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SCCSBA President's Message

By Carol Presunka (Cambrian SD)

Happy February. Hope you all are experiencing the love this month!  

Thank you to all those Board Members who came to our New Board Member Workshop. We had over 40 attendees. And thank you to Superintendents Bravo (Campbell UHSD), Schwiebert (Cambrian SD), Jordan (MUSD) and Yao (Cupertino Union SD) and Board Members Chris Norwood (MUSD), George Sanchez (FMSD), Beth Erickson (Cambrian SD) and Sylvia Leong (Cupertino Union SD). Our two panels provided great information and thoughtful answers for our attendees. And thank you Chris Norwood and Shali Sirkay for facilitating the discussion.  

Thanks to Orenda for presenting on Equity vs. Equality at our January meeting. Hearing from the perspective of Luke vs Luis was very eye opening. The February 26th meeting will be on how to support our Unhoused Students. And don’t miss our March meeting where the talk will be Going Green: Economics vs the Environment.

Our Friday networking lunch had about 12 board members attending, a number of them new. Having the opportunity to get to know each other on an informal basis never gets old! Our next one is March 14 at Country Gourmet in Sunnyvale. Hope you can join us!

Our February 13 Lunch & Learn gave us the opportunity to hear about the budget impact of the Governor’s January revise. Thank you to Chris Reefe from CSBA for an insightful overview. Our next topic will be ADA Recovery and Attendance. How are we getting our students back in the classroom?

With our Covid relief funds expiring, board members are once again working hard to offer high standards in education and additional support for both staff and students with less resources. It’s thanks to the hard work of board members such as yourselves we continue to keep education strong in Santa Clara County Thanks for all you do!

Check out all the SCCSBA upcoming events and activities on our website: www.sccsba.org

Wednesday, February 26 - SCCSBA Evening Zoom Meeting

Our February Evening Zoom Meeting will be held from 7-8:30 p.m. on Wednesday, February 26. Our featured topic will be Unhoused Students/Homeless/McKinney-Vento Students. Our featured guest speaker will be Joann Vaars, Director of Foster and Homeless Youth Educational Services at the Santa Clara County Office of Education.

Candidates for the CSBA Delegate Assembly will also be doing brief speeches to our attendees. The CSBA ballots for Delegate Assembly have been sent to all districts, and boards will need to vote on their choices by March 17. There are four seats currently up for election for Delegate Assembly from our region and the candidates in alphabetical order are: Teresa Castellanos (SJUSD), Elisabeth Halliday (Campbell Union HSD), Naomi Nakano-Matsumoto (Fremont Union HSD), Van Le (ESUHSD), Jorge Pacheco Jr. (SCCBOE), George Sanchez (Franklin-McKinney SD), Vaishali (Shali) Sirkay (Los Altos SD).

All trustees are invited to attend, and no RSVP is needed. See your email inbox for the zoom link.

Saturday, March 8 - SCCSBA Legislative Brunch

Our popular annual SCCSBA Legislative Brunch will take place on Saturday, March 8 from 8:30 AM to Noon at the Fremont Union High School District Office Board Room (589 West Fremont Avenue in Sunnyvale). John Fensterwald, of EdSource and formerly the Mercury News, will be facilitating the panels with our legislators again this year. Our speakers will include county, state and federal legislators. Our keynote speaker will be State Board of Education President Linda Darling-Hammond. Please register at this link: legislativebrunch2025.eventbrite.com

Friday, March 14 - SCCSBA Networking Lunch

Our next informal networking lunch will be held on Friday, March 14 at Country Gourmet (1314 S. Mary Avenue) in Sunnyvale. The no-host lunch will be held from 11:30 AM until 1 PM. All trustees, new and experienced, are welcome to attend. It's a fun way to learn more about what's happening in districts across the county. Check your email inbox for the calendar invitation.

Thursday, March 20 - SCCSBA Lunch and Learn Zoom Meeting

Our Lunch and Learn series of noontime zoom meetings continues on Thursday, March 20 with the featured topic of Average Daily Attendance (ADA) and Attendance Recovery. How are your districts ensuring attendance in your schools? We would love to hear your thoughts on the subject. All trustees are invited to attend. Check your email inbox for the zoom link.

Wednesday, March 26 - SCCSBA Evening Zoom Meeting

Come and join us on Wednesday, March 26 for our evening SCCSBA Zoom Meeting from 7:00-8:30 PM. The featured topic will be "Going Green: Economics vs the Environment. How can schools create a more healthy and green environment? Our featured guest speaker will be Brooklyn Stewart from Centrica. All trustees are invited to attend and check your email inbox for the zoom link.

