Dear Colleagues:
I would like to share some important news with you. Anna Alejo, our Chief Communications Officer, has shared that she plans to leave DPS.
It is difficult express my appreciation for Anna’s contributions during her tenure. She has led communications during a time of major milestones, including the first leadership transition in a decade, a national superintendent search, teacher contract negotiations and the February 2019 teacher strike, the first in 25 years.
I’d like to share a few of Anna’s accomplishments:
- Increase in customer satisfaction as reflected in our Customer Service survey.
- A significant and notable change in communications focused on bringing real stories to life, confirmed by stakeholder feedback.
- Working with transparency with internal and external stakeholders to develop relationships that support collaborative teamwork.
- Advocating for a critical initiative to upgrade the school district's emergency communications to families, which we'll hear more about this fall.
- Achieving positive coverage on issues of importance to our community, including new graduation requirements, concurrent enrollment, teacher leadership and our principal pipeline, parent-teacher home visits, CareerConnect and the accomplishments of our extraordinary students.
We are fortunate to have benefited from Anna’s communications expertise and deep knowledge of the media landscape. But what I will cherish most are her wonderful personal qualities – her energy, passion, intelligence, professional integrity, kindness, and incredible work ethic. I know you join me in expressing our deepest gratitude to Anna for her contributions to DPS. Anna's last day with the district will be July 5.
Moving forward, we'll be working this summer on a transition in communications. And I’m excited to welcome Michael Vaughn back to DPS to lead this effort. Mike served as our chief communications officer from 2009 to 2014, and we’re pleased to have him back to oversee the transition. He will be working with us on a consulting basis this summer, as we examine the right structure and staffing for the communications office going forward. Anna has graciously offered to support this transition and will be working with Mike over the next month. I’m confident this work will strengthen our central-support team and provide great service to our schools, our families, and our community. Please feel free to reach out with any questions you have.
Warm regards,
Susana
