Principal's Corner

Welcome back to another wonderful year here at Jefferson School!

I am Danisha Keeler, proud principal of Jefferson. I am privileged to lead such an amazing school.  As the principal, it is my desire that we cultivate a community of scholars, staff and parents in which the academic learning of scholars is our primary goal. 

I was raised in the North Sacramento area, which is not far from Natomas. I graduated from Sacramento State University with a degree in Liberal Studies, as well as my multiple subject teaching credential. I was an elementary school teacher for six years and then became an Instructional Coach for three years, all in the North Sacramento/Twin Rivers school district. I later pursued and obtained my Master's Degree in Educational Leadership and Administrative Credential from Sacramento State University. This is my thirteenth year at Jefferson School, and I look forward to another amazing year! Jefferson School is a great place to be! 

Our staff is committed to providing a focused, engaging, challenging curriculum. Jefferson School is an authorized International Baccalaureate (IB) Primary Years Program (PYP) World School. The IB program helps support scholars, teachers, families, and the school community to increase the academic success of our scholars while also creating global learners. Having IB as a framework for elementary education at our school feeds into the Pre-Ap and Advanced Placement courses at Natomas and Inderkum High Schools. Eventually, this will allow interested scholars to be fully prepared and successfully complete the AP Capstone program at Natomas High or the IB Diploma Program at Inderkum High School. Jefferson staff continues to transform the learning at Jefferson to ensure that our scholars graduate college and career-ready, productive, responsible, and engaged global citizens. Jefferson teachers develop rigorous and relevant lessons that task scholars to use higher-order thinking skills and apply their learning to real-world situations.

The gifts and talents of our scholars, combined with the dedication and passion of our teachers, allow us to strive for excellence. Jefferson continues to be a Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS) school. We also use Restorative Justice (RJ) practices throughout the school, which include restorative justice circles. Our school focuses on the development and implementation of pro-active procedures and practices to improve school culture and climate. 

Jefferson School welcomes all of our families to participate in our students’ education! There are several ways to become involved in the Jefferson community. Joining the PTA is an opportunity to meet other parents and teachers, build rapport, and develop relationships. School Site Council is a group of teachers, parents, and classified employees working with site administration to develop, review, and evaluate school improvement programs and budgets. We also have an English Learner Advisory Committee (ELAC) for parents and other community members who want to advocate and develop educational plans, as well as accelerate and support English learners. 

Throughout the year, we will provide you with information on our school through our school website, in teacher newsletters, and in calendars, but most frequently, in our primary communication tool of Parent Square to share information with families. All information from our school, as well as the district office, will be provided using ParentSquare. We encourage all families to download the app from the Apple or Google Play store as soon as possible to be able to access all the features and benefits. While ParentSquare will be used for communications, student’s class assignments/schedules, grades and attendance information will continue to be shared via Infinite Campus so we encourage parents to keep the IC Portal to have access to those two items.

Jefferson School is destined for amazing things in 2024-2025! The gifts and talents of our scholars, combined with the dedication and passion of our teachers, allow us to strive for excellence. Excellence is not the result of a good intention or clever slogan. It is not a value that is easily achieved. It comes from a strong desire to improve how we do things; when we see something we can do better. We continue to work hard to ensure that Jefferson School will be recognized as a school that sets its scholars and teachers up for success. As we strive for excellence, we will move from Good to GREAT!

Also, remember that:
Wednesdays are College Days: wear a shirt to represent your favorite college  
Thursdays are #ChooseKindness Days: wear a shirt that shows kindness
Fridays are School Spirit Days: wear a school spirit shirt or our school colors (navy & white)

Let’s build a strong, healthy, spirited team by proudly participating in these spirit days each week. Again, welcome to a year of wonderful things to come!

Sincerely, 

Ms. Danisha Keeler