WPUSD eNews
PARENT EDITION | August, 2022
WPUSD eNews: September 2025
Important Upcoming Dates
October 10 - Staff Development Day, Non-School Day
November 10-11 - Non-ADA Day & Veteran's Day, No School
November 24-28 - Thanksgiving Break, No School
Increasing Enrollment: Impact on Facilities
Many of you may have heard discussions—or even attended recent parent information nights—about the proposed changes affecting Lincoln Crossing Elementary and First Street Elementary. I want to provide you with a brief overview of where things currently stand, along with links to additional information and the recordings from our parent information nights so you can stay well informed as this process continues.
Lincoln Crossing Boundary Adjustments
To address growing enrollment and balance student populations, we are considering adjustments to the Lincoln Crossing Elementary attendance boundaries. These changes are aimed at relieving pressure on schools that are nearing or at capacity while aligning enrollment more closely with neighborhood growth. The board is expected to take action on this likely in November.
- Find more information on our website by clicking here
- Click here for the parent information night recording
First Street Elementary Closure Proposal
Due to its close proximity to Glen Edwards Middle School and shifting student population patterns, the district is considering closing First Street Elementary and repurposing the campus as an extension of Glen Edwards. This would help address capacity challenges at the middle school level. Current First Street students would transition to Creekside Oaks and Foskett Ranch, beginning no earlier than the 2027–2028 school year. The board is expected to take action on this likely in November.
These proposals are not considered without detailed and thoughtful planning. They reflect hours of analysis and collaboration with professional partners—demographers, financial planners, and facilities experts—to understand where we are today, where enrollment is headed, and the timelines needed to adapt so we can serve all students who reside within WPUSD boundaries.
As parents and guardians, you play an essential role in your child’s educational journey. By understanding the realities of our increasing enrollment, limited school capacity, and the future needs of WPUSD, you help us build a stronger, more informed community. We encourage you to stay engaged, ask questions, and join us in the conversation as we work together to ensure the best possible learning environments for all students.
Facilities Needs Committee
As part of this process, we're inviting staff, parents and community members to join our Facilities Needs Committee. Applications remain open through September 10. Find more information on that HERE.
Kerry Callahan, Superintendent
WPUSD Board of Trustees
Board Meeting Highlights & Upcoming Meetings
Board Meeting Highlights
- August 19 Highlights
- Superintendent Kerry Callahan swore in two new student board members - Kamilla Muritala, representing Lincoln High School and Johnathan Martinez, representing Phoenix High School.
- The board presented two Certificates of Recognition - one to Mikaela Zimmerman for her commitment to supporting students and another to Unni Jensen, owner of Saladworks, for her commitment to inclusivity and ensuring students with disabilities have employment opportunities in Lincoln.
- Mike Maul introduced Chasity Raybuck Bonilla as the new Director of Personnel. Her first day will be October 1.
- The board heard a presentation form John Gerrard, Horizon Charter Schools Superintendent.
- The board heard a presentation from Emily Ortiz regarding student discipline policies.
- The board held a discussion on an Ethnic Studies elective course and ultimately decided to remove it from both LHS and TBHS.
- The board approved a resolution opposing AB 495.
- September 2 Highlights
- The board recognized two middle school students, Neveah Tarwater from GEMS and Evalina Cantarinha from TBMS were celebrated for being nominated, interviewing , and ultimately being selected to attend the AAUW Tech Trek Summer Camp at UC Davis.
- The board heard a presentation on WPUSD's summer programs and the different enrichment opportunities students receive while on summer break.
- Director of Facilities Mike Adell presented a resolution deeming six portables on the Phoenix High campus for non-educational purposes (i.e. storage space, non-teacher office buildings).
- The board reviewed changes to existing policies and one local policy regarding displaying flags on school campuses. The proposed local policy was removed from future agenda items.
- September 16, 2025 - ATLAS/Phoenix High, Room 104, 6:00pm
Miss a meeting? Click HERE to view them on our YouTube Channel
Board Objectives
ACTION REQUIRED
In This Section
🚨Annual Registration Update NEW!
All students attending WPUSD schools for the 2025-2026 school year must have their registration, emergency contact and health information reviewed and updated. Please ensure all required forms are complete and e-signed before the school year begins. This is required for all students on an annual basis.
The Annual Registration Update is accessible through your PowerSchool Parent Portal.
Information & Instructions
PowerSchool Parent Portal Log In Link
The Annual Registration Update Now Includes:
- Additional Services Survey
- Student/Parents Rights Annual Notification
- Residence Verification Form
- Technology Use and Waiver Agreements
- Student Health Insurance Option
- Photo Release Opt-Out
- Universal Free Meals and Funding Formula Data Collection
- Contact your child’s school office with any questions after they reopen on August 5, 2025.
- If you don’t have a Parent Portal account, you should have received an email or letter with setup instructions.
