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School chief offers vision for district I'm honored to have been appointed superintendent for the Pleasant Valley School District. As I look forward, I'd like to now share with the community a great sense of pride and optimism. Make no mistake, I understand and appreciate the hard challenges and controversies of the past. But it has been said that challenges are gifts that force us to search for a new center of gravity. A vision to refocus our efforts, to recognize the wonderful achievements made by Pleasant Valley students, teachers, staff and administrators while taking advantage of the vast potential for positive change, is that new center of gravity for me. I propose four pillars for positive change here at the district that will guide our every effort. First, we must reaffirm our customer service commitment. The Pleasant Valley School District is a serviceoriented organization, and parents, students, district staff and the community are our customers. We must be as available and responsive to our customer needs as any business. The district has begun a thorough review of all the district's practices and is seeking input from those both inside and outside. We will also evaluate comparable services and practices that have proved successful in other districts. It's our business to serve, and we must celebrate that opportunity. Second, while we must recognize our achievements as a district and the accomplishments of our dedicated students, teachers and staff, we must also rededicate ourselves to an even higher level of academic performance. As a current example, the California Business for Education Excellence Foundation and Just For Kids, California, announced last week that PVSD's Santa Rosa Technology Magnet School was one of 569 schools in California worthy of their 2007 Honor Roll for having demonstrated consistently high student academic achievement and for making significant progress toward closing achievement gaps among all students on campus. Indeed, PVSD can continue to be one of the highest achieving districts in Ventura County. However, by challenging ourselves daily to do better by offering stronger learning opportunities for all students that attract families to the district, we can raise the bar on our focus on excellence. Third, I want to help the district forge even stronger community relationships. The Pleasant Valley School District will work to broaden the lines of communication with the community, including discussing opportunities and challenges with our local elected officials, newspapers, service organizations, parents and business partners. We must make it a top priority to individually and collectively work toward increased internal and external communication. And by operating in an environment of increased openness and transparency, we can begin to rebuild the trust and candor we will need as a district, internally and externally, to achieve our goals. Lastly, we have begun the work, in collaboration with the board of trustees, to ensure longterm stability within the district. Without stability in district finance, leadership and planning, we will never realize the high goals we will establish for the district. I am working with new senior district staff and the board of trustees to develop longterm strategic planning for the district that will set goals and expectations. By doing so, we can show a clear path for our success to the community and district employees. I see what amazing things are done every day by teachers and students on campuses throughout our district. I am inspired, and the residents of Camarillo should be proud. The trustees and I will be sharing those achievements with this community, as well as the great opportunities ahead. By concentrating on the goals we have reached and the ones we can surely attain, I hope to focus the public dialogue on the future- the future is our new center of gravity. Dr. Luis Villegas is superintendent for the Pleasant Valley School District, serving the community of Camarillo. |
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