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September 2007
Getting To Know
Chief Human Resources Officer Sam Wong
Sam Wong
Having been with San Diego Unified School District for nearly 35 years, newly- appointed Chief Human Resources Officer Sam Wong brings a variety of experiences to the job. Many employees already know him as a teacher, vice–principal, principal and central office manager.

His career path has spanned the district from Morse to University City High; Correia to Bell Jr. High; Muir Alternative to Challenger Middle; finally landing at the Ed Center in 2006 as the Director of Leadership Development. In August, the Board of Education approved his appointment as Chief Human Resources Officer.

A Northern California transplant, Sam received his A.B. in Political Science and California Standard Teaching Credential from University of California, Davis. He accepted his first teaching assignment at Morse High School in 1972. He earned an M.A. in Multi-Cultural/Cross Cultural Education and Clear Administrative Services Credential from San Diego State University.

Sam’s relationship with the district reaches beyond employee / employer. He and his wife Katie, a former district employee herself, have three children who are products of the district. Their two older children attended Holmes Elementary, Kroc Middle, and graduated from Madison High School. Their youngest son currently attends University City High School, where Sam taught more than 25 years ago.

Staff Bulletin recently met with Sam to get his perspective on his new role.

What are you most looking forward to this year?
I am looking forward to a fun year. My first priority is to get to know everyone in the Human Resources Division on a personal level. I want to learn about the strengths of the division and areas where we can improve. From there, we can establish performance goals, develop best practices and focus on continuous improvement, using the principles of Baldrige. My ultimate goal is make every experience with Human Resources a phenomenally good experience.

What unique background and strengths do you have that will have the greatest impact upon our students and our schools?
I have a deep background in leadership development. I’m excited to apply all that I’ve learned and know to helping HR staff build on their own leadership capacity. I believe that everything we do, from the classroom to the central office, is about and for our students. In HR, we have the opportunity and obligation to hire the best people to work in our district and with our students because only great employees can make us “America’s Best Urban School District”.

Who or what has influenced you most in your job?
I’d say being an SDUSD parent as well as an employee. It gives me an insight into what our various customers want and need. It will take everyone together - top down, bottom up - to do the best for our kids.