Community Education Blog
Fall Break Camp at Oak – Oct. 7-11
Community Education is excited to host a camp during SUSD’s fall break, October 7-11. As with our summer camp, our Fall Break Camp will be held at the Oak Campus, 7501 E. Oak St., Scottsdale. SUSD students from ages 3-13 are invited to participate!
Camp will run from 7 a.m. - 5:30 p.m., Monday-Friday. The cost for the week is $200. Space is limited. Registration information will be available on our website, www.susd.org/communityeducation, on September 7. If you have any questions, please email CommunityEd@susd.org.
2025-2026 School Year Early Learning Classroom Visits
We are already preparing for January’s Early Learning registration and enrollment for the 2025-2026 school year and are scheduling site visits for prospective families to see our amazing Early Learning classrooms!
These 30-minute visits include a visit to the Early Learning classroom(s) of each campus. They do not include a school tour. If you would like to participate in a comprehensive school tour, please contact the school directly.
To reserve your Early Learning site visit, please complete and submit this form:
Early Learning Classroom Visits for Prospective Families
Space for these visits is very limited: Families may bring up to two people per family. You may bring your child, but she/he counts as the second person.
If you would like to visit more than one school, please complete this form for each school you would like to visit.
We will also host two virtual parent meetings to review our programs, curriculum, registration, and enrollment process. These live, virtual meetings will take place on Thursday, November 21 at 5 p.m. and repeat on Tuesday, December 10 at 5 p.m. Links for these meetings will be available on our website, www.susd.org/earlylearning, by the end of September.
If you have any questions, please email earlylearning@susd.org.
Thank you for your interest in SUSD’s outstanding Early Learning programs!
We are so excited to welcome all of our early learning families to the start of a new school year!
For many of our families, this year in our toddlers, preschool or Pre-k classroom may be your first year of sending your child to school. A new school year is a very exciting time for our youngest learners, but with the excitement can come apprehension about a new school environment. We want to share some ideas for how you can help your child get settled into the new school year successfully.
- Establish routines: Set consistent bedtimes and morning schedules to help your child adjust to the new routine.
- Practice separation: Gradually increase time apart to ease separation anxiety.
- Encourage independence: Teach self-care skills, such as putting on shoes or opening lunch containers.
- Read books about starting school: This can help children understand what to expect.
- Talk positively about school: Share your own fond school memories to build excitement.
- Arrange playdates: Help your child connect with classmates outside of school.
- Communicate with your child’s teachers: Stay informed about your child's progress and any concerns you may have as the new year starts.
- Create a goodbye ritual: A special handshake or saying can make parting each morning easier.
- Attend school functions so your child can share their new school with you.
- Be patient: Understand that adjustment takes time and offer extra support and reassurance.
Partnering with your child’s school will ensure that the 2024-25 school year will be a successful one!
As the temperatures rise, we are getting more excited for our summer programs! Please see below for opportunities this summer, as well as information regarding our Early Learning programs for the 2024-2025 school year.
Kids Club Summer Camp
SUSD students between the ages of three and 13 are eligible to participate in our Kids Club summer camp.
Find the Kids Club Summer Camp 2024 flyer can be found here.
Please visit our website for more information: www.susd.org/communityeducation
Questions? Please email KidsClub@susd.org or call 480-484-7900.
High School Summer School
We are excited to once again be able to offer a wide variety of in-person and online high school summer courses during Summer 2024.
Information regarding dates, location and cost can be found on our website at www.susd.org/summerschool.
Registration opens on Monday, April 15.
If you have any questions, please email summerschool@susd.org.
Early Learning Programs for the ‘24-‘25 School Year
There is still time to enroll your student in one of our Early Learning programs for the 2024-2025 school year. We proudly serve children from ages 2-5 years old across 16 SUSD campuses.
Please visit www.susd.org/earlylearning for information on our programs, enrollment, and tuition, as well as the tuition assistance program for families who live within the boundaries of Hohokam, Navajo, Pima, Tavan and Yavapai Elementary schools.
- Camp will be held at our Oak campus at 7501 E. Oak St., Scottsdale, from May 28 - July 26 (Camp is closed on June 19 and July 4).
- Camp operates Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Breakfast, lunch and a snack are included in camp fees.
- Registration begins April 1. Space is limited so register soon!
Early Learning – Thank Yous
Registration and enrollment for our toddler, preschool and pre-K programs for the 2024-2025 school year will reopen on March 1. Enrollment is first-come, first-serve.
