January is time to acknowledge the school board and its role in supporting student achievement

Desert Sands Unified School District is joining more than 1,000 local educational agencies in the state in recognizing the contributions of board members during School Board Recognition Month. In this time of unprecedented challenges in nearly every sector of life, board members have worked tirelessly to help our district establish new ways of ensuring students continue to learn.

“Board members are our elected representatives and a vital link between the school district and the community,” said Superintendent Scott L. Bailey. “The board sets the foundation and vision for the district, directs resources where they are most needed, and ensures accountability to the community by monitoring progress toward goals. Their end goal is to support and elevate student achievement.”

During this challenging year, the Board of Trustees of Desert Sands Unified School District has worked to ensure that our Connect Initiative, providing each student with distance learning access, is working; provide leadership in serving meals to all of our students throughout the months of distance learning; support community outreach; and guide the work of the administrative team and principals and teachers to offer the best in distance learning while making certain that we are ready to move forward with a hybrid model of learning and, ultimately, to full in-person return to the classroom.

The DSUSD board members are:

  • President Donald B. Griffith
  • Vice President/Clerk Ana M. Conover
  • Wendy Jonathan
  • Tricia Pearce
  • Linda Porras

“I hope you will join me in saluting our hard-working board members for their support of our students through effective policies and for their continuing advocacy for more resources at the state level,” said Superintendent Bailey.

Altogether, roughly 5,100 California school board trustees — the largest group of elected officials in the state — aid in the establishment of education standards and benchmarks. In this role, trustees provide a critical link of accountability between the school system and local constituents and offer an accessibility to voters that is unrivaled by other public officeholders.

The next DSUSD Board of Education meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 12. During this meeting, the members of the board will be recognized.

Image Sources

  • DSUSD Board of Education: D3s19n Th1nk1n9