goals and to making this a successful year. Go lions!

Sandi Layana
Principal