Our School
Meet Our Principal
Mr. David Cid
Welcome to Gallatin Elementary School. I am Mr. David Cid and am honored to be the Principal! A top priority for me is to continue to provide parents with on-going communication and feedback. This helps promote parent partnerships that enhance academic programs and the all-around success of our students.
We have a tremendous team of teachers and staff that are committed to ensuring the success of our students. With hard work, dedication, and a collaborative approach between home and school, we believe our students will achieve a high level of learning.
Please reach out if there is anything you need and while I am out and about before and after school, stop by and say hi. A great year is ahead and we watch with anticipation ALL of the students who will be positively impacted. In the Downey Unified District, we believe that “Our Kids Deserve the Best!” and we truly believe that. This is our compass that guides us in all that we do!
Fun Facts:
- Mr. Cid is a sports fanatic and loves basketball, baseball, and football. His office is decorated with his favorite teams.
- He loves to travel all over the world and his favorite vacations are on cruise ships.
- Mr. Cid met Shaquille O’Neil and worked for his charity foundation.
Our Mission
The mission of Gallatin Elementary School is to provide an academically challenging education in a caring and safe environment. Through our partnerships with staff, parents, students, and the community, we are committed to maintaining a positive school climate that maximizes the academic achievement, character development, and physical well-being of all students.
We will accomplish this through our standards-based educational program that emphasizes critical thinking and problem-solving skills. For all students, we are committed to providing equal access to the core curriculum, meet their diverse needs, and develop within all a responsibility for learning and behavior that supports their personal development.
Our Vision
All Gallatin Students acquire 21st-century skills to ensure that they are college and career-ready, globally competitive, and citizens of strong character. Students achieve their maximum potential in an engaging, inspiring, challenging, and innovative environment that fosters a love for learning.
School-Home Compact for Achievement
What is a School-Parent Compact?
A School-Parent Compact for Achievement is an agreement that parents, students, and teachers develop together. It explains how parents and teachers will work together to ensure that all our students reach grade-level standards.
Effective compacts:
- Link to goals of the school improvement plan.
- Focus on student learning skills.
- Describe how teachers will help students develop those skills using high-quality instruction.
- Share strategies parents can use at home.
- Explain how teachers and parents will communicate about student progress.
- Describe opportunities for parents to volunteer, observe, and participate in the classroom.
Jointly Developed
The parents and staff of Gallatin Elementary School developed this School-Parent Compact to establish goals for achievement. Meetings are held each year to review the Compact and make changes based on student needs. Parents are welcome to contribute at any time. If you would like to volunteer, participate, or observe in the classroom, please contact the school.
Building Partnerships
Your support and input are valued and instrumental in helping our students succeed! Opportunities for involvement include:
- Back-to-School/Parent Night
- PTA Meetings
- Parent Workshops
- Open House
- School Site Council Meetings
- Title I and English Learner Advisory Council
- Awards Assemblies
- District Sponsored events
- Family events
District Goal
By June 2027, 90-100% of all students will perform at grade level or higher and upon graduation meet the requirements for entrance into the UC and CSU system.
School Goals
By June 2027, we will continue to increase the number of students reaching proficiency in mathematics and reading.
Our focus in reading will be:
- Develop life-long reading and comprehension strategies, which will increase proficiency in state testing and meet our critical reading focus.
- Encourage and foster students’ interest in reading a variety of fictional literature and nonfiction texts.
- Determine the meaning of, comprehend, and appropriately utilize academic vocabulary in speaking and writing.
Our focus in mathematics will be:
- Integration of technology to enrich day to day learning, intervention and authentic assessment.
- To have students explain their mathematical reasoning that supports their problem solving strategy.
- To provide daily homework in order to review and practice the day’s lesson.
Our focus in Science and Social Studies will be:
- The science and social studies departments will incorporate more written reports with projects and labs in support of the non-fiction targets of the common core standards and the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS).
- Science will assign research-based projects that involve experimentation and investigation.
Positive Behavior Support and the Whole Child
At School
The Gallatin Elementary School staff will work with students and their families to support students’ success in reading and math. Some of our key connections with families will be:
- Communicate regularly with parents regarding current academic programs and be accessible to parents/guardians to discuss questions or concerns.
- Provide materials and information to help parents support the school’s academic program.
