Embattled SAUSD Superintendent Thelma Meléndez de Santa Ana recently lost the support of the Santa Ana Educators’ Association, the union that represents our teachers. Sources said the School Board was about to call her on the mat. She has apparently decided to run for the hills, as the SAUSD announced her retirement in a press release distributed last night. (See it below). Kudos to SAEA President Susan Mercer – she won this war.
I was hoping she would make a difference but instead she weakened school discipline, hurt our fundamental schools, made a mess of food service, hired too many consultants, and failed to crack the SAUSD’s entrenched bureaucracy. Adios Thelma. Enjoy your huge pension… We can but hope that the next Superintendent will be an improvement.
Here is the SAUSD’s press release, which as you might expect is quite sugarcoated:
SAUSD Superintendent to retire after 30 years in education
Thelma Meléndez de Santa Ana will retire in July to be closer to her family
Praises board, district teachers, and administrators for strong progress at SAUSD
April 23, 2013 – After 30 years as an educator, Santa Ana Unified School District Superintendent Thelma Meléndez de Santa Ana, Ph.D. has announced that she is retiring. Dr. Meléndez, whose career spans from classroom teacher to a top national educator advisor to the President of the United States, led California’s sixth largest school district for nearly two years. Her decision to retire has been spurred by a desire to spend more time daily with her family who continued to reside in Los Angeles County while she lived in Orange County for the nearly last two years while serving the district.
The former Assistant Secretary for Elementary and Secondary Education in the Obama Administration’s Department of Education and former superintendent of Pomona Unified Schools said that retiring was a difficult professional decision to make, but it was the right personal decision. “With my husband continuing to teach at UCLA, and my parents advancing in age in Montebello, I believe that now is the right time to reprioritize my time, efforts and energy. The distance between all of us has become burdensome. I am tremendously proud of all of our accomplishments in the Santa Ana Unified School District over the past two years — the School Board, our great teachers, staff, and administrators, and the
leadership team has worked diligently and collaboratively in making critical inroads. It has been a rewarding two years, and I have been honored to serve as superintendent,” said Dr. Meléndez.
Dr. Meléndez, with the vision and leadership of the School Board and the entire SAUSD community, has worked to increase the academic rigor in all SAUSD schools with the implementation of the Common Core State Standards which has given the District national and state recognition. Efforts to improve the District’s school attendance and reduce student dropouts were recently recognized as a model to other districts by the California Department of Education. Increasing parental and community engagement for the success of students has been a major focus during Dr. Melendez’s tenure.
“Although we are disappointed, we certainly understand that her family comes first and want to thank Dr. Meléndez for her leadership and wish her a happy and joyous retirement,” said José Alfredo Hernández, J.D., President of the Santa Ana Unified School District Board of Education. “She has ensured that Santa Ana Unified has a seat at the table in statewide policymaking and that has given our District a greater voice in Sacramento.”
“We are initiating a process to identify a new Superintendent and will focus on selecting someone who will continue to improve the learning environment for our students,” added Hernández. Dr. Meléndez will continue to serve the Santa Ana Unified School District while the Board initiates a recruitment process for her successor. Her retirement will become official in late summer. “Our efforts will be focused on ensuring a smooth transition for everyone involved across the District.”
For additional information, please contact Deidra Powell, Chief Communications Officer at (714) 558-5555 or at deidra.powell@sausd.us.
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“I was hoping she would make a difference”…… Hmmmmmmm
I wonder based on what you have spur your hop?
Was it her involvement with the communist Obama’s pro Islam administration or was it your favorite selection by color of her skin?
SAUSD needs to decide whether it wants to be a school district or a social services agency.
This is a complex subject, because the two are interrelated. But, clearly the schools involvement in social issues have taken away from the focus of its job: EDUCATION.
I don’t hear anybody talking about this, not Rob, Audrey, Palacios former member Reyna. Nor do I read other outlets discussing this. We read about how great Irvine schools are, but they have socio-economic advantage.
Four (I think) of the sitting council members do NOT have kids in Santa Ana schools.
This is worth discussing.
“This is a complex subject”……….. Hmmmmmmm
No, it is not!
Stop the reverse discrimination again the whites and put Mexicans on same footing as are the whites.
It should be known to all students that if you drop out you will work for the Cesar Chavez onion fields.
That is how it worked in my school days in the old Czechoslovakia accept that the onion fields would be substituted by coal mines, garbage collector and bricklayers.
We learned quickly.
She is leaving but her legacy of financial mismanagement will be felt for years.
Wasn’t she using Pesos while making business deals? Maybe she didn’t know the exact exchange rate!
SAUSD = Save All Undocumented Students Damn-it
Thelma threw in the white towel? What a loser, she quit on the students!!! Hell Valley needs to be Heaven Valley.
Editor, why delete my sentence regarding Mr. P?
Were you referring to John Palacio? In that case, fire away.
Well, if I had my magic wand, I would fire him too but I’m referring to a specific principal…I’ll let parents figured it out!
It is time to clean house at the SAUSD…
Name one replacement, Editor
She did the same things in pomona, left the school district in ruin, and ran to washington.
Very true. Both districts will be paying her huge pension for years to come…
Money good spend Admin, she is Latina.
One day you may realize that it was Gringo’s IQ which build the civilize world.
It is third wold primitives like Meléndez who charmed the left liberal socialist to destroy the civilization back into the stone age.
Backlash is beginning!
The people are sick and tired of the political correctness!
It is interesting to hear you talk about third world primitives when you can barely write the English language. Interesting…
If you would be intelligent as you believe you are, Onanymous, you would realize that the main purpose of the language is a communication.
So, if you do not understand my language then I have failed in my communicative skills regardless of linguistic arts like grammar and spelling, or you may just be a moron mongoloid.
What do you suggest Stanley Fiala? What solutions do you have for the school district?
Stop using this left-liberal-progressive-politically-correct social experiment crapola and start using century proven teaching techniques by hurting child’s feelings and telling him that he is an idiot and will have to work for the Cesar Chavez’s union in the onion fields if he will not learn.
In addition, import teachers from the countries which know how to teach, and teach in English only ending the affirmative action.
These who will fail will be given a job for the county to pickup a roadkill on the streets and collect garbage for non union wages meaning that all unions should be declared illegal.
Learn form cities like Detroit ravaged by the union labor where union educated child, functional idiot, can earn $100 per hour to put hubcaps on the car wheels.
Not any more!
The union socialists must learn the hard way.
Here’s the truth. Dr. Melendez de Santa Ana is a courageous, transformational leader who decided it was not worth sacrificing her family to deal with an ungrateful board and greedy employees. She made the right decision – and SAUSD will now get the future they deserve. Buena suerte!
greedy employees? oh really…..ya wanna back that up?