Hart District Superintendent Vicki Engbrecht discussed the importance of students’ wellness in the new school year.

The well-being of students throughout Santa Clarita schools is extremely important to the school administration, according to Engbrecht.

“We have a couple of things going for us in Santa Clarita that I think are unique,” said Engbrecht. “One of them is the exceptionally strong relationship with the Sheriff’s Department.”

Throughout all schools in the Santa Clarita Valley, Sheriff’s resources are available for the safety of students and faculty. Deputies are assigned to every school in the Hart District and work closely with the school’s administration in order to make sure the campuses follow the correct procedures and that buildings and facilities are as up to par, according to officials.

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Each school in the Hart District conducts safety drills a few times a year in an effort to ensure the safety of students, faculty and staff.

Along with the drills, the school board has asked the district to focus on the well-being of all students to keep kids safe at school. The schools offer the Educationally Related Intensive Counseling Services (ERICS) with a goal of making sure that students get the help they need.

“The governing board has asked us to focus this year on creating wellness programs, wellness centers and activities that make sure that all kids are connected,” said Engbrecht, who noted she believes the antidote to school violence is the feeling of wellness.

“We don’t allow anyone to be anonymous,” said Engbrecht on the ERICS program, which is comprised of licensed therapists who are there to help provide extra support and therapeutic involvement to those in need.

Besides the wellness of the students, Hart District officials work closely with College of the Canyons officials to help ensure they have an educational future without having to leave the Santa Clarita Valley.

“Unlike many areas, we have a situation where a single high school district feeds into a single community college, and because of that, we’ve always worked very, very closely with COC to make sure that our kids are getting very innovative opportunities,” explained Engbrecht, referencing the Academy of the Canyons.

Academy of the Canyons is a partnership between Hart District and COC that allows high school students to finish their high school education while taking college-level classes. This programs often gives students enough credit to receive their associates degree right out of high school.

With a 97 percent rate of graduates each year, the Hart District ranks in the highest category by the California Department of Education, according to officials.

“Students do well on state testing every year, scoring between 15 to 20 points higher than LA County and the state of California as a whole,” said Engbrecht.

Engbrecht also shared her excitement on the new Castaic High School and its state-of-the-art campus.

About 400 people from the community came out to see the first public unveiling of the new state-of-the-art campus, which is slated to open at the end of August 2019, according to Engbrecht.

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