Each of the seven elementary, three middle and two high school principals were shadowed by an invited guest or two, and shared school day experiences and insight into how schools run.
“Our community members, officials, principals and students thoroughly enjoyed our first Principal Day so we decided to make it an annual experience,” stated SJUSD Superintendent Diane Perez.
SJUSD’s Principal For A Day itinerary began at the SJUSD district office for a short welcome and light breakfast. Guests were paired up with principals and sent to the school sites to spend the morning performing regular duties and handling items like any other school day. At lunch time, Principal For A Day teams returned to the district office for lunch and shared their experiences and highlights.
“I was very honored to be selected for the 2017 Principal For A Day event,” said Ignacio Valdivia, Sustainability Coordinator for CR&R Environmental Services, the waste and recycling collection firm for San Jacinto. “I feel education is so important, and the programs and staff they have at Mtn. View High School are terrific for engaging and re-engaging students that need an alternative activity,” noted Valdivia, who also represented the Board of Directors from the Hemet/San Jacinto Valley Chamber of Commerce.
“I believe that as stakeholders in our communities, we need to be involved with our schools and ask questions and help fill the needs,” shared Debra Willis, a past president of San Jacinto Rotary and representative of the Willis Family Foundation. “The 21st Century classroom is different than when I went to school,” she continued, “and today I saw how the learning at Megan Cope Elementary is supported differently, even with the furniture.”
The 2017 Principal For A Day guests included: Art Asper, Retired Businessman; Gerald Chase, Cloverlane Foundation; Dee Cozart, Board President, Hemet/San Jacinto Valley Chamber of Commerce; Scott Cozart, Tribal Chairman, Soboba Band of Luiseño Indians; Rob Johnson, City Manager, City of San Jacinto; Tara Magner, Executive Coordinator, City of San Jacinto; Scott Miller, Mayor, City of San Jacinto; Bobbi Moreno, President, Hemet/San Jacinto Council PTA; Malea Ortloff, Eastern Municipal Water District; Jerry Peebles, San Jacinto Education Foundation; Captain Leonard Purvis, Riverside County Sheriff’s Department; Lt. John Salisbury, San Jacinto Police Chief of Police; Brad Scott, Scott Brothers Dairy; Ignacio Valdivia, Board Member, Hemet/San Jacinto Valley Chamber of Commerce; Debra Willis, Willis Family Foundation; Christyl Woodard, President, San Jacinto Elementary PTA.