As County Superintendent of Schools, I resolve to provide leadership and service through increased levels of effectiveness, innovation and operational economy in the programs operated by VCOE and throughout all school districts in Ventura County.  I will endeavor to serve as both spokesperson and advocate for all Ventura County students, staff and parents through on-going and open communication among and between these groups, as well as with local and State agencies and legislators on behalf of these constituencies.   

In order to accomplish these functions, I will focus specific effort in the following areas:

·         Career Technical Education – Provide effective alternative avenues for student learning through a combination of academic rigor and practical skill sets.  Advocate for larger share of the funding stream for these programs to flow to County Office of Education operated programs.

·         Child and Adult Literacy – Recognizing that effective reading skill and comprehension are key to virtually every other academic discipline, it is critical to implement standards-based literacy programs and develop new programs to ensure that students read at or above grade level throughout their educational career.  Programs also need to be implemented that will help parents understand and be able to assist students with their school work. 

·         Cultural and Social Awareness – Emphasize character building, ethical behavior and personal responsibility in conjunction with awareness and sensitivity to the cultural diversity of Ventura County in order to develop our students into well rounded world citizens. 

·         Customer Service – Maintain and augment both customer service AND satisfaction through relationship building, responsiveness, and results in alignment with the needs of our client base and deliver innovative, customized services addressing these needs.

·         District Assistance and Intervention – Perform targeted work with selected school districts to improve organizational governance, human resources management, alignment of curriculum, instruction and assessment, professional development, parent and community involvement, and an effective and leveraged alignment of fiscal resources to program objectives and outcomes.

·         Drop Out Prevention – Provide accurate and ongoing analysis of student drop out rates in Ventura County, identify contributory factors to these trends and work collaboratively with our local school districts, the P-16 Council, AVID, SARB, and parent/community groups to implement effective deterrents for students at risk of dropping out of school. 

·         Facilities Enhancement – Manage current construction projects through to successful completion without cost overruns, ensuring that adequate space is available for expanding VCOE and SELPA programs as well as special education and career technical education.  Continue to aggressively access the State school building program for institutional projects, partnering with local school districts as appropriate, and explore alternatives for affordable educator housing through Housing Trust funds and/or private sector partnerships.

·         Fiscal Management – In a time of extreme fiscal uncertainty, continue to diligently perform our statutory oversight functions relative to school district budgets, interim reports, audits, collective bargaining agreements, and any other indicators of fiscal distress; concurrently providing proactive support and counsel for our client school districts.  Internally, continue to prioritize expenditure management and operational economies of scale as an offset to excess cost charges and promote conservative overall financial stewardship.

·         Preschool Proliferation – Recognizing that early childhood education has clear potential for our students’ future academic and social success, strongly advocate for improved quality and the expansion of preschool programs throughout Ventura County and work closely with district, county and community partners as appropriate to foster this objective. 

·         Professional Development – Continue to sustain a robust and evolving program of professional development activities for both certificated and classified staff, utilizing the full spectrum of speakers, from local to world-renowned, on a myriad of relevant topics ranging from basic skills to promoting high level leadership in everyday work.

·         Response to Instruction and Intervention – Provide systematic models within both general and special education that include high quality academic and behavioral interventions designed for early and effective assistance to all students that experience learning difficulties.

·         Servant Leadership – Utilize patience, coaching and listening skills to make an investment in the success of others, and allow our own actions to serve as an example so others may grow in their own leadership capacity.

·         Student and Staff Safety – Place a priority on establishing and/or maintaining healthy educational and work environments that are physically and emotionally safe and conducive to work and learning.

·         Technology Infrastructure – Continue build out to practical completion of the countywide wireless network for the delivery of financial, student information and educational content; and provide a variety of applications and uses accessible by all students, staff, parents and community members. Construct and outfit appropriate disaster recovery capability in the event of an unforeseen emergency.  Develop strategies for the conceptual migration of technology hardware and software as recurring supplies versus capital expense.

·         Underserved Student Populations – Establish and sustain a priority for supporting ALL students through programs and practices that reflect the highest standards of teaching and support from all staff; prioritizing student achievement, implementing quality standards-based  programs, using formative and summative assessment data to improve  instruction, ensuring the availability of resources, providing strong and effective leadership, and fostering parent and staff commitment.