WELCOME LETTER - A message from the El Camino Family

Welcome,

El Camino has been an important name in the city of Santa Maria since the year it was built in 1931. We have triumphed over fire and changes in the community to instill a tradition of Academic Excellence in our students. Many in Santa Maria are proud to be El Camino Alumni and many return to serve the school community as educators, counselors, and administrators. 

Our teachers and staff consistently emphasize the importance of education to our students, offering numerous programs to support student success, such as: After School Education and Safety (ASES) in which student receive homework assistance, tutoring, and skills they need; Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) which is a program dedicated to helping students become the first in their family to graduate from college; in addition, students are connected to our school community through clubs and sports such as, soccer, MESA, yearbook, basketball, volleyball, homework club. After completing a one-year Einstein Fellowship in Washington D.C., influencing educational policy, our science teacher, Luke Laurie, was chosen as the 2008/09 teacher of the year for Santa Barbara County.

In 1996, El Camino was named a California Distinguished School and placed in the top five percent of the 1,600 junior highs and high schools in the state. We continue to be one of the best schools in the state as evidenced by our continual 9 or 10 rating on a 1-10 scale for comparable schools throughout California. 

Important to our school's success is an effective partnership between parents, the community, and the school. Our parents pioneered the first uniform policy for a public junior high/middle school in the tri-county area. We are a mandatory uniform school, which has improved our school climate, creating a more positive atmosphere with a strong focus on high standards and school pride. With all of us working together, El Camino will continue to be an outstanding school, and surpass even our highest hopes and expectations. Our students are very important to us, and all of the El Camino Community will do whatever we can to help our students to be successful this year, and throughout their lives. In the words of one of our treasured administrative alumni, "Education is the pathway to success."

Sincerely,

The El Camino Family of Teachers and Staff

EL CAMINO JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL - MISSION STATEMENT

OUR MISSION IS TO TEACH, TO LEARN, AND TO FACILITATE LEARNING IN A COOPERATIVE AND SAFE ENVIRONMENT.

We, the students, parents, staff, and community of El Camino Junior High School, take pride in belonging to a school where academic excellence is attained through:

• The development of independent life-long learners
• Motivated and involved parents, staff, students, and community
• The unique contributions of our culturally diverse community
• Effective communication among all the members of the school community
• A high-tech, well-equipped school
• A safe environment where students demonstrate respect for themselves and others
• A program which offers equal access to a variety of curricular and extra-curricular choices for all students
• A supportive environment where staff are caring and sensitive to student needs
• The most effective use of all resources