Offer Parent Workshops:
- Literacy – Provide parents with strategies and resources on how to read with or listen to their child read and interact with text.
- Math – Provide parents with strategies and resources on how to help their child solve real-world math problems in a variety of ways.
At Home
Gallatin Elementary parents joined staff to develop ideas about how families can support students’ success in reading and math.
- Discuss and review your child’s schoolwork nightly and contact the teacher with questions or concerns. Make appointments as needed, especially after the first progress report.
- Read and use the classroom materials and information to support my child’s learning at home.
- Read with or listen to your child read every day.
- Attend the family literacy workshops and use the strategies learned to improve my child’s literacy skills.
- Involve your child in academic skills problems every day.
- Attend the Family Friday events and use the strategies learned to improve my child’s mathematics skills.
- Ask about homework, reading requirements, and iReady reports.
Gallatin Elementary School Students
Gallatin Elementary School students know the importance of being responsible. A responsible student will come to school every day on time, prepared, and ready to learn. To make connections between learning at home and at school, students will:
- Take home, review, and discuss schoolwork and materials nightly with parents/guardians.
- Ask for help when they have trouble with their schoolwork.
- Participate in classroom discussions and group work.
- Read to/with and discuss the text with an adult every day.
- Use strategies learned in class to solve real-world math problems.
- Update iPad Regularly and come to school with it fully charged.
- Complete 2 or more iReady lessons in both math and reading weekly.
TOGETHER, AS TEACHERS, PARENTS, AND STUDENTS, GALLATIN GRIZZLIES WILL EXEMPLIFY AND MODEL THE SIX PILLARS OF CHARACTER, EVERYWHERE AND ALL THE TIME!
Engagement Policy
Part 1: General Expectations
Gallatin agrees to implement the following requirements:
- The school will jointly develop with parents and distribute to parents the Parent and Family Engagement Policy that the school and parents of participating children agree to uphold.
- The school will notify parents about the School Parent and Family Engagement Policy in an understandable and uniform format and, to the extent practicable, will distribute this policy to parents in English and Spanish.
- The school will revisit the School Parent and Family Engagement Policy yearly to meet the changing needs of parents and the school.
- The school will make the School Parent and Family Engagement Policy available to the local community through a web site link.
- The school will adopt the School-Parent Compact as a component of its Parent and Family Engagement Policy.
- The school will provide accessibility and opportunities for parents with limited English proficiency, parents with disabilities, and parents of migratory students.
The school agrees to be governed by the following definition of parental engagement, and will carry out programs, activities and procedures in accordance with this definition:
Parental engagement means the participation of parents, including those with disabilities and/or with limited English proficiency, in regular and meaningful communication involving student academic learning and other school activities, including ensuring –
- that parents play an integral role in assisting their child’s learning;
- that parents are encouraged to be actively involved in their child’s education; including the School-Parent Compact;
- that parents are full partners in their child’s education and are included, as appropriate, in decision-making and on advisory committees to assist in the education of their child;
- the carrying out of other activities, such as those described in section 1118 of the ESEA.
Part 2: Policy Implementation
Gallatin Elementary will take the following actions to involve parents in the joint development and joint agreement of its Engagement Policy and its schoolwide plan, if applicable, in an organized, ongoing, and timely way under section 1118(b) of the ESEA:
- Title I Parent Team Meetings will be held to create, review, and improve the Engagement Policy and the School-Parent Compact yearly.
- Parents will have the opportunity to discuss and share ways to improve the Title 1 Program.
- Parents will have the opportunity to complete a survey about our Title 1 Program each year.
- Parents will be provided, if they request an appointment for regular meetings.
Gallatin Elementary will take the following actions to distribute to parents of children participating and the local community, the Engagement Policy:
- The hard copy of the school’s Parent and Family Engagement Policy will be available to any parent when requested.
- The Engagement Policy will be posted on our official School web site for the community to view.
Gallatin Elementary will review yearly and update periodically its Engagement Policy to meet the changing needs of parents and the school:
- A team meeting will be held yearly to review and/or update the Engagement Policy. The Fall Information Meeting will review the Williams Uniform Complaint Procedure.
- Fall meeting with survey regarding dates, times, and topics.
