Welcome to the 2017-2018 School Year! I am honored to lead Villa Park Elementary, a community of learners seeking excellence in 21st century learning. We have an incredibly talented staff here at VPE who go above and beyond each day in providing exceptional learning opportunities and supporting each child’s development. As I visit classrooms daily I might see students dressed to immerse themselves in a study of ancient Egyptians, collaborating to create multimedia presentations on ecosystems, practicing a presentation with classmates, or preparing for a musical concert.

Our data shows that our instructional strategies are working. In both state and local assessments we far outscore state and county averages and the percentage of our students reaching and exceeding proficiency targets continues to grow. Villa Park Elementary is already an outstanding school, yet we continuously strive to improve.  For 2017-2018 we are excited to increase our enrichment opportunities for students already meeting grade level standards, expand technology access with BYOD at grade 5 and laptops carts at grades 2 and 3, extend our AVID elementary to grade 4, and deepen our schoolwide STEM initiative.

Villa Park Elementary believes that learning is a team effort, and parent and community involvement is key to our success.  We have a highly active Home and School League and Dad’s Club. Both these parent organizations enrich our school community in a number of ways such as funding schoolwide programs and campus improvements, organizing family fun events, and providing countless volunteer hours to support our students. We are also pleased to have the support of community groups such as The Villa Park Rotary Club and The Villa Park Women’s League who contribute extra funds for teacher projects, STEM, and arts initiatives. The Rotary Club sponsored our librarian this year for a $7,000 makerspace grant to create an exciting hands on learning space for our students.

I welcome your input as we move forward together to nurture our children so that they all may achieve their full potential.  When you see me on campus or in the community, please take a moment to say hello. I am always eager to hear your thoughts, concerns, and suggestions; reach out to me via email [email protected] or phone (714) 997-6281. To stay abreast of what’s happening on campus, visit our website and follow us on Twitter @VPESchool. On behalf of the outstanding Villa Park Elementary staff, I wish you a wonderful school year.

Raeanne Lopez-Little
Principal