About Woodcrest Elementary School
Woodcrest Elementary was built in 1978 as a result of a growing student population in the area. When originally constructed, Woodcrest Elementary was an all portable school. One permanent building, which housed the library and multi-purpose room, was later added. In 2002, with the passage of Measure B, plans were drawn up to tear down the buildings at Woodcrest and re-build it using bond money as well as state and district funds. In June of 2003, the portable school, which had stood and served the community for 25 years, was demolished. The one permanent building, the multi-purpose room, remained. It was modernized and now houses a new kitchen for food service, new floors, new lighting, and a permanent stage. A beautiful new library was built adjacent to the administration building. The new Woodcrest facility was constructed on the same site as the previous buildings. The students and staff of Woodcrest temporarily moved to Lake Mathews Elementary. The two staffs, Woodcrest and Lake Mathews, joined together for the year and taught all of the students of the Woodcrest and Lake Mathews attendance areas. Lake Mathews/Woodcrest opened in August 2004 with 935 students. In June of 2004, the staff of Woodcrest moved into their new building. Woodcrest Elementary re-opened September 2, 2004 with an enrollment of 538 students.
The school site has 27 classrooms, 24 for grades one through six and three Kindergarten rooms. Our school colors are red and white and we are proudly the Home of the Colts! Woodcrest is fortunate to have a long history of parental involvement with a traditionally strong PTA. Our PTA supports on-campus assemblies focused on distinct curricular areas addressed in each grade level and off-campus field trips for each grade level which support grade level content standards. The Woodcrest PTA also organizes an annual Halloween Happening carnival, Red Ribbon Week activities, and family nights at school. The PTA gives the school an annual monitory gift to purchase instructional materials and computers or other technology for use in the classrooms.
The campus at Woodcrest is organized in ‘pods’. Each grade level has four connecting rooms with a computer room in the middle. Teachers work collaboratively in Professional Learning Communities. As grade level teams they plan curriculum, write common assessments, analyze student data and provide instructional and remedial support for student success. Additionally, many teachers provide tutoring for the students in their classrooms before the school day starts. In the sixth grade our teachers have “departmentalized” and each teacher provides instruction in a particular curricular area. One teacher teaches language arts, one teaches math and the third teacher provides social studies and science instruction. During a given school day the students rotate through each of their teachers’ classrooms. This arrangement allows the teachers to delve more deeply into a curricular area. It also better prepares the students for middle and high school.To support all students in achieving we have an active Student Success Team which identifies and provides support for students who are not meeting grade level standards and/or who need support with maintaining appropriate behavior in the classroom. The Woodcrest staff has worked together to define our mission and vision for excellence. We are committed to providing an effective learning environment where all students have access to the curriculum and are supported in meeting grade level standards.