My name is Juan Ulloa, the proud principal of Rancho Del Rey Middle School-a California Gold Ribbon School for 2016. I have been an educator in the Sweetwater Union High School District for the last 25 years. Most recently I was the principal at Eastlake Middle School for the last six years.  My wife Rosie and I have two children who attend school in the Sweetwater district as well.

On behalf of the staff I would like to welcome you and your student to RDR the home of the Royals.  We look forward to a productive school year with the goal of providing you child a quality education in a safe, welcoming and nurturing school environment.

Our school mission is to sustain an innovative learning community that celebrates a diverse student body with a focus on ensuring excellence in teaching and learning; maintaining a culture of equity; fostering parent engagement and maximizing our resources to promote these goals.

Rancho Del Rey first opened its doors in 1997 and has been one of the top performing schools in the district since its inception. RDR has been recognized as a California Distinguished School in 2001, 2007, and 2011. Our outstanding staff is committed to providing our students with a rigorous learning experience with the support needed to maximize their success during their two years in middle school.

While we have an excellent core academic program we also provide students the opportunity to take a number of highly regarded electives in the Arts, Foreign Language and Computer Science. We have an award winning Physical Education program as well as a Dual Language Spanish Immersion program. And finally we offer the opportunity for students to stay active with our lunchtime sports program. They can also try out to become members of the Middle School Athletic League in baseball, softball, soccer, volleyball, basketball and flag football and cross-country.

Research shows that parent engagement is critical to student success. Thus we look forward to your involvement at Rancho. We have a strong partnership with our Parent Teacher Student Organization (PTSO). We welcome membership on our School Site Council (SSC) and our English Language Advisory Committee (ELAC). We also offer a number of events throughout the school year such as Open House, student recognition assemblies, coffee with the principal and select parent workshops.

We recognize the importance of timely communication with our parents, students and school community. We utilize an online grading program-Jupiter Grades- that provides you with up to date information about your child’s grades and assignments. The program can be utilized from your desktop or mobile device. We also have our school website and our monthly Royal Newsletter to keep you and your student informed of all school events and to provide you with important school information.

Our school board, our superintendent, Dr. Aguirre and all district and school staff are dedicated to “Putting Students First”. We are committed to our continued work in meeting the needs of each student and highly value your partnership in achieving this goal because we understand that “We are Better Together”.

Respectfully at your service,

Juan Ulloa