Director’s Message

It is my honor and tremendous pleasure to become the new Director of Mt. Helix Academy. I look forward to a long and successful term as Director during which I hope to work tirelessly with our incredible staff and our devoted parents to accomplish many new and exciting goals. My door will always be open to parents, teachers, and students who are concerned about improving our school.

During her 16-year tenure as Director, Barbara Moulaison built a superior K-8 school, and it is exciting to me to have the opportunity to continue her legacy and, whenever possible, to add on to her many stellar accomplishments.

I know that our staff is committed to implementing Mt. Helix Academy’s exceptional curriculum, one that goes far beyond the 3Rs to include music, performing arts, visual arts, physical education, and language as well as important student study skills and essential life skills like friendship making, self-management, social problem solving, and ethical behavior. I believe that our efforts so far to build an incomparable curriculum in mathematics, science, and technology will continue so that Mt. Helix Academy will be second to none in these critical 21st Century fields.

Teaching at Mt. Helix Academy will continue to be in small groups so that our teachers can tailor their instruction to each student’s unique needs. We will continue to teach students how to succeed and then “catch ‘em being good.” Our on-going efforts in staff development will ensure that every one of our teachers, who I know are eager to excel, will be the very best. We will continue to keep abreast of research on teaching effectiveness so that our methods will always be informed by evidence on what really works and not on the latest educational fad.

I will also see to it that Mt. Helix Academy continues to have a rich extra-curricular program that provides our students a full day of activities to pique their learning interests and to help excite them about their school. Among these will be our incredibly popular musical theater program. We will continue to poll students and parents for new activities that compliment our program and we will continue to expand our offerings throughout the calendar year.

Traditions are a significant part of every quality school and we have begun some that I am committed to continuing and growing if at all possible. For example, Mt. Helix Academy’s Multicultural Night has become a “must see” event for parents, grandparents, and all of us associated with the school. I see that it can become a community event, a Mt. Helix Academy tradition that entertains and educates while helping to put the school on the map where it rightfully belongs.

Finally, working as a Middle School teacher and then Assistant Director of Mt. Helix Academy for these past nine years I have learned the tremendous value of strong parent participation in the school. I intend to welcome even further parent involvement than we have had in the past. Mt. Helix Academy quickly becomes a family for all families whose children attend and I can think of nothing better than a cohesive, forward thinking group of parents to help our school become San Diego’s premier school for young children.