Galarza Elementary School

SCHOOL VISION AND MISSION STATEMENT

School Vision
To ensure the actualization of our mission, staff are on a continual pursuit of professional development and growth. Weekly grade-level team meetings, with an emphasis on the cycle of inquiry, focus on individual students and target their specific needs.  The resulting synergy fosters a universal feeling of responsibility for all students.  No longer working in isolation, we have become a cohesive team dedicated to the development of the child within the family, school and global community. 

School Profile
Galarza Elementary was opened as a new school in September, 2001.  It is part of the large, urban San Jose Unified School District.  The district’s educational goal for its large population of English learners is to assure that English learners are provided with specific educational methodologies designed to bring English learners to academic English fluency as quickly as possible.  The district offers a Sheltered English Immersion Program where English learners are placed in English language classrooms taught by trained teachers who incorporate English Language Development strategies to teach students English.  Students are taught all core subjects in English by teachers who use very specific instructional strategies.

Galarza teachers are well-trained to staff the SEI and ALA programs.  All teachers in the ALA program are BCLAD certified.  One hundred percent of SEI teachers are CLAD certified.

Support services are provided through federal and state funded programs.  Galarza receives Title I, School Improvement Program, Economic Impact Aid/English Language Learner Program, and Innovative Programs funds.  Students in categorical and resource specialist programs receive services from full-time staff including--a bilingual resource teacher, a bilingual instructional associate, a reading specialist (Success for All facilitator), resource specialist, Title I resource teacher and part-time staff including speech teacher, school psychologist, counselor and three reading tutors.