The Horizon
August 2026
Dear Jurupa Unified School District families:
The 2026-27 school year is off to a great start. It's wonderful to see our students engaged in active learning across the district.
The start of a new year is a good time to reflect on our accomplishments and to continue building our future on the solid foundation we have developed over the past five years. As a district and community, we have worked hard to move the needle for students and have realized some incredible achievements:
Nearly two-thirds of JUSD graduates are well-prepared for success after graduation, making JUSD graduates among the most prepared in the state.
We have successfully implemented full-day transitional kindergarten/kindergarten programs districtwide to support early academic success.
Our intentional focus on inclusion is closing achievement gaps for our students with disabilities. State data shows significant progress, highlighted by a 15.7% increase in college and career preparedness and a 5.3-point increase in English Language Arts scores.
We also have seen significant academic growth for our English learners. Using research-based Quality Teaching for English Learners (QTEL) practices, we have been able to ensure all students master grade-level content while learning English. From 2023 to 2025, English learners’ language arts scores grew by 9.7 points, and their math scores jumped 10.2 points. We also saw gains across the board for all students.
We have engaged parents in their students’ learning, with programs like our Parent University and parent advisory committees, such as the African American Parent Advisory Council, District English Learner Advisory Committee, and District Advisory Council.
Parents also have taken an active role in their children’s literacy acquisition by participating in the JUSD Family Reading Challenge. So far, JUSD students have logged more than 750,000 minutes read!
We have seen a dramatic reduction in chronic absenteeism, which is down 13.5 percent since 2022. In fact, we were among only 13 districts statewide to receive the California Department of Education’s Model School Attendance Review Board recognition.
We continue to support the whole child and whole family with programs like our award-winning Community Schools, behavioral health programs, and wellness centers.
We work hard to maintain fiscal solvency without sacrificing services to students, and have certified a positive budget for the past five years.
With support from our community and voters who passed Measure V, we continue to modernize school facilities to provide state-of-the-art, welcoming, and safe campuses for students.
We can be proud of how far we have come and look forward to the possibilities ahead. Like ripples in a pond, the impact of our work will reach far beyond our district for many years to come.
Sincerely,
Trenton Hansen, PhD
Superintendent
Inaugural Accelerated Medical Assistant Program at Jurupa Adult School
Twenty-eight Patriot and Rubidoux High School graduates returned to class a week after graduation, dressed in scrubs, and ready to join the healthcare field as part of the first cohort in the accelerated Medical Assistant Program at the Jurupa Adult School.
“I’ve always wanted to be in the medical field,” said Mia Sanchez, a medical assistant graduate. “Just being able to be a (medical assistant) at 17, that’s just a great opportunity. Being able to take it before I leave for college, it just really benefits me.”
The eight-week summer bootcamp is the first partnership between the Jurupa Adult School and JUSD’s Career Technical Education (CTE) program. This inaugural program is an extension of the medical Career Technical Education (CTE) pathways already in place at JUSD comprehensive high schools.
“(We) wanted to support students directly out of high school and provide a learning environment (where) they can use that fresh knowledge and help prepare them for their career,” Jenna Saugstad, Education Services Coordinator, said.
Claritza Heredia, a medical assistant graduate, will attend the University of California, Riverside, to major in neuroscience in the fall, confident in herself and her medical knowledge. Claritza and another student were hired by the clinics where they completed their externship.
“The reason why I decided to join this program is because I wanted to get hands-on experience in how to work in a healthcare clinic, especially because of my ultimate goal of becoming a doctor,” Claritza said.
Our district recently installed Perry Weather monitoring devices at our high schools to inform us about a wide variety of weather conditions in our community. When conditions necessitate canceling outdoor activities, families will receive a notification.
Notifications will be made for excessive heat that requires an inclement weather schedule. Excessive wind, air quality, or lightning danger are also monitored. Athletics are subject to wet-bulb globe temperature readings, which measure a variety of conditions, such as heat, humidity, and wind speed. Players will be notified if conditions reach levels that require adjustments to practice or game schedules.
It is also important for you to send your child to school prepared for the weather. Students should dress appropriately for weather conditions and drink plenty of water on hot days.
Thank you for your support as we work to maintain safe learning environments for our students.
