Principal's Message

Dear Stanford Families,

It is my pleasure to welcome all of you to the 2023-2024 school year! I am Brian Ball, the proud new principal of Stanford Elementary. Outside of school, I am a husband to Jill (my wife of 17 years), and father of two amazing children. I enjoy reading, movies, and sports. My daughter Mia is in 8^th grade this year and participates in basketball, volleyball and theater. My son, Luca, is in 5th grade and loves baseball, basketball, and math. We also have one cat (Pumpkin) and a sweet, rescue dog named Bella that completes our family!

Last year, we were named Us News "Best School" among schools rated across California and the U.S as well as, a Pivotal Practice Award School, based on the unique manner our staff served students' intervention needs in the 2020-21 school year. We will continue our Stanford approach as we enter another school year filled with achieving our academic excellence while supporting the social and emotional needs of all students and staff. Rest assured, we will continue to offer high quality learning to meet the needs of our students and will provide communication, guidance and support every step of the way.

District Focus and Goals

This year we will continue to focus on our District's Strategic Plan: Academic Skills +  Personal Skills = Lifelong Success!   Our academic program is rigorous, engaging, and aligned to the state standards.   Our amazing teachers use research based strategies to develop students’ critical thinking skills, including the meaningful use of technology in instruction, learning how to collaborate, and help students develop scholarly habits and motivation. As a staff, we are committed to 21st Century Learning to best prepare students for a successful future. In these challenging times, it is also a priority at Stanford to support the social-emotional well-being of our students and families. This year, additional resources have been allocated to support students who may still be recovering from the challenges and trauma from the events of the past three years.

CONTINUING PROGRAMS

Our teachers and staff will be continuing to prioritize Character Development, with a focus on a specific Character Trait each month. Some of our other continuing programs include Academic Pentathlon, Student Council, College and Career Mentoring (a program for 6th graders developed by our Superintendent, Dr. Mafi), field trips at every grade level (sponsored by our PTO), educational assemblies and excellent Vocal and Instrumental Music Programs!

As your principal, I look forward to building relationships with our community and communicating through ParentSquare, the school website, and our social media. Our school office team is always here to help, as well. Please make sure that we have your updated and current phone numbers and emails, so you can stay informed on all school information.

Please register and update your Parent Portal account. Through the use of Parent Portal, parents have the ability to be notified of their child’s new teacher (for 24-25 year), update student emergency records, print their child’s report card, and download important documents directly from the portal.  Also, a reminder that we are a Closed Campus to support student safety and campus security.  Please make sure you check in at the office before entering campus.  Thank you for your continued support!

It is my pleasure and honor to work alongside the students, parents and staff of our Stanford school community. Our entire staff is committed to working hand-in-hand with our families in preparing all of our students for lifelong success by focusing on each individual student’s academic and personal success!

Sincerely,
Mr. Brian Ball, Principal

Our School

Welcome Stanford families!

Stanford is a PBIS school that strives to create a positive class climate for our 524 students! To promote a positive campus-wide culture, our highly-trained teachers give out RED (Respect, Everyone cares, Do our best) tickets to students who show good behavior. Every Monday morning, one student per grade level is selected to come to the front office and receive a prize! Our scholars grow motivated to exert phenomenal behavior every day.

Our after-school programs provide students with enriching educational and extra-curricular opportunities:

• Stanford has an AVID Program that serves as an early college preparation course for students. What makes Stanford unique is that it is one of the seven schools in the district to implement the AVID Elementary Program. By the end of the program, scholars will have learned effective note-taking and study skills.
• Our Academic Pentathlon consists of scholars who challenge themselves in subject areas such as English, Math, History and Science. They compete with schools in the district and county, exerting the importance of collaboration and critical thinking one competition at a time!
• 2019 our school opened our Innovation Lab focusing on creating an exciting environment around STEAM. Students can participate in various features including Lego wall, green screen station, 3D printer, robotics, and more! The lab will help kids get engaged in technology and learn skills needed for 21st-century careers.
• We are proud to announce that Stanford received the 2018 California Distinguished School Award and was named to the 2018 California Honor Roll! Stanford was named a California Gold Ribbon School in 2016. We would like to thank our students, teachers and staff for giving it their all every day. Keep up the amazing work!

Our yearly events are a great opportunity for students and parents to enjoy a sense of school community.  Events include: 

• Fall festival
• Winter Breakfast and Holiday Social
• Winter boutique where students and parents come to purchase unique items
• Jog-a-thon
• Kids Run the OC
• Monthly Pastries with the Principal
• Skate Night sponsored by the student council
• Festival of Friendship celebrating Tet
• Hour of Code - teaches students coding
• Kindness Challenge
• Monthly Spirit Assemblies organized and led by Student Council

Our dedicated parents have an outstanding PTA program that helps with assemblies, events, fundraisers, field trips and classroom volunteering. Participants meet monthly to communicate and collaborate on organizing engaging events for all students. Parents can become involved by reaching out to teachers, the office, or other PTA members. 

Please feel free to stop by our office for questions or concerns.