April 5 Meeting Recap
Posted by Stephen Heath
Last meeting...
"Welcome to Sacramento, where every child reads and every child can count." That's the sign Jonathon Raymond would like to see posted at the city limits before his time as superintendent of Sacramento City Unified School District comes to an end.
"Good isn't good enough," Raymond told Rotary Club of Sacramento. "These days, you have to be great. You have to wake up running every day in this highly competitive world."
Raymond, who took over the reins of SCUSD last August, obviously knows about waking up running. He visited all of the district's schools in his first 100 days on the job, some more than once.
"I wanted to get out and listen," said Raymond, who came to Sacramento from the Charlotte-Mecklenburg school system in North Carolina. "I did make a few changes before the 100 days were up; you can't just ignore it when things obviously aren't working. But mostly I was out there to find out what was going on.
"What I found out was that there was some good work being done, but that it was more by happenstance than by design. I also found that there was an attitude that good is good enough. Good is not good enough. Our kids and grandkids have to be ready to compete globally."
Raymond, a Newton, MA, native who is a graduate of Tufts with a law degree from George Mason University, was introduced by Rotarian and Chair of the Day Ed Manansala, superintendent of St. Hope Schools.
"We've been working on a strategic plan that we'll unveil shortly," said Raymond, who was Chief Accountability Officer for Charlotte-Mecklenburg. "That's important because it will give the district a sense of direction. It will help principals understand what good schools look like and it will help teachers understand what good education looks like. It will also help the community-parents and other stakeholders-understand what they can do to help."
Raymond said the strategic plan will have three pillars: college and career readiness for students, stakeholder engagement and organizational transformation. The plan also mirrors Raymond's personal philosophy.
"We need to put children first in all our decisions, even if some of those decisions aren't popular," he said. "We need to make sure the whole administrative organization knows that its primary function is to support the schools. And we need to use local wisdom to guide us."
Raymond called on Rotarians to join in the effort.
"We're going to need involvement on every level, people to advise and people to read to kids," he said. "It is going to take the whole community to get the job done."
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President Beverly Brautigam introduced Rotarian Bill Porter, Jr., who eulogized his late father and thanked the Club on behalf of the family for its support after Bill Porter, Sr.'s passing two months ago.
"Good isn't good enough," Raymond told Rotary Club of Sacramento. "These days, you have to be great. You have to wake up running every day in this highly competitive world."
Raymond, who took over the reins of SCUSD last August, obviously knows about waking up running. He visited all of the district's schools in his first 100 days on the job, some more than once.
"I wanted to get out and listen," said Raymond, who came to Sacramento from the Charlotte-Mecklenburg school system in North Carolina. "I did make a few changes before the 100 days were up; you can't just ignore it when things obviously aren't working. But mostly I was out there to find out what was going on.
"What I found out was that there was some good work being done, but that it was more by happenstance than by design. I also found that there was an attitude that good is good enough. Good is not good enough. Our kids and grandkids have to be ready to compete globally."
Raymond, a Newton, MA, native who is a graduate of Tufts with a law degree from George Mason University, was introduced by Rotarian and Chair of the Day Ed Manansala, superintendent of St. Hope Schools.
"We've been working on a strategic plan that we'll unveil shortly," said Raymond, who was Chief Accountability Officer for Charlotte-Mecklenburg. "That's important because it will give the district a sense of direction. It will help principals understand what good schools look like and it will help teachers understand what good education looks like. It will also help the community-parents and other stakeholders-understand what they can do to help."
Raymond said the strategic plan will have three pillars: college and career readiness for students, stakeholder engagement and organizational transformation. The plan also mirrors Raymond's personal philosophy.
"We need to put children first in all our decisions, even if some of those decisions aren't popular," he said. "We need to make sure the whole administrative organization knows that its primary function is to support the schools. And we need to use local wisdom to guide us."
Raymond called on Rotarians to join in the effort.
"We're going to need involvement on every level, people to advise and people to read to kids," he said. "It is going to take the whole community to get the job done."
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President Beverly Brautigam introduced Rotarian Bill Porter, Jr., who eulogized his late father and thanked the Club on behalf of the family for its support after Bill Porter, Sr.'s passing two months ago.
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Two new Club members sat at the head table and were introduced by President Beverly: Judyann Horton of Pacific Conracting (sponsored by Fred Teichert and Chris Winger) and Kristina Swanson of the Sacramento History Museum (sponsored by Richard Noonan and Natalie Birk).
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Among the committee announcements was the startling revelation by Chris Ann Bachtel that RCS is already 20 pints behind arch-rival Point West Rotary is the annual Rotary blood drive. Bloodsource will have a mobile blood donation unit at the Radisson for the April 26 meeting (which coincidentally is Heroes Day) and is taking advance registration for people willing to donate before or after that day's meeting.
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Meeting sponsor was Michael Nelson of TLC Tech, Inc., a locally based IT consulting company that Nelson says "speaks human" and is dedicated to making technology work for you, rather than the other way around. - SRH