Families can visit our website at www.susd.org/earlylearning for more information, including programs with vacancies, rates, age requirements and enrollment directions.
Please email earlylearning@susd.org if you have any questions or give us a call at 480-484-7900.
Summer Programs 2024
While we are just three months into 2024 but are already eagerly anticipating our summer programs.
SUSD students between the ages of three and 13 are eligible to participate in our Kids Club Summer Camp.
- Camp will be held at our Oak Campus at 7501 E. Oak St., Scottsdale, from May 28-July 26 (we’re closed June 19 & July 4).
- Camp is open Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
- Breakfast and lunch will be provided.
- Registration opens April 1.
Information regarding registration and tuition rates will be available on our website, www.susd.org/communityeducation, by March 8.
We are excited to offer a wide variety of in-person and online high school summer courses once again this summer. Information regarding dates, fees and location can be found on our website at www.susd.org/summerschool.
- Registration opens on Monday, April 15.
If you have any questions, please email summerschool@susd.org.
High School Summer School
We are excited to offer a wide variety of in-person and online courses to high school students this summer!
High school summer school information can be found at www.susd.org/summerschool.
Registration begins on April 16, 2024.
Session 1 runs from Thursday, May 30 to Friday, June 12.
The registration deadline for Session 1 is May 1.
A one-semester class is $75.
Session 2 runs from Friday, June 14 to Friday, June 28.
The registration deadline for Session 2 is June 6.
A one-semester class is $75.
Students will only be permitted to take one class per session. If a student must take more than one class during the same session, she/he will need to go to Coronado High School on the first day of that session (applies to both in-person and online classes). The cost to enroll in an additional class in the same session is $100.
In-person summer school classes will be held at Coronado High School, Monday ‒Friday, from 7:45 a.m. ‒ 2:15 p.m. Lunch will be offered free of charge. Transportation will be available to and from Coronado at each of SUSD’s four other high schools.
If you have any questions, please email summerschool@susd.org.
Early Learning
Preliminary registration and enrollment for the 2024-2025 school year was a big success!
There is still availability in some of our preschool and pre-kindergarten programs. Enrollment for them will re-open on March 1 on a first-come, first-serve basis. Please visit www.susd.org/earlylearning for information on our programs. You can email earlylearning@susd.org with any questions you may have.
Early Learning Registration Timeline:
January 10-17, 2024 – Families are invited to complete the registration form to express interest in all Early Learning programs. The form will be posted to www.susd.org/earlylearning by 8 a.m. on January 10.
Parents will have the opportunity to select up to 3 preferred schools.
January 17, 6 p.m. – Google form closes
By January 22, parents who completed the Google form will receive an email indicating that 1) they have secured a spot for the ‘24-‘25 school year and/or 2) their student has been placed on a wait list.
If a family secures a spot for next year, they will receive an email that will include a link to make an appointment to finalize their student’s enrollment on Saturday, February 10. Information about this enrollment event, as well as a list of the documents that are required to complete the registration process, will be included in the email.
February 10: Early Learning Enrollment Event – MDA district office, 8500 E. Jackrabbit Rd., Scottsdale. By appointment, for those families who have already secured a spot in a class.
March 1 – Enrollment will re-open for families who did not participate in the initial registration process.
For additional information on our locations, programs, etc., please visit our website: www.susd.org/earlylearning.
If you have any questions, please call us at 480-484-7900, or email earlylearning@susd.org.
Early Learning Registration for the ‘24-‘25 School Year
Our next virtual meeting will take place on December 13th at 5 p.m. Find the meeting link on our website, www.susd.org/earlylearning, or click here.
At the meeting, we will review our early learning philosophy here at SUSD, programs, curriculum, tuition and registration process.
All information about the registration process is available on our website at https://www.susd.org/earlylearning.
If you have any questions, please contact Dr. Christine Bonow, Director of Early Learning and Community Education, at cbonow@susd.org.
The office of Community Education and Early Learning will host virtual information meetings this month and next for families to learn about our early learning programs and the registration process for the 2024-2025 school year.
We will review our programs, curriculum, registration, and how and when to enroll. Participants will have the opportunity to ask questions at the end of the presentation.
These live, virtual meetings will be held on Wednesday, November 1 at 5 p.m. and will be repeated on Wednesday, December 13, also at 5 p.m. Both meetings are an hour long.
Link for NOVEMBER 1 MEETING @ 5 p.m.
Link for DECEMBER 13 MEETING @ 5 p.m.
We have also scheduled site visits for prospective families to see our amazing classrooms.
