In this edition ...

• Staff changes at Crittenden, Graham, Theuerkauf and Bubb
  
• Shoreline update: Short-term agreement a step in the direction of right-sizing funding for our schools 

MVWSD is blessed to have a team of administrators who are education experts and have the needs of all of our students at heart. We are happy to announce new assignments for our school administrators for the 2023-24 school year. Their talents will serve these schools well.

Danielle Lyons, currently Assistant Principal at Crittenden Middle School, will be the new principal at Theuerkauf Elementary School. Ms. Lyons has taught for 10 years; six of those years at Stevenson Elementary and she was an instructional coach at Stevenson Elementary. She has earned a M.S. in Educational Technology from Central Connecticut State University, a B.S in Elementary Education, and a B.A. in Theater from Southern Connecticut University.

Michelle Williams is a new assistant principal at Graham Middle School. She served as principal at Theuerkauf Elementary School for three years. Ms. Williams has 12 years of K-12 teaching experience. Before MVWSD, she served as Dean/Vice Principal of Instruction and as Instructional Coach at e3 Civic High in San Diego. Ms. Williams earned a bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Texas at Dallas and a master’s degree in Educational Leadership from San Diego State University. She is fluent in Spanish and speaks conversational Russian, Arabic, and Mandarin.

Julie Thompson will be a new assistant principal at Crittenden Middle School. Ms. Thompson has 15 years of administrative experience. Most recently, she has served as assistant principal at Graham Middle School and as a principal in the Redwood City School District. She has also served as Director of Human Resources for the Campbell Union High School District, and as an assistant principal in the San Mateo Union High School District and in the Hayward Unified School District. Ms. Thompson has bilingual education experience as a Spanish/bilingual teacher in the Sequoia Union High School District and Ravenswood School District. She has a bachelor’s degree in Spanish from UC Davis, a master’s degree in education from San Francisco State University, and a master’s degree in educational leadership from UC Berkeley.

Mariko Kobata will be the new principal of Bubb Elementary, replacing Principal Cyndee Nguyen who will be moving on to become the District’s new Director of Early Literacy. Ms. Kobata is currently a MVWSD Special Education Coordinator and has worked as an assistant principal at Graham Middle School. Ms. Kobata came to MVWSD in 2002 as a special education teacher at Graham, and later taught at Imai Elementary. Before MVWSD, she worked as a special education teacher for six years at the middle school level. She has a bachelor’s degree from University of Nevada and a master’s in educational administration from the University of Phoenix.

Dear Parents,

Many of you saw news coverage about a short-term education funding agreement between our District and the City of Mountain View.

This is a temporary solution to a complex but important tax structure issue. Without the Shoreline Community’s unique tax district, our schools would receive $13.9 million annually. The agreement signed this month will provide a portion - $5.7 million - in crucial funding that we will immediately put to use for our students. This is a step in the direction of right-sizing Shoreline funding to help address needs such as class size reduction, mental health and special education services.

Let me assure you that the Board of Trustees and I are committed to working with the City to develop a long-term solution that prioritizes our students and secures for them an excellent public education, both now and in the years to come.
To learn more about Shoreline and how it impacts funding for Mountain View Whisman School District, please feel free to explore the resources available on our website: mvwsd.org/fairshare.

Respectfully,
Ayinde Rudolph, Ed.D.
Superintendent