August, 12, 2024

Dear Rogers Families,

It is my honor and pleasure to welcome you to the 2024 – 2025 school year! I hope that your summer was filled with joy and opportunity to create lasting memories with your friends, family and loved ones. Thank you for choosing Will Rogers! We look forward to partnering together to help your child learn and thrive.

I would like to welcome all of our new families, whether you are joining us from another school in the district or have relocated from another city, state, or country. We are excited to share with you all that Rogers has to offer and believe you will soon feel as we do, that Will Rogers Learning Community is a special place for all children. Our educators, support staff, families, and other education partners are ready to welcome you.

Grounded in the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District’s values of “Belonging, Curiosity, Empowerment” Will Rogers will continue to deepen our work in building community and finding harmony in our diversity! As has been our mission at Will Rogers, we will continue to strive for academic excellence and social and emotional well-being for our students while looking through a lens of equity and inclusion.

As an International Baccalaureate Programme School, we believe there is a broad range of capacities and responsibilities that go beyond academic success. We make a commitment to help all members of the school community learn to respect themselves, others and the world around them.

The IB Mission Statement

The International Baccalaureate aims to develop inquiring, knowledgeable and caring young people who help to create a better and more peaceful world through intercultural understanding and respect. To this end the organization works with schools, governments and international organizations to develop challenging programmes of international education and rigorous assessment.These programmes encourage students across the world to become active, compassionate and lifelong learners who understand that other people, with their differences, can also be right.

Our school leadership is a collaborative voice of staff and families, all of whom share a vision of continuous improvement. Rogers Learning Community’s success can be attributed to its active and engaged parents who are involved in the PTA, Education Foundation, and various committees. Please visit the Will Rogers PTA website to become a PTA member and to learn of the many opportunities available to volunteer at our school. In addition, we hope you consider donating to the Santa Monica Education Foundation. Donations to SMEF enable us to provide our students with a well-rounded and world-class education through music, visual arts, and instructional assistant support. Donations from last year enabled us to support the teaching and learning in our Regenerative Farm and our school-wide composting program! So many transformative educational opportunities are made possible for our students because of your financial support. Please consider making a donation of any amount to BOTH the Ed Foundation and PTA.

Please be sure to read the Will Rogers Roundup each Sunday night as it contains important information from the principal, the school, PTA, Santa Monica Education Foundation, City of Santa Monica, and other community partners. Links to each week’s Will Rogers Roundup are posted on our website. Please refer to the school’s website for additional information on upcoming events.

Through our Aeries Parent Portal you will be asked to complete data confirmation. This is a mandatory process, done yearly, to verify your child’s enrollment. Please complete this verification and the electronic first-day packet by Tuesday, September 3, 2024. Should you have any questions, please reach out to our school office.

I look forward to the start of the new school year and to continuing our collaboration of providing your children with an effective and engaging educational experience. As always, we will look to our families to be positive partners in their children’s educational journey. The Rogers staff has always made a priority of working together as a caring and compassionate learning community with professionalism, teamwork, action, and expertise. We will always put the best interests of our students at the center of our purpose. Join us in ensuring the success of all Rogers’ students.

In partnership,
Ms. Lila Daruty, Principal Will Rogers Learning Community