Gallatin Elementary will convene an annual meeting to inform parents of the following:
- That their child’s school participates in Title I
- About the requirements of Title I
- Of their rights to be involved in:
- Parent and Family Engagement Policy
- School-Parent Compact
- Williams Uniform Complaint Procedure
- Invitations emailed home in English & Spanish and posted on social media
- Dialer callers in English and Spanish and at convenient times for parents
- Parents are highly encouraged to attend parent functions
- Parents are encouraged to take the LCAP survey yearly, to voice their opinions
Gallatin Elementary will hold a flexible number of meetings at varying times, including child care:
- Invitations will be sent home in English and Spanish, with plenty of notice along with automatic dialer calls.
- Childcare will be provided by trained volunteers.
- Spanish translation will be provided at parent functions.
- Parent surveys will be given to determine parent interest needs.
- The school will provide information about Title I programs to parents of participating children in a timely manner.
- A Fall meeting will be held.
Gallatin Elementary School will provide to parents of students a description and explanation of the curriculum being used, the forms of academic assessment used to measure student progress, and the proficiency levels students are expected to meet:
- Please contact your child’s teacher or counselor if you need assistance with curriculum, grades or any other concerns regarding your child’s academics and progress.
- This will also be discussed at the Title I Informational Meeting.
Gallatin Elementary will provide parents opportunities to formulate suggestions and to participate, as appropriate, in decisions relating to the education of their children:
- Informational meetings
- SSC – School Site Council
- PTA Meetings
- Annual Title I Meeting
- District LCAP Survey
Part 3: Shared Responsibilities for High Student Academic Achievement
Gallatin Elementary will build the school’s and parents’ capacity for strong parental engagement, in order to ensure effective involvement of parents and to support a partnership among the school involved, parents, and the community to improve student academic achievement, through the following activities specifically described below:
- Needs Assessment Survey taken by parents (conducted by Title I)
- Parent input through team meetings (conducted by Title I)
- Parental requests (conducted by Title I)
- Varied / multiple meeting times (conducted by Title I)
- PTA Meetings (conducted by the PTA board members)
- Encouragement to attend “Back To School” night and Open House (conducted by the staff and principal)
- Principal’s newsletter which is distributed in Spanish and English
Gallatin Elementary will incorporate the School-Parent Compact as a component of its Parent and Family Engagement Policy:
- Both policies will be reviewed at the meetings held for Title I parents
- Both policies will be displayed on our school web site
- Both policies will be available in the school office.
Gallatin Elementary will, with the assistance of its district, provide assistance to parents of children served by the school in understanding topics, such as the following:
- the State’s academic content standards,
- the State’s CAASPP proficiency levels,
- the State and local academic assessments including alternate assessments,
- the requirements of Title I,
- how to monitor their child’s progress, and
- how to work with educators.
- Results of the annual Title I review – These various topics will be addressed at the Title 1 Informational Meetings and through Parent Education throughout the year.
Gallatin Elementary will, with the assistance of its district, provide materials to help parents work with their children to improve their children’s academic achievement, through:
- parent brochures / newsletters
- parent education
- parent meetings and school functions
- Gathering parental input on desired parent education trainings
Gallatin Elementary, with the assistance of its district and parents, educates its staff in how to reach out to, communicate with, and work with parents as equal partners:
- Staff Meetings
- Professional Development
- Professional Literature
- ‘Q’ Parent Connect Online System through the DUSD App as well as Canvas.
- ParentSquare
Gallatin Elementary will, to the extent feasible and appropriate, take the following actions to ensure that information related to the school and parent programs, meetings, and other activities, is sent to the parents of participating children in an understandable and uniform format, including alternative formats upon request, and to the extent practicable, in a language the parents can understand:
- All parent invitations and information will be translated in Spanish.
- All parent invitations will be emailed home and posted on social media.
- Auto dialer and email.
Part 4: Adoption
This Parent and Family Engagement Policy has been developed jointly with, and agreed on with, parents of children participating in Title I, as evidenced by Carrie Lopez.
This policy was approved and adopted by Gallatin Elementary’s School Site Council in May of 2026 and will be in effect for the 2026-2027 school year. The school will be available school wide to all parents of students through our website. It will be made available to the local community. Notification to parents of this policy will be in an understandable and uniform format and, to the extent practicable, provide a copy of this policy to parents in a language the parents can understand.
