Chaparral Elementary School is a highly industrious gathering place! Each week, our campus is alive with legions of volunteers, committed professionals, hardworking support staff, and enthusiastic students. Our school boasts one of PUSD's largest forces of parent and community volunteers. Our site annually logs an average of 13,500 volunteer hours per year, according to PTA data collected over the past five years. Chaparral's 870 students, preschool, critical skills classrooms, and kindergarten through fifth grade, walk or ride buses from the neighboring areas of Rancho Bernardo and Poway.

Chaparral is a nationally recognized and award winning institution meeting the diverse needs of a large and motivated student body. As envisioned, these predicted accomplishments are guided annually through the shared leadership of Chaparral's dedicated teachers, staff, principal, and community. Together, we work hand-in-hand to foster in each child a passion to learn using enriched curriculum, researched best practices, and technological advances.

Our school goals are to increase student responsibility for individual behavior and to promote academic excellence for all students. Chaparral is a district leader in integrating character education throughout our academic curriculum. In 2000-2001, our school embarked on a journey to address student behavior concerns. Chaparral Elementary is mentioned in the nationally published Responsive Classroom brochure as a "success story" in the implementation of the model. In our classrooms, one can observe strategies such as morning meetings, academic choice, and cooperative structures to teach and support appropriate social development and academic achievement.