About

Principal's Message

Katherine Smith Elementary School is located in the northern section of the district’s borders. Teachers, staff, and administrators continue to act on the principle that students come first. Katherine Smith Elementary School opened in 1962 and over the last fifty nine years has had a rich and diverse history with the Evergreen School District. The second school established in the District, it has been recognized as both a California Distinguished School (1987 and 2002) and a National Blue Ribbon School of Excellence (1988). Looking to the future, our children need to be prepared for an ever changing world. Katherine Smith School has been redesigned with that mission in mind– to create the most engaging and excellent education for our children—an education to serve them in the twenty-first century where we need to communicate, think critically, collaborate, and be innovative.

At Katherine Smith, we want to preserve the great tradition of this school while continuing the innovative learning environment that looks to the future for inspiration. Staff at Katherine Smith dedicate themselves to a consistently improving the curriculum to engage students through purposeful, project-based approaches, integrating instructional technology to enact new knowledge, and creating a strong school culture to empower children to be great citizens of the world. We are creating thinkers, learners, workers, communicators, collaborators, and contributors who will be ready to take on any challenge in this ever changing world.

Katherine Smith has been nationally recognized as a Partnership for 21st Century Learning Exemplar (2014), a National Governor's Council National Champion School (2013), a New Tech Network Exemplary Demonstration Site (2016), and PBL Works Exemplar (2017).

Cesar Gaytan
Principal, Katherine Smith Elementary School