A Message from our President
My tenure as Region 8 President has come to an end. As I reflect on the past year, I am grateful to all the volunteer hours our Board Members and all of you at the Charter level have dedicated to furthering the education and well-being of the students in Santa Clara County. I also want to compliment the Board members for assisting me and supporting me in my role. It has been my pleasure to serve as Regional President.
I encourage you to continue to be active in ACSA and take advantage of the networking and professional development we offer in Region 8. Make an effort to join us at our future membership events and leadership forums. February 9-10, 2024 will be our second annual Bay Area Equity Symposium (our joint effort with Regions 5 and 6). This promises to be another meaningful and empowering event that will benefit you as an educator on your equity journey. Finally, let's all continue to practice self-care so we can fully be there for those we serve. I look forward to supporting our new President, Daric Jackson, as he leads us further in our work to be our best and to know that what we bring each day is enough.
I wish you a relaxing and fulfilling summer break,
Sheila L. Walters
President, Region 8 ACSA
The Luggage Tag Challenge
Congratulations on another successful year! Yes, you had plenty of successes! Now is the time to reflect on all of the good things you did for students this year. It doesn’t matter what your role is, you made decisions that helped students achieve. I’ll let you decide what your success is; just make sure you take the time to acknowledge your contribution in the student learning process.
Once you’ve deservedly patted yourself on the back, take the time to think about why your successes were successful. What thought processes did you use to make the right decision? What were some of the hurdles you identified or experienced on your journey? Who did you need to bring along, consult, or ignore to get the job done? Why did you decide on the final strategy(ies)? I’m sure there are many more considerations you contemplated, yet somehow you made a decision(s) that benefited students.
As you take the time this summer to rejuvenate yourself, and do take the time y’all, begin to subtly or directly consider your student support practices for next year. I will give you a heads-up regarding your mission. Most of you are familiar with Luggage Tag issued by the airlines that identifies your travel destination. The barcoded strap is attached to each piece of luggage you check at the counter. This is a very important identifier of personal information, stops along your route, and proof of ownership in the Baggage Claim area of the airport.
This Fall, I will ask each of you to actually or symbolically write your student support destination on a luggage tag revealing your plans to continue your success next year. The luggage tag contains all of the strategies, goals, and practices you will need on your trip to achieve student success. Once you have written your destination on the luggage tag I will ask you periodically to review your tag to determine the GPS of your final destination. At the end of the year I will have you reveal the “original” destination. I will ask if you arrived safely? What practices did you identify that helped reach your journey’s end? If you reached your journey? Did your luggage get to its final destination or get lost along the way? If lost, were you able to recover your lost luggage and still enjoy the trip?
I strongly encourage you to complete each aspect of this article. Recognizing your contributions to student success is an important factor in maintaining your personal and professional resilience. Understanding what strategies you used to ensure your service to students was not deterred. And finally, building on your past success while planning for future success will give you the stamina to continue the good work!
Have a “Summer of You” and Be Efficacious!
Eric Andrew - Region 8 Executive Director/Consultant
Three Committee/Council Updates - Cheryl Jordan, Region 8 Rep
The ACSA Legislative Policy Committee is the body that provides our state ACSA advocates with input on recommendations for supporting, opposing, or staying neutral on proposed legislation. On June 5th representatives from each of the ACSA regions, Councils, and CALSA discussed proposed bills offered by our California legislators. Highlights from our discussion include the trend that through legislation assembly and senate members are advocating for instructional changes or emphasis such as a computer science course in high school and instruction for grades 1-6 on cursive handwriting. Linked is a brief summary of each bill.
Next year I will begin my term as the Chair of our State LPC, and I appreciate having this transition year with Jonathon Brunson as his Co-Chair in the last of his 3-year term. With gratitude I would like to highlight that Jonathon will be retiring and moving on from his work in MUSD as our Asst. Superintendent of Human Relations. I know that ACSA is in his blood and look forward to seeing him at our R8 meetings and ACSA state functions. Congratulations Jonathon!
Our ACSA State Curriculum Instruction and Assessment Council provided an opportunity for the CA Dept of Ed staff to provide updates on student assessments and accountability as well as program support for activities such as the Golden State Merit Diploma. For those who are interested in being a part of the model curriculum development team for ethnic studies the CDE summary includes application information. Thank you and Congratulations to Superintendent Bill W. Sanderson who will be our Region 8 Rep on the CIA Council for the next three years.
R8 Superintendents Council, Superintendent of Loma Prieta, Dr. Kevin Grier will be taking over as the SCC Superintendents Association President, and will represent R8 on the Superintendents Council unless he appoints someone else to take that role for our Association in 2023-24.
From the Franklin-Mckinley Charter - Magdalena Moore, President
As we close out the year, our Franklin-McKinley ACSA charter participated in our annual staff appreciation by recognizing our site administrator of the year and district office administrator of the year. Every year, colleagues nominate and vote for two administrators who exemplify the core values of the district and ACSA.
Maria Reyes, principal of Santee Elementary, was nominated based on her commitment to her community. Serving our highest need community for over 20 years, Maria brings continuity, advocacy and stability in her role as principal. She leads Santee with a vision of equity and excellence, and does the hard work of ensuring her students receive the high quality experience they deserve.
Annette Grasty, Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources, was nominated for her humanity and leading a high pressure department with understanding, grace, and calm. She is a model leader for her ability to regulate emotions while still making everyone feel heard with her warmth and compassion.
Congratulations to both of our Administrators of the Year! All administrators deserve a round of applause for persevering through the hard times, so honoring our own is such a joy.
Oak Grove Charter News - Sheetal Singh, OGMA President
The Oak Grove Management Association (OGMA) held our last charter meeting on May 10, 2023 and elected the new Charter Officers for 2023-2024. Congratulations to our new OGMA officers:
President - Sarah Kates-March
President Elect - Rafael Zavala
Treasurer - Donna Taniguchi
Secretary - Julie Silva
The last day of school for our students is Tuesday, June 13, 2023. We are planning our last event for the year, the OGMA End of the Year Social on Friday, June 16, 2023. We wish everyone a wonderful and restful summer break!
