As we begin a new year, we want to congratulate the newly elected members of the Stockton Unified School Board. Congratulations to: Angel Ann Flores in Area 2, Donald Donaire in Area 5, Sofia Colon in Area 6, and Kennetha Stevens in Area 7. School boards are essential to preparing our young people for success, and the election of these candidates is a reflection of how important that role is in our community. Every day, we’re recognizing just how much learning time was lost during the pandemic, and how much work needs to be done to get our kids up to speed. 2023 is an exciting time to pursue new strategies and innovation in education, to rethink how schools operate and make changes that will benefit our kids. We see many solutions available in the year ahead: Offering tutoring that will catch students up on lost learning time and accelerate their learning even further. Supporting our teachers who have been through so much over the past few years, and doing more to recruit and develop a teaching corps from right here in the Valley. Creating high schools that better prepare students for the real world - allowing them to graduate ready for a career in some of the most exciting industries in our region. These are just a few of the many opportunities that our [...]

From Don’s Desk Teaching is as much a calling and passion as it is a profession and career. Those who choose teaching, whether kindergarten, middle school or high school, do it out of love for the mission of teaching and the difference teachers can and do make. To be honest, teaching looks easy until you try and do it. I didn’t think anything was harder than teaching adolescents and then after seven years of middle school I found myself in front of kindergarteners - for just one day - and it felt like a century of uncertainty and failure. From that day on I took the position that kindergarten teachers should be canonized. So today, let’s start by saying congratulations to every teacher you know and a shout out to the finalists for San Joaquin County Teacher of the Year: Staci Diaz, El Portal Middle School, Escalon Unified School District Tammy Hurst, Altamont Elementary School, Lammersville Unified School District Gary Pease, Jefferson School, Jefferson Elementary School District Annie Thompson, Ripona Elementary School, Ripon Unified School District Robert Winterhalter, Lodi High School, Lodi Unified School District Now, those who currently are teaching also know that not everything in the world of teaching and learning is perfect right now. Many of our educators are exhausted from two years of uncertainty and new challenges, and there are some new reports out about [...]