West Portal Elementary School

West Portal School is a Kindergarten through 5th grade school of over 570 students. We support learning and achievement for our students with four core beliefs: 1) All students can learn and succeed, 2) Success breeds success, 3) Schools control the conditions of success within the school environment, and 4) Collaboration among all stakeholders is essential. Access and equity at West Portal means understanding and respecting students and their backgrounds. It means assessing where they are academically and socially and striving to provide all students what they need through an enriching educational experience inside and outside of the classroom and within a safe, secure environment. Classroom and support teachers implement a variety of programs to address differing learning styles and individual needs of all students. We encourage joyful learners by providing hands-on activities such as field trips, music, gardening, sports and dance. We provide creative conditions and use teachable moments to support each child's individual strengths across multiple learning environments. We like to build students' skills in context, rather than in isolation, helping children to understand how their knowledge and skills are useful beyond the classroom.

Through the third grade, small class sizes provide space, materials, and access to the teacher for all students. We clearly share our realistic and achievable goals and strategies with parents and staff. All staff members perform their responsibilities to the best of their abilities to achieve goals, including support for extra programming—such as a garden project and a school musical. Our teachers attend to students' emotional well-being and encourage them to develop self-confidence; responsibility and self-discipline; listening, problem solving, critical thinking, and social skills. Development of these 21st Century learning skills helps the children to engage and enjoy learning, and to accomplish their learning goals.