Welcome Letter

August 1, 2022

Welcome to the 2022-2023 school year! As we begin this year, we do so with a new plan of action in
the form of LAUSD’s 2022-26 Strategic Plan. You may have heard that the Los Angeles Unified Board
of Education adopted the plan earlier this summer, which is designed to build on the important work
the District has been leading in bold and innovative ways. The Strategic Plan will enable us to be even
more responsive to the needs of our students and school community.

 

We have been extremely thoughtful in our approach, carefully considering the most impactful ways to
improve student achievement and close opportunity gaps. We must now focus our efforts on ways to
set students on a path of joy and success backed by research, data and community engagement.
You can view and download the full plan at achieve.lausd.net/strategicplan.

 

In this new school year, we will carry on with our school-wide, established innovative programs:
Write…From the Beginning, Engineering is Elementary, Lego Robotics & MindUP. You can expect to
learn more about how these programs are being implemented in your child’s grade level at Back to
School Night. With the support of our teaching staff, Carpenter’s Governance Council, Parents for
Carpenter (PFC), PTA and the hard work of our amazing parents and guardians, we all can look
forward to the following exciting additions:

• New interactive digital boards (Promethean) in every classroom including enrichment classes
• A continued commitment between Carpenter’s administration and our Diversity, Equity,
• Inclusion & Justice Committee to explicitly fight racism in all aspects of school life at Carpenter
• Full implementation of the science textbook (FOSS)
• Full-time librarian (seventh consecutive year)
• Additional fourth grade classroom teacher funded by Carpenter’s Governance Council (twelfth
• consecutive year)
• Full implementation of the Engineering is Elementary program in grades K-5
• A second outdoor, filtered water fountain with a bottle-refilling station (6 total on campus)
• Expansion of the VEX IQ Competition Team, an after school robotics program for grades 4-5
• The continuation of our highly popular 180∘Place - a safe, supervised playground area for
• students with injuries and/or students in need of assistance with interpersonal relationships
• Full implementation of LAUSD’s Restorative Justice practices to promote and strengthen positive school culture

• Caster Teoh – After a long search that began last fall, I am very happy to announce we have found our new music teacher. Mr. Caster Teoh will serve as our school’s music teacher for all TK-5 students. Mr. Teoh (pronounced “toe”) has an extensive educational background in music that includes a Concert Certificate (Trumpet) from Trinity College of Music in London, a Bachelor of Music (Trumpet Performance) from the University of Iowa, a Master of Music from USC, and a Doctor of Musical Arts from USC. Mr. Toeh is actively involved in music education in Los Angeles. He currently serves as a conductor for the Youth Orchestra of Los Angeles at LA Phil, and he is a brass coach for the Los Angeles Youth Orchestra. Mr. Teoh is very eager to assist our school in integrating music across all curriculums. He also looks forward to creating engagement opportunities for our students to connect to music.

 

• Dylane Painter –I am also delighted to announce that our school’s hiring committee has selected Ms. Dylane Painter to serve as our lead science teacher for all TK-5 students. Ms. Painter has an Associates degree in Chemistry as well as a Bachelor of Science in Biology from the University of Oklahoma. Her experience includes teaching a general education, self-contained third-grade classroom. Most recently, she served as the lead science teacher for a private school in Los Angeles where she taught Biology, Physical Science, and Environmental Sciences. In that position, Ms. Painter planned and conducted interactive labs for students. She also helped her students develop their questioning skills and how to construct explanations. All of these experiences will benefit her (and our students) as she begins her new position at Carpenter.

There are some changes to LAUSD’s COVID protocols this school year. Instead of requiring every
student and employee to test weekly with a PCR test, only those who are experiencing COVID-19
symptoms, or who have been in close contact with a person who has tested positive, will be required
to test. All testing will now be conducted with take-home rapid antigen tests, which are available for
students and employees in our main office. Carpenter, like all LAUSD school campuses, will not be
requiring a Daily Pass for the daily health screening questions in order for students to enter the
campus.  The Daily Pass Portal will now be used to monitor rapid antigen test results and to notify you
and your child if they are a close contact of someone who has tested positive.

 

As your principal, I am proud to be implementing the commitments outlined in LAUSD’s Strategic Plan
along with our school’s established initiatives together with our families. We have an amazing team of
educators, school leaders, staff, and volunteers ready to bring this plan to life in our classrooms. I am
confident that with the partnership of our community, we can guarantee that our students will thrive
while at Carpenter, go on to graduate high school, and be, “…ready for the world.”

 

Joseph P. Martinez