April 22 marked 100 days at the helm for Sonoma Valley Unified School District Superintendent Louann Carolomagno. The Sun met with Louann in the district offices to talk about what she’s accomplished so far, her goals for the upcoming year and how she feels in her new position.
The Sun: Tell us, what have you accomplished so far in your new position?
Louann: I’ve taken the time to reflect on my first 100 days ad realized that a lot has been accomplished. First, we’ve hired a high school principal – Dino Battaglini, voted in by the school board at the April 13 meeting. Also, in conjunction with the Boys & Girls Club, we reapplied for and secured a $337,000 state grant for the Afterschool Education and Safety (ASES) program for another three years for El Verano, Sassarini and Flowery. I feel really great about that, as it will enable us to move forward with the next level for that program. Another big thing – I set goals for myself that I report out at the school board meeting.
The Sun: Can you elaborate on a few of your goals.
Louann: My first set of goals centered around communication. I talked to other superintendents as well as colleagues and community members to determine what I needed to accomplish in my first six weeks on the job. That included brown bag lunches at every site, meeting with every possible community group interested in meeting with me in addition to all the PTO and ELAC members. I also began writing my blog, which has turned into a great way for me to informally communicate information that I think is interesting or important for our community members to know about.
The Sun: That’s a lot in the first six weeks. What about the remainder of the school year?
Louann: Based on information I received from PTO, ELAC, school sites, I developed my goals from that point on until the end of June. One of those goals includes initiating JumpStart kindergarten in all five elementary schools. We received a grant for two of our schools – El Verano and Flowery – for JumpStart, which is a new summer program for kindergarten readiness. We’re targeting 20 students at each of our elementary schools who have not had preschool experience. At El Verano and Flowery, these are students who have no preschool experience and are English Language Learners as that’s what the grant is for specifically. We’re funding the other three sites because we think this is so important. JumpStart will run for two weeks in June and two weeks in August.
The Sun: What other programs might the community be interested in learning about?
Louann: With the help of Justin Frese – assistant superintendent of business – we’ve gotten the district-wide garden program up and running. The garden project has been really exciting for people. Different schools have different ideas of how they want the garden to play into their school. And that’s what I love – each school can refine how they want their garden to play into their curriculum. I think that is powerful. And the goal at each site is to pay someone to do some coordinating around each garden. Because if you leave just on it’s own, you’re not going to gain the momentum to run the program correctly.
The Sun: What about summer school? Budget cuts mean changes. What will this program look like?
Louann: We’re reinventing summer school for the K-8 program. Karla Conroy – Adele Harrison principal – is heading this up. The program will be for incoming sixth and ninth-grade students. We’re targeting approximately 160 of the most at-risk students – those who have been caught not moving forward on the California English Language Development test or on the California standards test. Most importantly, we’re redesigning the curriculum so we’re targeting the needs of the students in the program. We’re also offering enrichment through the Youth Initiative of the Sonoma Valley Fund. They’ll be paying for field trips and other hands-on learning activities over the summer.
The Sun: Now that you’ve hired a new high school principal, tell me about the search process.
Louann: Well, I’m 100 percent certain that we made the right decision in reopening the search process after our first chosen candidate dropped out. We were insistent that the candidate meet the entire profile as much as possible. And it was really worth going back out again. I’m so glad we did. Dino is great.
The Sun: Tell us about the new principal, Dino Battaglini. People have expressed concern that he’s coming to Sonoma from Tomales, a much smaller high school. Can you comment on that?
Louann: Well, Dino also worked for nine years as the vice principal of Antioch High School. Antioch has 2800 students so that tenure really gave him an outlook on what’s it like to run a big comprehensive high school. And really, whether it’s 400, 800, or 2800 students, there are certain characteristics that you look for in a leader. That and personable qualities, which Dino certainly possesses. He’s already gotten involved, bringing his family to the high school play. They’re down to earth folks and they’re excited about his being here, which is great for us.
The Sun: Can you speak to the relatively high rate of turnover for our high school principal position?
Louann: For Micaela (Philpott), the lure of retirement was there for sure. Besides that, I think that being a high school principal is probably the most challenging job in the district, second to being superintendent. It is a 24-hour a day job. And it’s become even more so. The expectation is that you will participate in all the events at the high school. That you will be a visionary leader, you will work with students, you will get all kids college and career ready. The list goes on and on. It’s a big task and you have to find the right person for the job. High school principals are in demand all the time. They have to be strategic and plan their time accordingly. Luckily, Dino is the kind of person who involves his family.
The Sun: Any last comments?
Louann: I want people to know that I am always available to them for questions, comments or suggestions. I’m really looking forward to continuing my work next year with our schools and the community. It’s going to be great!
