State of the School District Highlights MVUSD Accomplishments

The Moreno Valley Unified School District State of the School District event recently took place and was a way to celebrate the accomplishments of the past year. It was also a chance for Dr. Judy D. White, superintendent, to bid farewell and pass the baton to Chief Academic Officer Dr. Martinrex Kedziora, whom the School Board has chosen to succeed her as superintendent as of Feb. 1. The event opened with a performance by the award-winning Crimson Regiment from Valley View High School, led by director Loren Gamarra. The color guard from Canyon Springs High School was presented and the audience remained standing for the national anthem, sung by the Vista del Lago choir. White opened the event and thanked those in attendance and Vista del Lago High School for hosting the event. “Moreno Valley Unified School District – and, by extension, our entire community – is now clearly on the map,” White said. “Not a week goes by that we don’t get a call or e-mail from another school district asking for help and guidance.” White said other districts want to know what it takes for a large, urban school district to increase its graduation rate by almost 21-percent in just five years like MVUSD has. White said it has been the greatest graduation-rate increase for any school district in Riverside County, and one of the greatest increases in all of California. White also spoke about the seven Golden Bell Awards that were won in the last four years. The Golden Bell is presented by the California School Boards Association, and can be considered a prized award in California education. She said almost a third of all MVUSD schools are being recognized by the state for excellence in education over just two years, including 12 schools winning the Gold Ribbon Award. “I am grateful and humbled to work each day with the professional educators, support staff and students who have made all these things happen,” White said. White said Latino students now graduate at a rate just above the district average, and African-American students are now graduating just a little below the district average. She said the two groups are separated by just 2.6 percent. With a district graduation rate of 86.2 percent, White said it exceeds both the state and national averages. White also noted that the Class of 2016 claimed a record 35-million-dollars in scholarships and grants. Continuing the event, White also introduced the School Board including: School Board President C.J Johnson, Board Vice President Gary Baugh, Board Clerk Susan Smith, Board Member Jesus Holguin and Board Member Evan Morgan. “If we had time, I’d like to introduce all 34-hundred employees of Moreno Valley Unified, because each one of them plays an important role in helping our students find success,” White said. “Whether they serve students in the Board room, the classroom, or the lunch room, our employees do it with pride and purpose, and they deserve a big round of applause for the work they do each day.” White introduced six students who scored the highest in the entire district in grades 3, 4 and 5 on last spring’s California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress or “CAASPP” – otherwise known as the new state test. The students included Mario Castelo, from Palm Middle School; Ari Long, from Mountain View Middle School; Aithy Ho, from North Ridge Magnet Elementary; Michelle Ko, from Hidden Springs Elementary; Aubrey Lightfeldt, from Hidden Springs Elementary; and Claire Lima, from North Ridge. White also recognized notable alumni including Steven Wright, a 2002 graduate of Valley View High School, where he was a stand-out pitcher. Wright now pitches for the Boston Red Sox. Tristan Mays, an alumni from Vista del Lago, was a head cheerleader and captain of the dance team. Now, she is an actress who has played on TV shows including “Supergirl,” “Switched at Birth,” “The Vampire Diaries” and “MacGyver.” Toward the end of the event, an emotional video of students thanking their teachers was shown to the audience, produced by Public Information Officer Tim McGillivray.