JUSD had a busy summer as we kept students learning, prepared campuses for fall, and kept district operations running. Here are just a few fun facts about what our dedicated JUSD team accomplished this summer:
☀️1,178 high school students attended summer school and recovered an incredible 8,652 credits, with a 97% course completion rate!
☀️1,010 students participated in our Next Level Summer programs.
☀️300 students participated in Dual Enrollment, earning both high school and college credits.
☀️1,264 students participated in Ready, Set, Go! to prepare for the coming school year,
☀️889 special education students participated in various summer programs, including Next Level Summer, Ready, Set, Go!, and Extended School Year (ESY).
☀️More than 1200 students attended the third annual JUSD P.I.C.O. Back-to-School Resource Fair to receive backpacks, school supplies, haircuts, vaccinations, sports physicals, dental screenings, clothing, and other essentials.
☀️Our Nutrition Services team served 60,000 meals to students in summer programs and another 3,805 lunches at four community sites.
☀️Our Transportation team ensured that 484 special education students arrived safely at and from school.
☀️Our Maintenance and Operations teams completed 1,622 work orders to ensure schools were ready for students.
☀️Our custodians deep-cleaned 1,042 classrooms and common areas.
☀️Our Human Resources team hired 26 new classified team members and 15 new certificated employees, 189 classified substitutes, and 238 substitute teachers.
☀️HR placed 524 classified and 355 certificated staff for our summer programs.
☀️447 volunteers were processed and trained by our HR team.
☀️Our purchasing team processed 1,344 purchase orders and 261 contracts.
☀️The JUSD Print Shop completed 3.7 million impressions.
☀️The IT team completed 4,000 support tickets to ensure devices were ready to go for the upcoming school year.
☀️The Planning and Development team facilitated multiple upgrades and construction projects.
☀️JUSD was even at the movies this summer, where 372,544 people viewed enrollment ads produced by the Strategic Communications team.
What a great summer for JUSD!
The school had the opportunity to borrow an Active Floor machine, which provides students with a projector and floor pad loaded with educational lessons.
Teacher Lisa Rodriguez led the upper-grade students' class in teaching lower-grade students to use the Active Floor, buddy up, and learn together.
Watch how JUSD schools incorporate technology, play, creativity, and innovation into the curriculum by following us and the series titled “What Are We Learning in JUSD?”
After-school Programs Available
Did you know? JUSD offers FREE after-school programs through Think Together or Woodcraft Rangers at all district elementary and middle schools.
Think Together is available at all middle and elementary schools EXCEPT Troth St. and West Riverside Elementary.
Programs are available Monday-Friday. Times are:
Elementary – Dismissal to 6 PM
Middle – Dismissal to 6:30 PM
To enroll: Visit www.thinktogether.org/enroll.
Woodcraft Rangers is available at Troth St. and West Riverside.
Programs are available Monday through Friday from dismissal to 6 PM.
Troth St. students can enroll at: https://bit.ly/TSEafterschool.
West Riverside students can enroll at: https://bit.ly/WREafterschool
JUSD Discovery Days October 29 and 30
Students from all JUSD elementary schools are invited to attend Think Together on campus on October 29 and 30.
In addition, each school will have one designated day for a field trip to Knott’s Berry Farm. Families may choose for their student to:
• Attend the Knott’s Berry Farm field trip on their school’s designated day
• Stay on campus and participate in Think Together activities
• Participate in both options
Think Together will be open on campus both days, regardless of the school’s designated field trip day.
Field trip spaces are limited, with priority given to students in grades 1–6. The field trip option also fulfills a JUSD Attendance Recovery program requirement.
Those who would like to participate should complete the interest form at https://bit.ly/JUSDDiscoveryDays.
JUSD Dual Immersion Program
For meeting dates and additional information, please visit our Dual Immersion website at: https://bit.ly/JUSDDIAPP. We hope to see you there!
Summer Interns Shine
Students who participated include:
-Tyler Sandoval, Patriot High School, who worked in the area of Utilities Construction
-Luis Aguayo, Jurupa Valley High School, who interned with the Engineering and Water Resources team
-Joey Venegas, Jurupa Valley High School, who worked in the area of Fleet/Facilities
In addition, JUSD’s own Bob Green, Assistant Principal at JVHS, was honored as JCSD Community Supporter of the Year.
Congratulations, everyone, and thank you to JCSD for providing this amazing opportunity for our students!