Dear SDUSD Team,

My first few weeks here have been rewarding, busy and challenging. I’ve had the pleasure and privilege of visiting a number of schools, and hearing from principals, teachers, classified staff and students. There is a lot of talent and experience in the San Diego Unified School District. I really feel fortunate to be here with you. In the coming weeks, I plan to continue my school visits and will work hard to listen even more intently.

Right now is a tough time for us, and for all other school districts in California. The budget situation is a very challenging one; one that seems to change from week to week, even day to day. Our priority is to make sure cuts stay as far away from our schools as possible. These cuts are not easy. Many of them affect people. More than 80% of our budget is based on people, in salaries and benefits. The rest is operational expenses and supplies. We need to make sure that we continue to perform our essential services.

You often hear clichés about how in hard times, we find silver linings. I know that’s happening right now. I've heard from principals, who, with grace under pressure, have looked at how to redo staff development or preserve a specific program. They've ended up with something that they think will make even more of a difference for our students. That's true leadership. I know I'll see even more examples of this in the weeks ahead.

I know many of you are wondering what's going to be different, now that there's a new superintendent. As I mentioned, I've spent a lot of time visiting and listening and asking questions, so we can develop our priorities for the next school year. I'll continue to make more visits to our schools and facilities in the weeks ahead; however, there are some things that I would like to share with you now.

We'll continue to work hard on student academic achievement with a focus on making sure all students read at proficient levels by the time they’re in third grade. We need to work harder at making sure all middle school students are ready for the challenges of high school. And we need to do everything we can to make sure that as students enter high school at ninth grade, they stay with us all the way through graduation.

I also want to make sure we stay focused on being good to each other. Some employees are learning that their jobs may not be around next year. We're required by law to notice folks before we know for certain how our budget will end up. We are anxiously awaiting the Governor's revised budget proposal in May as we continue to lobby Sacramento. We need to make sure that our voices are heard about the devastating impact these deep cuts in education will have on our students and the district.

This system forces us to have to plan for the worst and hope for the best, which creates a lot of anxiety. Please be mindful of this. Take good care of your friends, your colleagues and yourselves. With everyone’s help, compassion and hard work, we'll all get through this time.....together.

Sincerely,
Terry B. Grier, Ed.D