Socorro Shiels is choice for SV School Superintendent

The following Press Release has been received from the Sonoma Valley Unified School District

Socorro Shiels Chosen as Finalist for Superintendent Position

Following an extensive search, which brought an excellent field of 30 capable and experienced candidates from four states, the Sonoma Valley Unified School District has unanimously selected Ms. Socorro Shiels as the finalist for the Superintendent position.

Ms. Shiels is currently the Education Director for the California Collaborative for Educational Excellence (CCEE). Sonoma Valley Unified School Board President Britta Johnson said, “Ms. Shiels was selected from our six highly qualified semi-finalist candidates brought to us by Leadership Associates. Input from over three-hundred stakeholders including teachers, parents, community members, support staff and the Sonoma Valley Education Foundation guided the Board’s decision. Of the seated Superintendents, Assistant Superintendents, and State Leaders interviewed, Socorro’s compassion coupled with her state-wide and local experience are a great match for our Sonoma Valley Unified community.

Ms. Shiels expressed an earnest enthusiasm to build positive relationships amongst stakeholders, support for teachers and a  shared vision of school community and student success. Socorro is also known for her commitment to accelerating student achievement at all levels and her belief that ‘the magic happens in the classrooms’. Her credentials and knowledge of the California educational environment was unmatched among our accomplished field.”

Ms. Shiels serves as the Director of Education for the California Collaborative for Educational Excellence (CCEE), where she works closely with volunteer districts in long term partnerships with the goal of achieving the strongest community engagement for long term equity-minded decision making and student success.

Prior to her work with the CCEE, Ms. Shiels most recently served as the Superintendent of Santa Rosa City School (SRCS) District located in Sonoma County, California. She left in her fourth year leading the district which serves over 16,000 students across 25 school sites. She has nearly 20 years of public education experience at the administrative and classroom level. Her proudest accomplishments in SRCS includes an empowering district culture shift to restorative justice for the entire school community as well as creating a strategic plan that included all community stakeholders with a
commitment to college and career readiness for eachstudent. That inclusive strategic plan has been the bedrock for a meaningful and authentic LCAP document and process.

Additionally, Ms. Shiels led the district team as a strong partner in the collective impact movement and mindset across Sonoma County to ensure community health, economic stability and educational attainment at all organizational levels. She brought a focus to growing community schools across the district to ensure thriving and powerful students, families and communities. Additionally, she served on the Instructional Quality Commission for the California Department of Education and as a representative for the Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team (FCMAT). Previously, she served on multiple boards and teams that strengthened community such as the County’s Health Action Board and the Upstream Investment Team. She continues to serve Sonoma County as a First Five Commissioner.

The approval of Ms. Shiels’ contract is anticipated at the regular meeting of the Sonoma Valley Unified Board of Trustees on April 17, 2018.