These visits will be 30 minutes in length and will include a visit to the early learning classroom(s) of each campus. These visits WILL NOT include a school tour. If you would like to participate in a school tour, please contact the school directly, or go to https://www.susd.org/tour to sign up for the school(s) in which you are interested.
To RSVP for a site visit, please complete this Google form. Space is very limited, so families may bring up to 2 people per family. (You may bring your child, but she/he counts as one of the 2 per family.)
If you would like to visit more than one school, please complete this form for each school you would like to visit.
Additional information can be found on our website: www.susd.org/earlylearning
If you have any questions, please contact Dr. Christine Bonow, Director of Early Learning and Community Education, at cbonow@susd.org.
We also have two upcoming, virtual meetings for parents to learn about our programs and curriculum, as well as the registration and enrollment process. These virtual meetings will be held on November 1 and December 13. Both run from 6 -7 p.m.
Additional information and links to each of these meetings can also be found on our Early Learning website.
For additional information, please email earlylearning@susd.org, or call 480-484-7900.
#BecauseKids
Read more at The SUSD Source
As part of that mission, SUSD offers a variety of out-of-school-day programming that enables students to develop latent talents, interests, and strengths. STEM, art, engineering, coding, drama, and music classes are offered at many of our schools, enabling our students to take a deeper dive into subjects that expand their knowledge and foster creativity.
Besides offering opportunities to build intellectual strength, SUSD offers many sports classes to keep our students physically strong, as well. After-school sports opportunities are offered throughout the district and include golf, tennis, soccer, and even pickleball. Not to be left out of the fun, parents and the community may participate in one of our fast-paced community pickleball clinics, too. These clinics are offered at three of our middle school campuses: Tonalea, Mohave, and Cocopah, and are a great way to learn this fun, new sport and meet your neighbors.
For more information about after-school classes at our elementary and middle schools, visit SUSD’s Enrichment Zone or check with your school’s office.
Want to know more about our community pickleball clinics? Find more information here or all 480.484.7909.
August 2023
Welcome to the ‘23-‘24 school year!
Whether you are continuing with SUSD or are new to our district, our department wants to welcome you to another great year in SUSD!
Community Education and Early Learning oversee the following opportunities for learners of all ages:
- Early Learning (Toddlers, Preschool and Pre-K)
- Enrichment (after-school enrichment classes)
- Kids Club (before- and after-school childcare)
Early Learning
Enrichment
Kids Club
Our before- and after-school program is offered at several elementary schools throughout the district. Many of our programs are at capacity for the upcoming school year. We are actively seeking qualified applicants so that we can accommodate additional students. For more information about Kids Club or to be added to the waitlist, please visit www.susd.org/kidsclub.
Looking for a job?
We have several employment opportunities for someone looking for a rewarding position in childcare! Full and part-time positions are available at several schools across SUSD. Please visit https: www.susd.org/Careers for more information or contact Dr. Christine Bonow at cbonow@susd.org.
We hope your summer is off to a cool start!
Please visit our Enrichment Zone web site for more information:
As we wrap up to 2022-2023 school year, we are looking forward to all of our programs for the 2023-2024 school year!
Registration for Kids Club for next school year will begin on June 1. Information will be available on our website by May 15, with directions on how to register.
Space is extremely limited, so please be sure to mark your calendar to remind yourself to register on June 1.
Our after-school enrichment registration for the 2023-2024 school year will begin on June 1. The course catalog and schedules will be available on June 1. Please visit our website for more information: www.susd.org/enrichmentzone.
It may only be April, but we have been hard at work putting together summer learning plans for our high school students and preparing our early learning programs for the 2023-2024 school year.
You can check availability here.
Please visit www.susd.org/earlylearning for additional programs and information. If you have any questions, please email earlylearning@susd.org or you can call us at 480-484-7900.
We are excited to offer a new Toddler class for the 2023-2024 school year. This class will be housed at Laguna Elementary School and is open to all students who turn two years old by August. 31, 2023. For more information on our program, please visit www.susd.org/earlylearning.
While it is just March, we are already eagerly anticipating summer. Please read on for opportunities for your students to continue their learning with us this summer. You will also find information regarding our Early Learning Programs for the 2023- 2024 school year.
- Summer Camp runs Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
- Breakfast and lunch will be provided to all campers.
- Registration begins on March 20.
- Space is limited, so families are encouraged to register as soon as possible after registration begins.
- There is a $100 registration fee per child that will be applied to the first purchase of either a week or month of camp.