Los Gatos-Saratoga Union High School District

Los Gatos-Saratoga Union High School District Names Heath Rocha as New Superintendent

The Los Gatos-Saratoga Union High School District (LGSUHSD) Board of Trustees has officially appointed Heath Rocha as the district’s new Superintendent. The Board voted 4-0 in favor of his appointment during its February 11, 2025 meeting. Heath has been serving as Acting Superintendent since October 2024 and will continue in that role until he formally assumes the position of Superintendent on July 1, 2025, following the completion of Bill W. Sanderson’s contract.

Board President Steve Chen shared that Heath has done an incredible job over the past four months to rebuild trust in our community. “We are grateful that he took on the additional work of leading our school district,” shared Board President Chen. “Our recent community input survey results and the outpouring of support from students, staff, and parents that we’ve received through email and during public comment reemphasizes what we already knew. Heath is the right person for the job.”  

Milpitas Unified School District

Milpitas Unified School District's Black Excellence Collective educators hosted the 2025 Milpitas Black History Month Flag Raising Ceremony on February 3 in collaboration with the City of Milpitas.

This special event included the singing of the Black National Anthem; speeches from MUSD Board of Education President Chris Norwood, Superintendent Cheryl Jordan and members of the local NAACP; poetry from MUSD elementary students Kehara Shabazz, Taylin Jackson and Damoni Gaston; certificate presentations from Mayor Carmen Montano with City Council and Assemblymember Alex Lee's Office; and culminated with the BHM flag raising ceremony led by Milpitas HS Black Student Union members.

Morgan Hill Unified School District

The Chef Ann Foundation recently announced its 2025 Healthy School Food Pathway Fellowship, a program focused on transforming school food programs through leadership in scratch cooking and sustainable practices.

GianMario Oddi, Morgan Hill Unified School District’s Student Nutrition Superivsor, has been selected as one of just 27 school food leaders nationwide for this prestigious fellowship. This initiative empowers professionals to create meaningful change by prioritizing healthier, environmentally sustainable meals and championing equitable food reform.

GianMario’s participation underscores MHUSD’s commitment to innovation in school nutrition, reinforcing the district’s role in shaping the future of student meal programs. His dedication to fresh, high-quality meals reflects the district’s ongoing efforts to enhance school food service and provide nutritious options for all students.

Congratulations to GianMario and the entire Student Nutrition team for their continued leadership in providing fresh, scratch-cooked meals for MHUSD students!

Berryessa Union School District

On January 15, 2025, Northwood Elementary School was excited to welcome renowned young artist and author Mr. Tyler Gordon for a visit. Mr. Gordon read one of the books he has authored called "The Boy Who Found His Voice” to our TK through 2nd grade students. Mr. Gordon’s other book is titled “We Can: Portraits of Power”. In addition, Tyler painted a portrait of Dr.Martin Luther King Jr. and conducted a Q&A with our 3rd through 5th graders. Here is a YouTube link to Tyler's Good Morning America appearance when he was 15 years old. Tyler Gordon-Good Morning America. We are proud to have a local San Josean share their story and success with our students!

MetroED

SVCTE Student Recognized in Congressman Jimmy Panetta’s Congressional App Challenge

Silicon Valley Career Technical Education (SVCTE) center transforms students' lives by equipping them with the skills, resources, and confidence to thrive in their chosen careers. One shining example is Manjeetpal Singh, a Pharmacy Technician student at SVCTE and a senior a Evergreen Valley High School in East Side Union High School District.

Singh recently achieved recognition for his participation in the 2024 Congressional App Challenge for California’s 19th Congressional District. He was honored during a reception hosted by Congressman Jimmy Panetta for his groundbreaking app, MedCalen.

MedCalen addresses a common but critical issue: medication management. Inspired by family members who rely on reminders and alarms to take their medications, Singh developed an app that provides notifications when it’s time for a dose. The app goes beyond reminders by incorporating innovative features such as pharmacy locator tools (using zip codes), medication expiration tracking, appointment scheduling, and a chatbot with pre-filled answers to questions like, "What is Tylenol used for?"

Reflecting on his project, Singh shared, “I enjoyed having a group of two people test this app—my grandma and my sister. Both saw a positive difference in their lives. It’s so much more convenient.”

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