Welcome to Holder School!
Holder School, home of the Hawks, is a beautiful campus in southwest Buena Park. Educational excellence is our goal for each and every student; our exceptional staff works diligently to ensure success for all of our students.
At Holder School, we focus on teaching the Common Core State Standards. We use the Go Math curricula and Benchmark Advance English Language Arts curricula. We are beginning our journey towards implementing the Next Generation Science Standards by increasing our focus on Science Technology Engineering and Math (STEM). Our goal is to provide our students with the necessary skills to become proficient and successful creative problem solvers, critical thinkers, and collaborators.
Holder School's Response to School Dismissal
In an emergency Board Meeting at 12:30 pm on March 13,2020, the Savanna School District Board of Trustees voted unanimously to dismiss all Savanna Schools to fight the spread of COVID-19. Savanna School District will continue with school dismissal until such time that it is deemed safe for our students to return to school. The district is working closely with state and local authorities, as well as our county partners, throughout this emergency. It is our intention to continue to communicate with local agencies to keep informed of the situation and we will continue to communicate with our community regarding school dismissal. Due to the dynamic nature of the situation, the District will be the single point of communication rather than individual teachers or school sites in order to ensure clear, consistent communication. Updates will be posted on the district homepage.
During school dismissal our teachers are providing our students with a variety of academic opportunities, because we recognize that there are differences within each household. Our teachers work together in grade-level teams to provide a Distance Learning Coversheet with an overview of weekly assignments. In addition, each teacher will reach out to families daily with information regarding assignments, reminders, and to support families in any way possible. Educational materials were distributed to families April 7th. If you were not able to pick up materials for your child on that day, please reach out to your child’s teacher for information regarding available materials.
Although we would love nothing more than to see our students and gather together on campus, one of the primary responsibilities of Savanna School District and our school site is the safety of our students, staff, and community. We look forward to the day we can safely re-open schools.
Click here for a message to families from Holder staff.
Holder School's Instructional Program
Our instructional strategies and practices are also aligned with the Common Core State Standards. Holder staff members provide our students with a high caliber learning experience in a caring and nurturing environment so that students feel valued and respected. We desire that all of our students develop and maintain a love for learning! We are continuing our focus on Benchmark Advance, including intensive reading interventions for students. Mastering academic vocabulary, becoming a fluent reader with analytical thinking skills, and learning to communicate through writing are critical to a student’s continued success in their educational journey! These skills will be stressed in all classrooms and at all grade levels as we continue to equip our students to build for their future success.
The teachers at Holder School have continued to develop 21st Century skills by providing opportunities for students to solve real world problems using critical thinking while collaborating with their peers. Our STEM Center provides a space for teachers to present science, technology, engineering, and math lessons that promote creative thought and problem-solving, skills that are much needed in our 21st Century world.
Holder School is a community of caring people whose goal is to create a safe and nurturing environment where students feel included, respected and valued. Our dedicated staff is committed to upholding these expectations by being proactive in addressing student needs and concerns. Holder School has adopted the Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS) approach to student discipline. Our primary goal is to reinforce positive behavior and prevent discipline problems. To do this we teach, model and expect students to display the traits of being Holder H.A.W.K.S. - Honorable, Accountable, Welcoming, Kind, Scholarly. We expect students to follow the established procedures for the classroom, walkways, restrooms, MPR, lunch area, and playground. When students fail to follow the expected procedure, we have them repeat the procedure correctly.
The Savanna School District and Holder School prioritize student and staff safety. At Holder School we secure all gates to the campus throughout the day with the only point of entry being the School Office. There are more than 30 surveillance cameras located throughout the campus and parking lots to further ensure the safety of all on campus. Finally, all adults who pass through the office and wish to go on campus are screened against the registered sex offender databases in all fifty states Although we have layers of safety features and precautionary systems, our campus is beautiful and inviting. We encourage you to participate in the many community events offered throughout the year to see the wonderful learning environment we have for our Holder Hawks! . We are truly grateful to all of the residents of our community for continuing to value and support safety and education– thank you!
At Holder School we take bullying very seriously; so much so that we've developed a policy in this area. To read our Anti-Bullying/Anti-Harassment Policy, please click here. We held an Anti-Bullying Kick-Off Assembly to begin the school year, and our sixth graders participated in the Cypress Police Department’s P.A.C.E. (Positive Action through Character Education) Program.
We believe quality education can be achieved through high expectations of student performance and behavior, strong family/school/community partnerships, and a dedicated enthusiastic staff committed to providing the best education possible for the students at Holder School.
Our Holder Hawks will be soaring to success this year!
About Holder School
Holder School is in the Savanna School District, which encompasses parts of the cities of Anaheim, Buena Park, Cypress and Stanton. Approximately 540 students attend Holder School. The staff at Holder School is composed of 22 regular education classes, five Special Education classes, a Developmental Preschool Program, a special education resource teacher and speech therapist, as well as psychologist, counselor, and nursing services. All of the teachers at Holder School are fully credentialed by the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing.
Support services at the school include clerical, custodial and maintenance, and school funded and special education classroom instructional assistants. Student support is also maintained through the Student Intervention Team, a group of teachers who meet to help parents and other teachers with students who may not be progressing academically, socially, or behaviorally.
Holder staff members attend Professional Development on a regular basis to keep current on exemplary teaching strategies, new curricula, and methods to best assist students in meeting grade-level standards. Holder School's strong academic program ensures that the state and district standards are taught in a comprehensive manner. Students participate in a variety of assessments including District benchmark assessments; teacher and publisher assessments; as well as the State Testing and Reporting (STAR) program which includes the SBAC, California Standards Test in Science for fifth grade students, Physical Fitness Testing for fifth grade students, and the English Language Proficiency Assessment for California (ELPAC) for second-language learners.
The Cypress Police Department provides the PACE (Positive Action through Character Education) program for sixth grade students, emphasizing character education and drug abuse resistance.
Additionally, the PTA (Parent Teacher Association) is an integral part of the school’s support services through its work as parent volunteers, as program fund-raisers, and as a school-parent communication resource.