Students return to classrooms in Conejo Valley Unified

BEGINNINGS-It's a new world as Jackie Claunch, left, and Shannon Pearson, both 15, renew their friendship on the first day of classes at Thousand Oaks High School. The fall semester started yesterdayYesterday was the first day of school for students in Conejo Valley Unified School District and their emotional highs and lows were paralleled by the yearly fluctuation in registration.

"The number of students enrolled in the area is kind of like a rollercoaster," said Debbie Hanna of Planning and Facilities in CVUSD. "Right now high schools seem to be on top of the rollercoaster while elementary schools are on the downswing. A couple years back, elementary schools had more kids enrolled and now those same kids have entered high school and that's one of the reasons why high school enrollment is so high."

As of Aug. 15 there were 22,406 students registered in CVUSD, a decrease of 629 from the number of students enrolled last October. Most of the decline comes from the elementary schools, which have 9,620 students this year compared to 10,131 last year.

The area's current housing situation may also be contributing to the decline in enrollment, according to Hanna. The school district doesn't have information on whether or not families with children are living in recently sold houses.

A couple of elementary schools in particular have seen a significant drop in enrollment. Glenwood Elementary had 481 students last year but is projected to have only 391 this year. Weathersfield Elementary had 391 students last year and only 348 students this year. Westlake Elementary is down 59 students and Conejo Valley Elementary is down 48.

Another factor in elementary school enrollment decline is that only three-Park Oaks, Madrona, and Banyan elementary schools-still have sixth-graders. The other elementary schools have been converted to kindergarten through fifth grade only.

Among the high schools in CVUSD only Thousand Oaks has seen a decrease in student numbers this year, as enrollment dropped from 2,610 last year to the current 2,531.

Hanna said that all the numbers could go up or down in the next couple of weeks: some students may not realize they have to register; others may be waiting to see if they get into a school in another district before they register with one in the CVUSD.

Key administration changes have been made at several schools. Max Beaman, former principal of Newbury Park High School, has moved to the district office to become director of Secondary Education.

According to Jo-Ann Yoos, assistant superintendent of CVUSD, the position of principal at Newbury Park High has not yet been filled.

Janet Cosaro, who was director of Special Education in the district office, will now be director of Curriculum and Educational Media. DeDe Dryer, a longtime teacher at Redwood Middle School, becomes the school's dean this year.

Several elementary school principals will be taking their expertise to new locations this year. James Baird, former principal at Glenwood Elementary became principal of Weathersfield Elementary.

Sally Calle will replace Baird at Glenwood after being principal at University Elementary, while Jeffrey Rickert takes Calle's place at University after having served as dean at Redwood Middle School.

Judie Tetzlaff takes over as principal at Meadows Elementary after serving as principal at Banyan Elementary, and Martha Tureen will take Tetzlaff's spot at Banyan after working for Fillmore Unified School District.