- The weekly rate for camp is $200; the rate is $160 for the weeks that only have four camp days.
- The June monthly rate is $805.
- The July monthly rate is $665.
- There is no daily rate.
SUSD employees enjoy a 20% discount. For families with more than one camper, a 10% sibling discount is offered.
Please see our camp flyer for details.
Visit the Community Ed Summer Camp website or call 480-484-7900 for more information.
Visit www.susd.org/earlylearning for more information. If you have any questions, please email earlylearning@susd.org or call 480-484-7900.
We are excited to offer a new Toddler class for the 2023-2024 school year! This class will be housed at Laguna Elementary School and is open to all students who have turned two years old by August 31, 2023. For more information on our program, please visit www.susd.org/earlylearning.
Even though 2023 has just started, we are in full swing in planning for summer school and the 2023-2024 school year.
We are excited to offer a new Toddler class for the ‘23-‘24 school year. This class will be housed at Laguna Elementary School and is open to all students who will have turned two years old by August 31, 2023. For more information on our program, please visit www.susd.org/earlylearning.
High school summer school information can be found at www.susd.org/summerschool.
We are excited to offer a wide variety of in-person and on-line courses.
- Session 1 will be held May 30 to June 13. The Registration deadline is May 22.
- Session 2 will be June 15 to June 30. The Registration deadline is June 7.
In-person summer school classes will be held on those dates at Coronado High school, Monday - Friday from 7:45 a.m. - 1:30 p.m.
Lunch will be offered free of charge. Transportation will also be available to and from Coronado from each of the four other SUSD high schools.
Course lists will post on February 6 at www.susd.org/summerschool.
Registration for online and in-person SUSD Summer School begins on March 20.
If you have any questions, please email summerschool@susd.org.
January 2023
We are excited to begin Early Learning registration for the 2023-2024 school year!
Early Learning Registration Timeline:
Jan. 3 - 9: Families are invited to complete the registration form to express interest in all SUSD early learning programs. Click here for the form. Parents will have the opportunity to select up to three (3) preferred schools.
6 p.m., Jan. 9: Google form closes
By Jan. 16, parents who completed the form will receive an email indicating that:
1) they have secured a spot for their child for the ‘23-‘24 school year and/or
2) their child has been placed on a waitlist.
PLEASE BE SURE TO DOUBLE-CHECK FOR ACCURACY OF THE EMAIL ADDRESS YOU PROVIDE ON THE FORM TO ENSURE THERE ARE NO TYPOS THAT WILL PREVENT US FROM BEING ABLE TO CONTACT YOU.
If a family secures a spot for next school year, the email it will receive will include a link to make an appointment to finalize their student’s enrollment on Saturday, Jan. 21 at the SUSD’s Mohave District Annex, located at 8500 E. Jackrabbit Rd., Scottsdale. Information about this enrollment event, as well as a list of the documents that are required to complete your student’s early learning enrollment, will be included in the confirmation email.
Jan. 21: Early Learning Enrollment Event – by appointment for families who secured a spot in a class
For additional information on our locations, programs, etc., please visit our website at www.susd.org/earlylearning.
If you have any questions, please contact:
Dr. Christine Bonow, Director of Early Learning and Community Education, cbonow@susd.org or Laura Valenzuela, Student Support Coordinator, lvalenzuela@susd.org.
December 2022
The office of Early Learning and Community Education will host a virtual, informational meeting at 6 p.m., December 15, for families to learn about SUSD’s Preschool and Pre-kindergarten registration process for the 2023-2024 school year.
Join this live meeting live at https://bit.ly/3utIHvX.
SUSD’s early learning philosophy, programs, curriculum, and registration process will be reviewed during the meeting.
All information about the registration process is available on our website at https://www.susd.org/communityeducation.
If you have any questions about SUSD’s early learning programs, please contact Dr. Christine Bonow, Director of Early Learning and Community Education, at cbonow@susd.org.
November 2022
November 10, 6 p.m. – Please click here to join this live meeting
December 1, 6 p.m. – Please click here to join this live meeting
These informational meetings will review our SUSD early learning philosophy, programs, curriculum, and registration process.
More information about the registration process will be available on our website at https://www.susd.org/communityeducation.
If you have any questions, please contact Dr. Christine Bonow, Director of Early Learning and Community Education, at cbonow@susd.org.
October 2022
These informational meetings will review our SUSD early learning philosophy, programs, curriculum, and registration process.
The link to join these virtual meetings will be added to our website, www.susd.org/communityeducation, by November 1.
