This week, we’re showing our #CPSDPride with a #SuperSchoolShoutOut to Lakeview Hope Academy!
Lakeview is one of the district’s largest elementary schools. Located next to St. Clare Hospital, the school serves a diverse student population where the students, staff and administration pride themselves on their inclusive community.
This year, Principal Kylie Danielson is exceptionally proud of the way her special education and general education teams have worked closely together to create more opportunities for inclusion with students in functional academics classes. “Our teachers are doing a great job of bringing special education students into the general education classes more often and including them in activities at recess,” Principal Danielson said. “I’m very proud of our team for continuously working on that this year.”
Lakeview also has many students who are multilanguage learners (MLL). Most of these students speak Spanish and many members of Lakeview’s staff speak a second language as well, which makes Lakeview a great school to attend for students and families who do not share English as their first language.
“It’s such an asset for kids to be able to speak multiple languages, and I think it’s a cool feature of our school that we have a lot of students who do speak other languages and can help new MLL students when they arrive here,” Principal Danielson said. “So many of our kids speak Spanish and do a great job of including new students right away because they were in their shoes a year ago, two years ago or a month ago.”
The best part of the Lakeview community is the students and families who make being a Leopard feel rewarding for teachers, staff and administrators. “We have great kids and families who are nice and honest,” Principal Danielson said. “It’s my favorite thing about being here at Lakeview.”
To continue our Lakeview shoutout we're honoring multilingual learner (MLL) paraeducator Brenda Piña Basail and first grader Joy Mwangi!
Brenda joined CPSD as an interpreter to help Spanish-speaking families communicate. “I helped with things like IEPs, conferences and Child Find,” she said. “I became a para because I liked helping families understand these important parts of their student’s education.”
Brenda works with MLL students who are new to Lakeview and often to the country. She helps them learn the basics of English so that they can enter their classroom ready to learn. “I identify with these students because I was an MLL kid,” she said. “I know their struggles and feel what they’re feeling not knowing the language.”
Before becoming a para, Brenda was a stay-at-home mom. She's proud of herself for trying something new and building her confidence in her role. “Thanks to my husband and daughter’s support I’ve been able to pursue this new adventure,” she said. “I feel welcomed with open arms, I learn something new every day and my MLL team always supports me as I grow.”
Joy is loving first grade and has made huge strides this year. The teachers, staff and administration at Lakeview all beam with pride when they talk about the light Joy brings to every room. “I love school and my teacher,” she said. “My teacher is the best and very helpful.”
Joy enjoys learning about art, time and the calendar. When she isn’t busy learning at school and playing with her friends at recess, she loves traveling with her family. “I’ve been to Disneyland and Wyoming,” she said. “I love Wild Waves and can’t wait until this summer to go there all the time.”
Joy knows she can achieve anything and wants to be a firefighter or a police officer when she grows up. “I am smart and capable and can’t wait to start second grade to keep learning,” she said.
Go Leopards!