Message from the Mrs. Brown, Principal

Dear DES Families,

Welcome to the 2022-2023 school year. It is with great pride and excitement that I begin the school year as your new Principal. I look forward to partnering with you to ensure all children are celebrated and supported. Together, we will ensure that we maintain our tradition of excellence and community that makes Durham Elementary such a special place.

I look forward to building strong relationships with the staff, students, and families I serve. I look forward to listening to your ideas and vision for our school and collaborating with each of you to support our sense of community here at Durham Elementary. As your principal, I will strive to ensure that all families feel welcome and connected to our school family. Information about joining our amazing and supportive Parent/Teacher/Student (PTS) organization is included in the DES Parent Information Guide and on the PTS bulletin board in our main hallway. Please take the time to read over this Parent Information Guide and check out the DES webpage for more school information: https://des.durhamunified.org/.

The Durham Elementary School office will be open beginning on Monday, August 1, from 7:30 A.M. to 4:00 P.M. daily. The school office number is (530) 895-4695. Kindergarten Round-Up will be held on Tuesday, August 9th and Wednesday, August 10th. Parents should have received an email with a SignUp Genius link to schedule a time; if you did not receive an email, you will need to contact the office. Your child’s class assignment can be found on your parent portal on Monday, August 15th after 4:00 P.M.

First Day of School: Wednesday, August 17, 2022

School Start Time: 8:15 A.M. for all students TK-5

Dismissal: TK: 11:30 A.M. Monday-Friday

K*-5th: 1:40 P.M. Monday; 2:40 P.M. Tuesday-Friday; and, 12:20 P.M. Minimum Day

(K* 11:30 A.M. Dismissal the first three days of school, 8/17-8/19)

Back to School Night: Wednesday, August 24, 2022 (TK-2: 6:00-6:30 P.M., 3-5: 6:30-7:00 P.M.)

Our drop off and pick up will remain the same as last year: TK and K will be in the front circle, 1st grade in the parking lot near the kindergarten playground, 2nd and 3rd grade on Durham Dayton Highway, and 4th and 5th grade will be in front of the high school cafeteria, asking that you exit out the back of the school to ease the flow of traffic within the parking lot. Please feel free to contact me by email at sbrown@durhamunified.org or by calling our school office at (530) 895-4695. I welcome any questions or ideas you would like to share.

I look forward to a wonderful year and seeing our Tigers in person!

With Tiger Pride,
Samantha Brown Principal