Principal's Message

Dear Parents/Caregivers,

On behalf of the staff at Fruitvale Elementary School, I am happy to welcome you to the 2023-2024 school year! We are looking forward to a productive partnership with you to ensure our children achieve their highest potential. We recognize that to be successful in school, our children need support from both the home and school. As partners, we share the responsibility for our children’s success and want you to know that we will do our best to carry out our responsibilities. We ask that you guide and support your child’s learning by ensuring that he/she:

Attends school daily and arrives on time, ready for the day’s learning experiences
Reads daily to develop a love for reading and to improve literacy skills
Shares school experiences with you so that you are aware of his/her school life
Informs you if he/she needs additional support in any area or subject
Knows that you expect him/her to succeed in school so that they are College and/or Career ready when they graduate from high school.

Our students have made a tremendous amount of progress since returning from COVID and we are excited to continue watching them grow this year. If there is anything we can do to help support your child please feel free to reach out. We have a wealth of resources available and are here to assist you. Some important dates to start the year off right are listed below:

8/11/2023- Class Lists will be hung outside of the office at 2 pm. Please be advised that if you have not completed your Data Validation you will be unable to view your student’s class information until it is completed. If you need assistance please contact our office.

8/14/2023- First Day of School. Parents will be allowed to walk their students to class on the first day of school only. We ask that when the bell rings you promptly exit campus.

8/17/2023- Back to School Night. 5:00-6:30 pm

If you would like to become more involved on campus, please consider becoming a volunteer as our students can greatly benefit from your involvement and contributions to the school’s program and its operations. We seek volunteers to help us with the following activities:

Teacher-led instructional support, usually in the classroom
School-wide events
PTA- Parent Teacher Association
SSC- School Site Council
ELAC- English Language Advisory Committee
WATCH DOGS- Dads of Great Students

If you are interested in volunteering please contact Ligia Roscher our parent liaison for a volunteer application and information.

As we start this year I would like to also remind you to be courteous during arrival and dismissal to our neighbors who live close by. With approximately 800 students on our campus, traffic can become extremely congested at times. This is particularly evident at dismissal time.

Many parents, as well as neighbors, have expressed some concern regarding safety and parking issues. The homeowners who live around our school are concerned about the following:

Vehicles speeding through the streets when dropping off and/or picking up their children

Vehicles illegally parked in areas clearly marked “No Parking”

Vehicles parked up to an hour each afternoon in the alleys behind residents’ homes

Vehicles illegally blocking access to and from the garages for elderly residents, many of whom enter their homes through their garages

Vehicles playing loud music that is distracting and doesn’t allow students or parents to hear emergency vehicles

Vehicles illegally parked/blocking neighborhood mailboxes.

Other concerns are vehicles double parking, loading students in the street, jaywalking and illegal U-turns. The students’ safety is our first priority. Everyone should cross at the designated crosswalk with the crossing guard. When people cross in the middle of the intersection it causes traffic to back up.

We know that parking is limited around Fruitvale, but we need to be respectful of our students’ safety and our neighbors. Please be aware of red curbs and “No Parking” areas. If you park in these areas, you may receive a ticket for parking illegally.

As always, we appreciate your support and cooperation. It's going to be a great year!

Sincerely,

Amber Ortiz, Principal

Stephanie Keith, Assistant Principal