POWAY, Calif. — The Poway Unified School District, San Diego County's third largest school district is welcoming students back for their first day of school. 37,000 students will return to the districts 39 campuses to kick off the 2019-2020 school year.
News 8 went to Pomerado Elementary School to get a look at the new things that are happening in the district. Poway Unified was recently accepted into the League of Innovative Schools which is a national coalition of forward-thinking K-12 school districts organized by Digital Promise, a nonprofit organization with the mission to accelerate innovation in education and improve the opportunity to learn for all through technology and research.
Students will be able to explore coding, video making and other unique things in the “Launch Lab.” The lab is an innovative collaborative space that will help elementary school students connect their strengths to potential careers.
The district is kicking off the school year with a fun and inspiring music video that features students and staff from schools and departments across the district. Superintendent Dr. Marian Kim Phelps said, "Throughout my life, I have always relied on music for inspiration, and one of the most inspiring times in the year for me as an educator is back to school. Every year, I look for a song that can convey just how special our students and staff are to us." This year’s song is "Better When I'm Dancing" by Meghan Trainor.
Across the street, teachers as well as upper classmen at Westview High School wanted freshmen to be welcomed and not nervous so they created an aisle way for the new students to walk through to make sure they had a great first impression of high school. This same aisle way is recreated when the students graduate.