Fresno parents, here’s your chance to say what kind of school leader you want | Opinion
Fresno parents are invited to meetings Tuesday and Wednesday that will have direct bearing on the education local children receive in the years ahead.
At issue is replacing Fresno Unified schools Superintendent Bob Nelson. The district announced last month that Nelson was resigning to take a tenure-track job at the Kremen School of Education at Fresno State. Nelson will serve through July.
This week’s sessions are being conducted by Fresno Unified’s school board and are intended to give parents, and anyone else who cares about local education, a chance to tell board members and district officials what qualities to look for in the candidate to replace Nelson.
“We are doing some community conversations to hear from parents, from teachers, from other (community) members about what they would like to see in terms of skills or direction of the next superintendent,” Trustee Genoveva Islas told Bee staff writer Leqi Zhong. “We’re gonna use that information to form a job description, and then that’ll help us in selecting candidates that may apply.”
Qualities to look for
Given that the ethnicity of Fresno Unified’s student population is 69% Latino, the trustees should make hiring a Hispanic educator the top goal.
When a top educator is an ethnically diverse person, that leader can have a major influence on student and teachers. New Leaders, a national nonprofit dedicated to improving diversity in education, says “Representation allows students of color to see themselves reflected in the educators and school leaders that surround them at school — and then imagine bigger and bolder dreams for themselves.”
Opinion
Fresno Unified has an enrollment of 72,000, making it the third-largest school district in California. The superintendent is the top administrator, and has not just local influence, but statewide stature as well. A leader with a dynamic personality is needed.
That person should also bring a record of achievement when it comes to improving academic performance. Fresno Unified is well below state standards for both English language arts and mathematics. One of the district’s challenges is the performance of English-language learners. The most recent state assessment shows Fresno Unified making gains with this group of students, but they remain one of the poorest performing on state tests.
Public meeting schedule
Sessions begin at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 20 at the following schools:
▪ Bullard High cafeteria, 5445 N. Palm Ave.
▪ Edison High cafeteria, 540 E. California Ave.
▪ Sunnyside High cafeteria, 1019 S. Peach Ave.
Sessions at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday are at the following:
▪ Roosevelt High cafeteria, 4250 E. Tulare Ave.
▪ Fresno High cafeteria, 1839 N. Echo Ave.
▪ Hoover High, Ahwahnee Middle School cafeteria, 1127 E. Escalon Ave.
A session will start at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 21, at McLane High cafeteria, 2727 N. Cedar Ave.
The final session will begin at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Duncan Polytechnical High cafeteria, 4330 E. Garland Ave.
The district also has an online survey asking respondents to identify qualities the next superintendent should possess.
Speak out
It cannot be stressed enough how important this opportunity is for Fresno residents to share their views with school district officials. Plan to attend, even if a meeting is not in your local high school area, and share what experience and qualities you would like in the next superintendent.
