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The CASA Program is available to Ruby Drive students in third through sixth grade. It is designed to keep children safe in the after school hours and provide them academic enrichment, homework centers, and tutoring, as well as a range of cultural and recreational opportunities. CASA is in session Monday through Friday from 2:15 until 5:15 pm. No CASA is held on school minimum days.
Community based partners such as the YMCA, Placentia Library and Boys and Girls Club of Placentia-Yorba Linda contribute to this program to provide a wide array of activities for the students.
The goal of the CASA Program is to provide an academy of services that offer expanded learning opportunities for children and decrease risk factors that may lead to school failure. The four major areas are:
1. Provide enriched and intensive academic and technology usage activities,
2. Provide enrichment and self-esteem building activities for students,
3. Provide nutrition and health education leading to improved attendance and student behavior,
4. Provide opportunities for parents of participating students to take part in literacy, parenting, and academic activities.
For more information regarding the Ruby Drive CASA program, please call the school at 714-996-1921 ext. 7315 and speak to Ms. Johanna Garcia.
The YMCA leads the students in 4th through 6th grade in various noontime and after school activities and sports that include football, soccer, basketball, ultimate Frisbee, and more. The students are guided through the activities with the intent of building character using the Six Pillars of Character: respect, responsibility, caring, fairness, trustworthiness, and citizenship. Children also learn the value of teamwork on the fields and playground as they become more physically fit.
On the last Friday of each month the YMCA hosts a family barbeque for all Y-Time participants with help from the Y’s men. The Y’s Men are a group of men that volunteer their time and energy in helping the YMCA create strong kids, strong families, and strong communities. Families of the children are encouraged to come join in for the food, fun raffles, and prizes at the family barbeques.
For more information regarding this program, please contact Ms. Claire McKenna at the YMCA at 714-777-9622.
CBET (Community Based English Tutoring) Program
Ruby Drive Elementary School offers free classes in English and Computer Skills. CBET classes are available for parents and adult community members and are offered Monday – Thursday from 8:30 – 11:30 and also on Monday and Wednesday evenings from 6:00 – 8:00 pm. Childcare is available during all classes. Preschool is also available for children ages 3-5 during the morning classes only.
For more information regarding this program, please call Ms. Liz Arritt at 714-996-1921, ext. 7605.
The Math+Music is a new program at Ruby Drive this year and will begin in December, 2005. The MIND Institute’s revolutionary Math + Music program combines non-language based computer math games with specialized piano training to teach students problem solving skills and designed to dramatically increase students’ understanding of math concepts. This year the students in kindergarten and first grade will be the first group to begin this program. Ruby Drive is grateful to the Mind Institute for sponsoring the enrollment and training fees to begin the program. We also wish to acknowledge a $10,000 contribution by the Southern California Edison Company’s New Era Program that is allowing us to purchase the piano keyboards that will make up our new piano lab and help us pay for a part-time music aide.
For more information regarding the Math+Music Program at Ruby Drive, please contact Mrs. Dorie Staack, the school principal at 714-996-1921 ext. 3201.
Even Start
Even Start is a family literacy program that where the goal is to allow participating families to be successful in educational experiences, improve the academic outcomes for their children, and develop individual family education plans that include both short and long term goals.
Eligible families are those with children age 0 – 8 who are learning English and have a high level of commitment to participate in educational activities.
Even Start Components include:
Families that participate must commit to 32 hours a month of Adult Education ESL, vocational training, computer literacy, citizenship classes, or GED high school diploma preparation. In addition, they also attend a minimum of 20 hours a month of parenting education and a minimum of 20 hours a week of preschool if they have 3-4 year old children. Despite the many requirements, there is a waiting list of families who want to participate.
For additional information about the Ruby Drive Even Start Program, please contact either Mrs. Guillermina Flores- Magana at 714-996-1921 ext. 7614 or Mrs. Laurel Estrada at 714-996-1921 ext. 7615.
Traditional kindergarten provides only 200 minutes of instruction each school day. To provide additional time, Ruby Drive has implemented an extended day program that is open to all kindergarten students. Students attend school for an additional two hours of instruction each week. The program has a strong focus on vocabulary development and literacy and is designed to give Ruby Drive kindergarten students strong readiness skills that allow them to master rigorous kindergarten benchmarks and standards.
In addition, all kindergarten students are on an early-bird, late-bird schedule where approximately half of each class comes early and the other half stays later. This allows the teachers to provide carefully targeted instruction to smaller groups of students. It is extremely helpful to our youngest learners to be in smaller size classes and have access to more of the teacher’s individual attention. The group size during language arts and math is approximately ten to fifteen students instead of the whole-class size of thirty plus.
For additional information about the KED program, please contact Mrs. Blanca Raya at 714-996-1921 ext. 7102. For information about the early-bird late-bird program, please contact Mrs. Staack, the school principal at 714-996-1921 ext 3201.
Technology is a strong focus area at Ruby Drive. The school has been approved for a Beaumont Grant that provides a 30-station mobile electronic lab (E-LAB). The equipment arrived in October and training in its use is now underway. The E-LAB will be available to 3rd – 6th grade students, to CBET parents, and to students in the CASA after school program to enhance instruction and integrate technology into the curriculum. Students and parents learning English will use special English language development programs to help increase skills in English. All students will be able to use the E-Lab computers for on-line studies, to access the school Accelerated Reader network, study web site publishing design, or work on general word processing or Power Point presentations that support their studies.
For more information regarding this program, please contact Mrs. Staack, the school principal at 714-996-1921 ext. 3201.