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June
22, 2008
Dear
Pershing Families,
I hope this letter finds you all relaxed and enjoying the freshness of summer
vacation.
I want to bring you up to date with the latest information about cost-saving
measures that our district has taken in order to address their projected $53
million shortfall for the coming school year.
The district has reduced the number of vice-principal positions in our
district. In order to do this equitably, middle schools, such as Pershing and Lewis, with a projected enrollment of less than 1,000 students, will have one vice-principal each.
Pershing has been fortunate to have two awesome vice-principals for the past few years. Pershing was the first vice-principal position for both Mr. Hillier and Mrs. Wu-Moriarty. Just as our students experience great personal and academic growth during their time at our school, a similar growth occurs with the adults on campus as well. Mr. Hillier and Mrs. Wu-Moriarty are ready to take that next step in their careers and both have decided not to accept a vice-principal position for the upcoming school year. Mr. Hillier is preparing for a different challenge (more news on this later!) and Mrs. Wu-Moriarty has chosen to pursue her goal of earning a PhD. She will be attending the University of San Diego as a full time student in the fall.
Though it is difficult to say goodbye to these outstanding members of the Pershing family, I am very excited about what is in store for our campus community in the coming year.
I recently offered the vice-principal position to Mr. Geof Martin and he accepted! His position at Pershing became official last Friday when the San Diego School Board assigned him to Pershing as our vice-principal for 2008/2009.
Geof Martin has an exemplary background and a strong history with our school. After he did his student teaching at Pershing, he stayed on and taught science here for about 10 years. Mr. Martin was the governance team leader at Pershing when I arrived as principal and I credit his leadership as an essential force that led to many of our practices at Pershing. He was also our dean of students in 2003/2004. Currently, Mr. Martin is a
vice-principal at Clark Middle School and previously served as a vice-principal at Keller Middle School. Mr. Martin took a leave of absence from our district in 2006/2007 to lead professional development for BSCS, an educational research and publication company.
While I value all the qualities that Mr. Martin possesses, I am particularly excited about his strong belief that we can make a difference and that
the size of the difference depends on the actions we decide upon and take. Our students need our best, especially when economic times are difficult and I know Mr. Martin will help us all to be our best. His strong leadership abilities combined with his dedication and enthusiasm will help Pershing continue to thrive and succeed.
As we enter the year with one vice-principal, a task that Pershing must address this summer is how to redefine our work responsibilities so that our single vice-principal does not end up with the combined work load that Mr. Hillier and Mrs. Moriarty handled. Not only is the faculty, staff, and administration ready for this challenge but we will find the answers as we continue to improve our service to your children. Please email me whenever you have an idea that you think would help us in any way.
Each year, during the summer, principals work a month longer than teachers do. We receive training and cover schools that are in summer session so all principals can attend training. In between these responsibilities, I will be organizing for the coming year. With your input as you think of ideas, I will prepare us for a strong running start at making 2008/2009 the best year ever for Pershing Middle School!
We had an awesome year due to our home/school teamwork on behalf of each of our young students. Speaking for each member of our Pershing staff, I thank you for sending us your wonderful children. It is gratifying working with all of you to prepare each individual child for high school and beyond!
Best wishes,
Sarah Sullivan
Principal
Pershing Middle School
ssullivan@sandi.net
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