Dear Mt. Pleasant Community, 

I hope this holiday season brings peace and joy for you and your loved ones. Thank you for your support and commitment to working together. We have already completed half of the school year and look forward to a fantastic 2023, full of opportunities. 

We are proud of our students, educators, staff, and families for their achievements, while we all think about new possibilities and goals to pursue this upcoming new year. We have already begun implementing iReady Reading and Math, and celebrate access to awesome programs from the San Jose Public Library to participate in during this upcoming break. 

May inspiration fill our hearts and minds and set the path to new goals and expectations. I wish you a safe winter break, and a happy new year! 

Sincerely, 

Dr. Elida MacArthur 

Superintendent 

Please watch a special message from Dr. MacArthur

The holidays can be a great opportunity to spend time with our loved ones, but can also be a challenging time due to financial hardships for some. Danny Patton, MPAS program manager, has created an amazing initiative that is collecting presents to support families. Mr. Patton began this gift campaign to honor his family tradition of providing presents to families during the holiday season.  

Unwrapped gifts are still being collected until Friday, December 16th and will be wrapped by student volunteers. This gift distribution will take place before the winter break and presents will be given to designated families. If you would like to donate unwrapped gifts to this collaborative initiative, please contact Mr. Patton. His number is (408) 314-6406. Thank you so much, and happy holidays! 

We're excited to share that we are implementing iReady Reading and Math! i-Ready is an online program for reading and/or mathematics that will help teachers determine your student’s needs, personalize their learning, and monitor progress throughout the school year. i-Ready allows your teachers to meet your student exactly where they are and provides data to increase your student’s learning gains. 

Thank you so much to those who participated in our Parent Teacher conferences at all sites after Thanksgiving break. Working together is crucial to advance our students’ education! 

We’re also excited to announce that there will be a Parent Academic Fair on Tuesday, January 24^th, 2023, from 6:00 PM - 7:00 PM in-person! More information and flyers to follow. Dinner, raffles, and childcare will be provided.

We are making progress at MPESD! Through the Innovation Grant in Partnership with staff from San Jose State University, we have worked to share lessons learned from the classroom for best practices from the field to support sustained improvement for students. 

Staff from Partners in School Innovation and staff from SJSU worked together in the 2021-22 school year to provide professional development and coaching support to select math teachers from August Boeger to improve their instructional practices and increase student learning outcomes. The research findings or lessons learned will be part of a book scheduled to be released in the Spring of 2023! This is one example of the many teachers in our District that commit to investing their time in learning opportunities to enhance their teaching expertise to serve our students better.

Staying engaged with academics and learning opportunities is a great way for families to spend free time this holiday season! Students will be receiving their San Jose Public Library access cards before winter break to check out books. Take a look at the awesome San Jose Public Library Resources for students and more free programs listed below! 

Student Help

Homework Help

Homework Clubs

Attend STEM Events

Free Internet and Tech Devices

CA Bilingual Early Literacy Initiative



Ms. Betty Martinez is retiring after 16 years of service to our District, as a member of the Board of Trustees. She will be missed; we are so grateful for her leadership and commitment to our students. She was recently recognized and honored by Trustee Melissa Got-Lopez, Trustee Brenda Serrano, Trustee Bob Ramirez, Trustee Derek Grasty, Superintendent Dr. Elida MacArthur and various district administrators at the last board meeting. Thank you so much Ms. Betty Martinez for your dedication to MPESD! 

We also want to welcome our newly appointed trustee, Antonio Perez, who has returned to the Board, having served as a trustee in the past. Trustee Melissa Got-Lopez and Trustee Brenda Serrano will continue serving on the Board. We appreciate their leadership and support to our MPESD community! 

Keeping our schools safe is a top priority. MPESD will be distributing free COVID-19 tests for all students to take home before the beginning of winter break (Monday, December 26, 2022). We kindly ask that all students test for COVID-19 before they return to school on Tuesday, January 10, 2023. This is a critical effort to protect the health and well-being of our school community. 

Have a safe and happy winter break and thank you for working with us to advance education in a safe environment. 

Thank you so much to our teachers, other school staff, volunteers, students and families who organized and participated in our successful events for Ruby Bridges Walk to School Day. We appreciate everyone’s enthusiasm and collaboration!

Please see a special video about the wonderful Ruby Bridges Walk to School Day at MPESD

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging (DEIB) are core values at MPESD. We are committed to creating an anti-racist, compassionate and inclusive school culture where every individual is treated with dignity in our diverse community. Our DEIB lessons being shared in December are about winter holidays, Hanukkah, International Day of Persons with Disabilities, Winter Solstice, Christmas, Kwanzaa and New Year’s Eve. The character trait being recognized is “Contribution.“ 

For the month of January, the lessons will focus on Jehovah Witness Awareness, German Heritage, Global Family Day/ World Peace Day, New Year’s Resolutions, Kings Day, Korean American Day, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Lunar New Year. The character trait being recognized is “Initiative.” 



If there are questions or you are interested in learning more about DEIB, please reach out to your school to further the conversation. Thank you for supporting an inclusive school community!  

Supporting our students’ education and the school community in a welcoming and positive environment is so rewarding! Are you or someone you know interested in becoming part of Mt. Pleasant Elementary School District? MPESD is hiring for a variety of roles!  

We invite you to learn more on EdJoin or connect with our Personnel Office at (408) 233-3720. 

The District is adding a regular board meeting on December 14, 2022, when the annual reorganization of board members will take place.

Our Board of Trustees will meet January 18, 2023 and February 8, 2023. The job of the Board of Trustees includes the following:  

• Setting the vision and goals for the district 
• Adopting policies that give the district direction to set priorities and achieve its goals 
• Hiring and evaluating the superintendent 
• Adopting and overseeing the annual budget 
• Managing the collective bargaining process for employees of the district 

To learn more about these sessions, please visit our website. 

Watch our November 9, 2022 Board meeting here.