- Forgot your student’s Access ID/Password?
- Contact your child’s school for assistance.
- For technical support with your Parent Portal account, email HelpDesk@wpusd.org
- If you forgot your username or password, use the 'Forgot Password' link on the log-in screen.
INFORMATION SECTION
In This Section
📖Supporting English Learners NEW!
👨🏻💻Safe Chromebook Use at Home NEW!
📚Curriculum Update NEW!
📲Text Notifications from ParentSquare NEW!
🍎Plateful News NEW!
💙The HUB: WPUSD Family Resource Center NEW!
👷Facilities Projects Update NEW!
🎓Portrait of a Learner
📣We're Hiring NEW!
Supporting English Learners with the ELPAC
For students who are new to our schools and speak a language other than English at home, we use a tool called the English Language Proficiency Assessments for California (ELPAC). This assessment helps us understand each student’s English skills in reading, writing, listening, and speaking.
The information from the ELPAC allows teachers to better support students by focusing on the areas where they need the most growth. Students take the ELPAC in the fall and again in the spring so we can measure their progress over time. Our goal is to see steady growth and, ultimately, to reclassify students as English Proficient.
If you have any questions about the ELPAC or your child’s progress, please reach out to your child’s teacher, their principal, or Julie Hayes in Educational Services.
Supporting Safe Chromebook Use at Home💻
Coming Soon: GoGuardian Parent App – Helping Families Support Safe Internet Use at Home
Last month we informed you of our district’s internet filter system which now offers a free parent app, GoGuardian Parent, available for both iPhone and Android. This app will give parents and guardians the ability to view browsing activity, block specific sites, pause the internet, and set schedules for when the internet can be used—outside of school hours only.
We’re still finalizing setup to ensure only primary parents/guardians have access, which has delayed the rollout slightly. Once that’s resolved, we’ll send a step-by-step guide with instructions on how to download and use the app.
Thank you for your patience—we know many families have asked for more tools to support safe and responsible internet use at home, and this app is designed to do just that.
Curriculum Update
WPUSD is strengthening transparency and family partnership around instructional materials. Beginning in 2025-2026, families will have clear options to review board-adopted curriculum and, when permitted by law, request that a student be excused from specific content.
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Review Materials: All TK–12 board-adopted curricula are available for parent/guardian review by appointment. To request an appointment, complete the Curricula Review Request Form (link on our website).
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Request an Opt-Out: After reviewing materials, families may request that a student be excused from specific content by submitting the Opt-Out Request Form (link on our website). Schools will coordinate with families regarding supervision and appropriate academic work during any excused time.
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Privacy & Timeline: Information shared in requests is kept confidential and applies to the school year in which it is submitted.
For more information and to access the forms, please visit our website. Questions? Contact Reno Penders at rpenders@wpusd.org
Why Am I No Longer Receiving Text Notifications?
If you’ve stopped getting text messages from the district through ParentSquare, it’s likely because at some point a reply of “STOP” was sent to one of our notifications. This automatically tells ParentSquare to opt you out of receiving all future texts. We’ve found this often happens by mistake.
To start receiving text messages again, just text “START” to 66458 from the same phone number you use for ParentSquare. Once you do, you’ll begin receiving district and school text notifications again.
WPUSD and schools use call and text notifications in the event of an emergency. Please be sure your text notifications are turned on.
What's Cooking in Food Service? 🍎
Free Breakfast and Lunch for All Students
Did you know that every student in California can enjoy a no cost breakfast and lunch every school day with no application needed? We encourage all families to have their students join us in the cafeteria! The more students we serve, the more resources we have to reinvest in our program including upgrading food quality, improving kitchen infrastructure, and providing training for our team to create even better meals. Want to support school meals? Encourage your student to eat with us!
Lower Sugar Cereal Options
The USDA recently introduced new nutrition standards to reduce added sugars in school meals. This includes limits for milk, yogurt, and cereals. You may not know this, but the cereals we have always offered have been reduced sugar and whole grain rich and now with the new requirements even more healthy options are available.
Starting the week of September 15, we are excited to add these low sugar, whole grain cereals to our breakfast menus:
- Lucky Charms (Low Sugar Whole Grain)
- Cinnamon Chex (Low Sugar Whole Grain)
- Nature’s Path Organic CoCo Chimps (Low Sugar Whole Grain)
All meet the 6 grams of sugar or less per ounce requirement
We know many students love cereal in the morning, and now we can offer more choices that are both delicious and better for them. And if cereal is not your student’s thing, don’t worry, we serve a variety of other breakfast options daily including scratch made favorites.
September Menu Changes
You will notice some exciting updates this month!
Scratch Made Muffins: Starting the week of September 8 we are moving away from pre made muffin batter and baking our own muffins from scratch. This month’s flavor is Double Chocolate made with whole grain flour from Capay Mills.