If you have any questions, please contact Dr. Christine Bonow, cbonow@susd.org.
September 2022
SUSD’s Early Learning programs are excited to be participating in the Quality First Accreditation program. Quality First - the signature program of First Things First - partners with early learning centers to improve the quality of early learning across Arizona. The Quality First star rating system is a voluntary quality-rating system that helps families in the state find quality early learning classrooms for their children. Quality star ratings are an important indicator of quality programs. The rating system also helps early learning providers improve the quality of their own programs.
Echo Canyon has been taking part in the Quality First program for several years. Our 15 other elementary schools with early learning classes are eager to join Echo Canyon in this prestigious accreditation program.
The initial evaluation of each school begins this month. Each early learning program will undergo an evaluation that consists of at least one comprehensive site observation. The quality of each program is assessed using valid and reliable tools that focus on what research shows are the key components of quality early learning, including adult and child interactions, learning environments and staff qualifications. Based on these assessments, each program is given a quality star rating ranging from one to five stars.
Quality First also partners with Southwest Human Development and Valley of the Sun United Way to provide support and incentives to Quality First schools, such as ongoing coaching and professional development for early learning staff and parenting resources for families. Next year, Quality First will provide several scholarships to qualifying schools to help families with tuition costs.
Our comprehensive involvement in Quality First directly aligns with SUSD Strategic Plan Goal 1, Academic Excellence, which is to “Challenge and inspire students to reach high levels of achievement so they thrive as confident, dynamic, future-ready learners equipped to pursue their passions and ambitions’ and commits SUSD to “provide high-quality district early childhood opportunities to anchor the Pre-K‒12 continuum of learning.”
August 2022
Have an ambitious athlete? Enrichment classes featuring golf, tennis, football and soccer are offered at select schools. SUSD also offers a robust middle school athletics program. First quarter sports are boys baseball and girls volleyball. The Boy and Girls Clubs of Greater Scottsdale offer sports competition, as well, so it is almost impossible not to find the perfect athletic opportunity, whether your student is interested in learning a new sport or is already acquainted with one and wants to learn more.
If your student would rather participate in less physical activity, we offer exercise for the growing brain! Dynamic, STEAM enrichment classes keep hands and minds busy. Check out Afterschool Enrichment Solution’s STEAM Engineering class, or “BOLTS” – Building Our Leaders Through Science – for thrilling, hands-on, brain building. For Lego fans, there are Bricks 4 Kids and STEM FUNdamentals classes, both of which take the little Lego to a whole new level. Finally, Mad Science offers your student the opportunity to learn some crazy chemistry and even take a project home.
Last, but not least, we offer the arts! Music, dance, studio art and language classes are available for your student achievers. Keyboarding and piano introductory classes are a wonderful way to increase musical fluency, and a dynamite way to get fired up for a hip-hop lesson! Speaking of fluency, kids can absorb conversational Spanish skills in our Seedlings Spanish classes. Check out all SUSD has to offer this fall at the Enrichment Zone.
For more after-school learning opportunities, don’t forget about August City of Scottsdale Parks and Recreation programs. The city’s Fall 2022 schedule (September through December) is available,too, here.
July 2022
We hope you enjoy the last few weeks of summer! We recommend your children find some time to do a little fun reading before they head back to school; some real-world math lessons, too!
The first day of school is Wednesday, August 3. Before we know it, it will be time to get back to a more routine schedule. We have found that sleeping in less and rising earlier the week before school starts helps make those first couple of days of school go more smoothly.
June 2022
Reading to your child each night is one of the most important and easy strategies to build early literacy skills. A student who participates in shared or independent reading gains an average of one month of reading proficiency. Students who don’t participate in any reading over the summer can lose an average of 2 to 3 months of proficiency.
Another easy strategy to build early literacy skills in our youngest students is to take advantage of all of the environmental print that children see while riding in the car to build their reading tool kit with the words around them. While running errands, take time to point out the store names and logos they routinely see. Making those early connection skills comes in handy as students learn to make greater meaning of what they read.
Students of all ages can also take advantage of the wonderful reading and literacy resources provided at no cost through our local libraries. Visit https://www.scottsdalelibrary.org/youth/early-learning to learn more about the city of Scottsdale library programs specifically geared for early learners.
Parents can also encourage students to extend what they learned from a book that was read to them or with them at home by drawing a picture to illustrate the story or creating a play to act out the story. Children who are engaged in early literacy practices reap the rewards throughout their school career.