Welcome to our board meeting! We are glad you made an effort to attend this evening!
I’m happy to introduce our new staff members who have now come onboard. Dr. Mariana Gomez, Program Manager of Equity & Culture, Dr. Amy Illingworth, Director of Professional Growth; Dr. Jay Marquand, Director of Alternative Education; Dr. Luz Elena Perez, Director of Language Acquisition and State & Federal Programs; and, Dr. Dan Winters, Director of Research, Evaluation & Accountability. Welcome to Sweetwater. We are so happy you are part of our team, a team that is putting students first!
I would also like to congratulate our assistant superintendent of business services who successfully defended his dissertation yesterday, Dr. Moises Aguirre!
For the past two board meetings, we have invited staff, students, parents, and community members to join us for the LCAP stakeholder process. Tonight, during the public hearing item D-1, we will be sharing the draft of our revised Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP) based upon that input. Much appreciation is extended to the over 1200 students, parents, and staff who attended and participated in our process. We will take the input from our Board and the Sweetwater community at large tonight and bring back the final revision for board approval in December.
I want to acknowledge and thank the Language Acquisition, State & Federal Programs who helped us at all the LCAP meetings with set-up, translation, facilitation, transcription of all stakeholder comments. Thelma Stevenson, Molly Ravenscroft, Liz Carzoli, Heather Bolles, Rodrigo Arancibia, Gerardo Moreno, Ana Marina GomezGil-Hirsch, Tony Guzman, Gilda Marentez, Martha Bishar, Liz Hernandez, Adriana Hernandez, Monica Cacho, Lydia Silvas, Silvia Cardona, Priscilla Rodriguez, Yolanda Hernandez, Ceci Cota, Amelia Haro, Reyna Ocampo, Florence Obedoza. Overall, a total team effort! Thank you all very much!
It’s that time of year and as we approach the holidays I encourage everyone to make time to stop and think about the positive aspects of our lives…that we stop and remember the people for whom are we grateful. Some days we forget to stop and take a moment to look around us; some days we are so busy, it’s more of a challenge to see the joy that surrounds us. Next week is Thanksgiving…a time to remind us to give thanks. In the sentiment of one of Josh Groban’s songs called “Thankful”… for tonight let’s be thankful for what we know can be. And as we move toward the holidays, let’s hope for what we still can’t see. It’s up to us to be the change and even though we all can still do more, there’s so much to be thankful for.
I am thankful a committed group of individuals, some community members, some current and former employees, took a stand and spoke out against what was going on here in Sweetwater. I am thankful they persisted because we now have an opportunity to start fresh with five new board members, a new superintendent, a new leadership team, and a new direction.
While we are on this journey, we may not always agree, but even with our differences there is a place we’re all connected; and, as we move forward because we know our district, our students need and deserve so much more…there’s so much to be grateful for…
I’m grateful for the staff, the students, the parents, the community members and community partners who are giving the board of trustees and the new district leadership a chance to get all of us, to get Sweetwater back on track. We know we need to earn your trust through listening and taking action. I’m confident we can and are doing what’s necessary to get our house in order – our entire house!
So for tonight let’s be thankful for what we know can be. And as we move forward, let’s hope for what we still can’t see. It’s up to us to be the change and even though we all can still do so much more (and we will), there’s so much to be thankful for…
I wish you all a very happy Thanksgiving with your family and friends!
Thank you for the opportunity to serve and support you!
Sincerely,
Karen Janney, Ed.D.