Our School
Meet Our Principal
Ms. Caridad Calvo
At John Garcia Jr. Elementary, we believe in educating the whole child in a safe and nurturing environment. Our staff is committed to developing our students as 21st-Century learners by teaching students to collaborate, communicate, think critically, promote creativity, and be citizens of good character.
I am privileged to work with such an amazing staff, and some of the best students and families in Downey! We are a district that believes Our Kids Deserve the BEST! I truly believe the more we work together, the better the educational experience for everyone involved!
Our Mission
At John Garcia Jr. Elementary, we are “educating children for a productive life in the 21st Century.” Imperial Elementary School provides challenging academics with a common core curriculum on a supportive and caring campus. Imperial staff, in partnership with parents and the community, strives to help children reach their full academic potential and develop as a person of good character. We are committed to providing a safe and structured environment to better assist all students in developing responsibility for their own behavior and learning.
Our Vision
All students graduate with a 21st Century education that ensures they are college and career ready, globally competitive, and citizens of strong character.
About Our Name: Honoring Dr. John A. Garcia Jr.
Throughout his 12+ years of leadership, he championed major strides in academic achievement, campus upgrades, and student support—always guided by his belief that “our kids deserve the best.” Renaming the school in his honor is a tribute to his dedication, vision, and heart for the Downey community. Today, the name serves as a daily reminder of the legacy he leaves behind and the bright future he helped create for generations to come.
School & Home Compact for Achievement
What is a School-Home Compact?
A School-Home Compact for Achievement is an agreement that parents, students, and teachers develop together. It explains how parents and teachers will work together to make sure 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 with regard to student progress.
- Describe opportunities for parents to volunteer, observe, and participate in the classroom.
Jointly Developed
The parents and staff of Garcia Elementary School developed this School-Parent Compact for Achievement. Meetings are held on a yearly basis 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
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 or have developed skills to be career ready.
School Goals
By June 2027, we will continue to increase the number of students reaching proficiency in mathematics and reading.
Our focus in language arts will be:
- Develop life-long reading and comprehension strategies, which will meet our critical reading focus and increase proficiency in the iReady Diagnostic.
- Encourage and foster students’ interest in reading using a variety of fictional literature and nonfiction texts.
- Assist students in reaching Tier 1 as measured by the
iReady Diagnostic.
Our focus in mathematics will be to:
- Integrate technology to enrich day to day learning, intervention, and authentic assessment.
- Have students explain their mathematical reasoning that supports their problem solving strategy.
- Assist students in reaching Tier 1 as measured by the
iReady Diagnostic.
Our technology focus will be:
- To provide daily learning opportunities in which students utilize iPads for creation, collaboration, critical thinking, and communication.
- To guide and encourage students to demonstrate their knowledge, learning, and creativity in multiple ways.
At School
The Garcia 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 and/or concerns.
- Provide materials and information to help parents support the school’s academic program.
- Offer Family Workshops:
Parent/Guardian Support – Offer strategies and resources needed to help their children achieve success in all curricular areas.
Family Fun – Offer hands-on learning experiences outside the school
At Home
Garcia Elementary School staff, in collaboration with parents, will develop ideas about how families can support students’ success in reading and math:
- Discuss and review 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 learning at home.
- Read with or listen to my child read every day. Attend the family literacy workshops and use the strategies learned to improve my child’s literacy skills.
- Involve my child in solving real-world math problems every day. Attend family math workshop and use strategies learned to improve my child’s mathematic skills.
Student Responsibilities
Garcia 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 and discuss the text with an adult for 20-30 minutes 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 i-Ready lessons in BOTH math and reading weekly.
- Exemplify and model the Six Pillars of Character, everywhere and all the time.
Engagement Policy
Part 1: General Expectations
Garcia Elementary School agrees to implement the following requirements:
- The school will jointly develop with parents, distribute to parents of Title I children, a School Parental 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 Parental Engagement Policy yearly to meet the changing needs of parents and the school.
- The school will make the School Parental Engagement Policy available to the local community through a web site link.
- The school will adopt the Home-School 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;
- 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
Garcia Elementary School 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 Home-School 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.
Garcia Elementary School 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.
Garcia Elementary School 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.
Garcia Elementary School 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 Home-School Compact
- Williams Uniform Complaint Procedure
- About their school’s participation in Title I
- 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 encouraged to attend parent functions, through various incentives
- Parents are encouraged to take the LCAP survey yearly, to voice their opinions
Garcia Elementary School will hold a flexible number of meetings at varying times:
- Invitations will be sent in English and Spanish, with plenty of notice using multiple methods of contact.
- Childcare may be provided by trained volunteers.
- Spanish translation will be provided at parent functions as needed.
- Parent surveys will be given to determine parent interest needs.
- Garcia Elementary School will provide information about Title I programs to parents of participating children in a timely manner:
- A Fall meeting will be held.
- Written notification will be sent home with all Title I students, explaining the program
Garcia Elementary School will provide to parents of Title I 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:
- A letter will be sent home with all Title I students, explaining the curriculum, assessments being used, and what level is expected of them.
- This will also be discussed at the Informational Meetings.
- Garcia Elementary School will provide parents of Title I students 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 Achievement
Garcia Elementary School will build the school’s and parents’ capacity for strong parental engagement, in order to ensure effective engagement 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)
- School calendar which is available in Spanish and English
Garcia Elementary School will incorporate the Home-School 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
Garcia Elementary School 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.
Garcia Elementary School 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/family education
- parent/family-teacher conferences
- parent/family meetings and school functions
- gathering parental input on desired parent education trainings
Garcia Elementary School will build the school’s and parents’ capacity for strong parental engagement, in order to ensure effective engagement 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)
- School calendar which is available in Spanish and English
Garcia Elementary School will incorporate the Home-School 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
- Garcia Elementary School 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.
Garcia Elementary School 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/family education
- parent/family-teacher conferences
- parent/family meetings and school functions
- gathering parental input on desired parent education trainings
Garcia Elementary School, with the assistance of its district, shall educate its staff, in how to reach out to, communicate with, and work with parents as equal partners through:
- staff meetings
- professional development
- professional literature
Garcia Elementary School will, to the extent feasible and appropriate, will strive 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. Parent/Family invitations
and information will be translated in Spanish and may be distributed in the following ways:
- Parent Square.
- Auto dialer, text, and email.
- School social media
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 Susie Joachim, Categorical Resource Teacher.
This policy was approved and adopted by Garcia Elementary School‘s School Site Council in March, 2025 and will be in effect for the 2025-2026 school year. It will be made available to
Garcia families and 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.
