Mrs. Brenner, Principal

As a California Distinguished School Pepper Drive upholds a common vision that “All students will be confident, self disciplined learners capable of achieving high academic standards and developing life skills for success in a diverse and changing society.”

Pepper Drive is a place where learning is celebrated, excellence is expected, and parents, staff, and community work together as a “family” to establish a caring, nurturing, and orderly environment.  We promote teamwork and strategically scaffold instruction for children as they take risks in their educational endeavors.  We enjoy our unique K-8 environment because it offers numerous opportunities for student interaction and involvement.  Middle school and intermediate students act as cross-age tutors and buddy readers for primary children, sharing enthusiasm for reading while strengthening their own skills and leadership.  Younger students look up to their older peers, building confidence in them selves as they take academic risks in learning because they feel cared about and valued by these role models.  Active ASB members take pride in organizing spirit activities such as the annual Turkey Trot, Harvest Festival, jog-a-thon, and service projects such as the Santee Santas food drive.  The Spring Festival is a 50-year tradition that was originally a May Festival dance celebration and has now evolved into a Rite of Passage for our eighth grade class.  All students in grades Kindergarten through seventh grade perform a dance to honor the promoting eighth grade students.  This tradition is viewed by all staff, parents, past administrators, Board of Education members, and the community.  Our focus is helping children achieve the goals set forth in our vision.  The journey begins by setting high expectations for student achievement, regularly assessing individual growth towards mastery of California Content Standards, and providing the needed support system to help each child realize their full potential as an academic student and caring member of our society. Our success in this mission is evidenced by our 2011-12 API score of 892.  Creating an environment that is physically and emotionally safe lays the foundation for student success at Pepper Drive School.

Pepper Drive empowers students to take an active role in their learning.  They are challenged with meaningful, project-based activities that allow them to demonstrate their knowledge in formats beyond the traditional paper and pencil assessments.  In addition to teaching the core subjects, we develop well-rounded students by addressing both the right and left sides of the brain.  Children explore and demonstrate their creativity through art, music, and drama experiences.  A Governor’s Challenge Award recognized an excellent school-wide physical education program which provides 30 minutes of daily physical activity.  These activities motivate students as is exemplified by our improved attendance, classroom performance, and achievement data.  We are excited and proud of the school experience that we offer our community of learners at Pepper Drive while continuing to discover even more ways to build powerful life-long learners.