Hello GVA Families, Staff and Community,
This page will be the constant in a hopefully, ever-revolving series of updates. You will see below, a little about me, resources related to the Superintendent's Campaign and more. Please feel free to explore.
Tom Anderson has been in public education for over 30 years. Teaching for 12 years, at all grade levels, in both general and special education classrooms. Over the past 20 years, he has served as a site administrator, Director, Assistant and Associate Superintendent, mainly overseeing Special Education and Student Services. As a two-time Special Education Local Plan Area Director, Tom has a passion for creating enriching programs and places for all students, including those with unique learning needs. As Superintendent of Great Valley Academy, Mr. Anderson is excited to continue GVA’s tradition of providing safe and loving learning environments for students in Stanislaus County and to doing it The GVA Way.
GVA Community,
Welcome Back to Great Valley Academy for the 2026-27 school year. We are so excited to see all of our students and families beginning Wednesday, August 12th. I hope you had an opportunity to experience some wonderful adventures this summer and create lasting memories. We hope to do the same with your children this year at school.
Once again, we’ve been busy over the summer preparing our campuses to start the year. At Salida, we’ve got 4 new shed offices serving our expanding student support staff, including mental health and special services. You’ll find 19 new picnic tables and a brand new water fountain out on our athletic fields. With this heat, that will certainly be a welcome upgrade for all of our Wolves. We had a number of classroom moves to improve the flow of the school and laid new carpet, painted classroom walls, upgraded audio and video in many rooms, as well completed a number of roof repairs. Overall, the Salida campus received a refresh throughout the campus and the facilities staff should be commended for their efforts.
Modesto’s campus has also seen improvements with 40 new picnic tables, new fiber optic line and fresh carpet in many classrooms. Crews have been working on a total remodel of our TK-2 bathrooms. Unfortunately they experienced a few snags along the way and the goal of having them complete and open on the first day of school will not come to fruition. We have a plan for our littlest Grizzlies for the first few days of school. As we eagerly await the upgraded spaces, there will be extra staff available to support teachers and students during restroom trips.
GVA Homeschool is bigger and better than ever with added instructional staff and space. With dedicated service providers now on staff, such as RSP and Speech, Homeschool is meeting the needs of a very diverse group of young Oaks. Ms. Kerr-Owens and her team have even more great things planned for your children this year.
GVA continues to strategically add staff in areas that directly benefit students, including classroom teachers, paraprofessionals and support providers. Special education staff, mental health specialists and social skills / behavioral technicians have been added again this year, as GVA focuses on the whole child, meeting kids where they are and intervening early to ensure all students can access the general education curriculum. We further our implementation of Conscious Discipline and go deeper in our use of Restorative Practices through our Positive Discipline Framework. Updates to GVA’s Student Parent Handbook include a clear description of GVA’s beliefs around student behavior, accountability and restoration. We believe that behavior is communication, that discipline is an opportunity to teach, restore, and develop the skills students need for lifelong success. Every student deserves a learning environment that is safe, respectful, and conducive to learning. Every student also deserves adults who respond with fairness, dignity, and a commitment to helping them grow. Our approach emphasizes accountability while preserving each student's sense of belonging within our school community. Progressive discipline is employed in concert with individualized decision-making and restorative approaches. Please see the Handbook (p. 34) for specific practices, possible progression of consequences and GVA’s response to serious or dangerous behaviors. Remember, families are essential partners in helping students succeed and learn from mistakes. And mistakes are just that; ‘mis-takes’. We believe students, in most cases, should be provided support in order to learn from their mis-steps and opportunities to employ learned skills and strategies at school and in life.
GVA’s main website www.greatvalleyacademy.com has been refreshed with a new, more accessible format, and thegvaway.com, our companion website holds information about our beliefs and core values (newly added). We will go deeper into these areas throughout this school year, and will be adding background about GVA’ 5 Pillars as the year goes on, so keep an eye out for those updates. Finally, as you know, GVA selects a theme and a focus each year. In year three of GVA’s NEXT3 strategic plan, we focus on LEARNING. With a new Math curriculum adoption we will embrace a GVA Racing theme and we will be ‘Driving Mathematical Achievement for All’. By Fueling The Future with connection, compassion and instruction, our students will grow and progress as citizens, tenacious learners and as Mathematicians. Thank you for choosing GVA for your children. Here’s to another amazing year!
Messages, announcements and communications from the GVA Superintendent.
Superintendent Welcome Back Message 26-27