Seasonal Menu Switches:
Breakfast menus will switch the week of September 15
Lunch menus will switch the week of September 29
This first seasonal menu change of the new year will bring fall inspired items like:
🍎Parfaits with apple compote
🎃Pumpkin spice cream cheese for bagels
🍞Scratch made apple bread (pictured)
🥞Scratch made pancakes topped with fresh whipped cream (At secondary sites only for now -
primary schools you will see them in a future menu change, promise)
We are excited to bring more scratch made, seasonal flavors to the cafeteria. Yummm!
THE HUB: WPUSD'S FAMILY RESOURCE CENTER💙
New Classes for Families – Starting September
We’re excited to share that beginning this September, The HUB will be offering a series of classes designed to support families and students in important areas of daily life.
📅 First session begins September 18
Topics will include:
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The importance of healthy sleep habits
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Mental health
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Parenting strategies
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Building healthy relationships with social media
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Budgeting and financial wellness
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Nutrition and healthy living
Details:
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Dinner and childcare will be provided at each class
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Sign-ups will be available soon through a Google Form - be on the lookout early next week
More details will be coming soon. In the meantime, if you have any questions, please contact The HUB.
Love and Logic® Parenting Classes – Starting September 30
In partnership with Lighthouse in Lincoln, The HUB is excited to offer a 6-week Love and Logic® course designed to give parents and caregivers practical tools for building positive relationships and navigating everyday challenges with kids.
📅 Course Dates: Weekly, beginning September 30 (6-week series)
📍 Location: The HUB
Love and Logic® is a nationally recognized program that helps parents:
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Set healthy limits without power struggles
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Build respectful and loving parent-child relationships
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Teach responsibility in a positive way
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Reduce stress and bring more fun back into parenting
More information coming soon!
Build Your Career in WPUSD Schools!
Have you always wanted to work for WPUSD but weren't sure where to get started? Let us help you!
The HUB is here to support parents who want to take the next step in their career journey. Whether you’re interested in joining the WPUSD team or finding work with other local employers, we’ll walk alongside you every step of the way!
✅ One-on-one career coaching
✅ Resume & application support
✅ Interview practice
✅ Explore job opportunities close to home — both in WPUSD and with area businesses
💼 Who We’re Looking For
Parents who want to grow their careers through roles such as:
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Paraeducators
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Office/Clerical Staff
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Food Services
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Campus Supervisors
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Bus Drivers
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And more — in WPUSD and beyond!
📅 Get Started Today!
👉 Fill out this quick form
We’ll contact you to set up an appointment and connect you with opportunities that fit your skills and goals.
Save the Date! Flu Shot Clinic 10/2/25
In partnership with Placer County, we are hosting a flu shot clinic at The HUB! See the attached flyer for more information.
The Hub: Your One-Stop Support Center
FACILITIES PROJECTS UPDATE👷
Phoenix High School Addition Project Complete!
District-Wide Solar Project
The Board recently approved a district-wide solar project to help reduce utility costs and support the upcoming addition of electric buses. Several campuses will receive solar carports and EV charging stations, while all schools will benefit from upgraded, energy-efficient lighting.
Solar and EV construction will begin this year and next at:
TBHS
TBMS
TBE
LHS
Foskett Ranch
Transportation Yard
The EV charging stations will be open to the public for a fee, generating additional revenue for the district. More to come on this, but we are excited to get this project going this school year!
HVAC Upgrades at TBMS
Work is moving forward on the HVAC upgrades at TBMS. We recently met with SitelogiQ to finalize how the system controls will work and reviewed the first set of design drawings. Our Maintenance and Operations HVAC team is now reviewing the plans and giving initial feedback. We’ll soon schedule meetings with school administration and staff to go over the project scope and timelines.
PORTRAIT OF A LEARNER 🎓
WE ARE HIRING!📣
Interested in Working for WPUSD?
WPUSD is hiring! Check out our current job openings at https://www.edjoin.org/wpusd. Be sure to share the Edjoin link with those who may be looking for employment!
Some of our current available positions:
- Instructional Aide Substitute
- Instructional Aide - Foskett Ranch
- RSP Teacher *SIGNING BONUS*
- Bus Driver Substitute
- Campus Monitor - Scott Leaman Elementary
- Paraprofessional - Various Sites
- Various Coaching Positions
- Substitute Teacher
- Many More!
Interested in Volunteering?
Volunteering at schools helps build a stronger sense of community and support for students, showing them that their education matters. It also allows families and community members to play an active role in shaping a positive, welcoming school environment. Even small contributions of time can make a big difference.
QUICKLINK CORNER
Here's where you can find quick links to frequently searched items.
Western Placer Unified School District
Website: www.wpusd.org
Location: 600 6th Street, Suite 400, Lincoln, CA, USA
Phone: 916-645-6350
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WPUSD/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/w.p.u.s.d
Twitter: @WPUSD
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