Principal's Message 2025-26

Dear Parents and Guardians,

I want to take this time to introduce myself to you as the new Principal of Bunche Elementary School. Ms. Rebecca McKinley has been moved to serve as the Principal of Washington Elementary School. 

I spent most of my career in Elementary education with the Torrance Unified School District. There, I was a teacher with experience in teaching grades 1, 3, and a combo 3 / 4 class.  I also was an Intervention Teacher and ended my time with Torrance as a Teacher on Special Assignment (TOSA) working with teachers on best practices for students. The last two years I was with the Redondo Unified School District as an Assistant Principal at two Elementary schools. 

I am married to my high school sweetheart, Mark, and we have two adult daughters and a son-in-law.  

We have some new staff members to welcome to the Bunche Bear campus. Joining us in 5th grade will be Ms. Karla Gaines.  We have a temporary Resource Teacher, Ms. Grecia Gonzalez Guzman, who will step in while Ms. Chau is out on leave.  We have also been able to fill a much needed position, Curriculum Specialist. Dr. Nansi Reyes will fill this role.  Please join me in welcoming them to our Bunche Family. 

One of our goals this year is student attendance. Your child’s education is one of the most important experiences they will participate in.  Please make regular attendance a habit.  Students miss so much more than just instruction.  They miss making and strengthening friendships, sharing with others, and learning how to be a friend and student.  Thank you for your support and partnership in this area. 

Weekly Schedule:
School begins on Thursday, August 14th at 8:00 a.m. for all students. Dismissal is at 2:30 p.m. for all students. Our goal is to keep our students safe at all times. For safety reasons, we encourage parents NOT to double park or call for children to cross the street when dropping off in the morning or at dismissal.

Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday 8:00 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. Please note that early release days are on most second and fourth Wednesdays of the month. Children are dismissed at 1:15 p.m. Please plan to pick your child up on time. Look at the district school calendar or be on the look out for parent square alerts for the early release Wednesdays.

Forms: 
On the first day of school you will receive written information and forms to sign. Please read, sign, and return these forms as soon as possible as they are important for your child’s education and safety. They include a variety of forms about emergency information, email/photo/internet slips and other items. All students must have an emergency phone number!

Uniforms:
Compton Unified School District has a uniform policy. The benefits include: saving money, instilling students with pride and discipline, and helping school officials recognize intruders on campus. All Bunche students are to wear their uniforms every day. This will be enforced. The uniforms are as follow:

K-5th grade: Navy blue uniform pants, shorts, jumpers, skirts, and white/navy blue/light blue polo shirts/blouses.
6th-8th grade: Navy-blue uniform pants, shorts, jumpers, skirts and navy-blue polo shirts.

On Fridays, students may wear jeans **(no holes or flared) with Bunche school/spirit shirt OR uniform shirt OR their regular uniform. 

I am very excited and look forward to a great 2025-2026 school year. Together, we will continue to improve our dedicated service to our families, our community, and most of all to our students. I look forward to working with you as a team to help our students achieve their goals. 

Warmly,

Mrs. Alvarado
Principal