Jon Gundry appointed Superintendent by Santa Clara County Board of Education
The Santa Clara County Board of Education voted unanimously on Wednesday, July 16 to appoint Jon R. Gundry as the new County Superintendent of Schools, effective Aug. 1 (see 'Board actions in July' below).
Announced as the sole finalist for the position in June, Gundry is currently the Superintendent of the Pasadena Unified School District.
"The Board is pleased to welcome Superintendent Gundry to Santa Clara County and we are confident that he will provide the SCCOE and its staff with the vision and leadership necessary to guide the organization's advocacy, ensure efficacy and continue to provide students, schools and districts with the best continuum of services possible," said Board President Leon Beauchman.
Gundry has served as Superintendent of Pasadena Unified, a district of 18,000 students, since he was appointed by the Board of Education in July 2011. He has over three decades of experience as a teacher, principal and instructional leader.
"It is a great honor to be selected as the new Santa Clara County Superintendent of Schools and I look forward to engaging with the entire community - the SCCOE staff, teachers, district and charter school leaders, students, families and community leaders - as we work together to improve educational equity for every student that we serve. Ensuring that all children have access to high-quality instructional opportunities is at the core of the SCCOE's mission and it is imperative that all of our students are provided with the support and tools necessary to reach their greatest potential," said Gundry.
Prior to his tenure with Pasadena Unified, Gundry served as Deputy Superintendent of the Los Angeles County Office of Education (LACOE) from 2008 to 2010. Gundry was appointed Interim Superintendent of LACOE in September 2010. As Chief Executive Officer for LACOE and Secretary of the County Board of Education, he was responsible for the financial and academic success of 80 school districts serving over two million children, with $16 billion in school district funding.
Before joining LACOE, Gundry served in the Houston Independent School District beginning in 1982. He has a Bachelor's Degree in English and Spanish from Northern Arizona University and a Master's Degree in Education Administration from Houston Baptist University. Fluent in Spanish, Mr. Gundry was a Fulbright Scholar and spent a year teaching in Nicosia, Cyprus.
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Communications toolkit highlighted at national conference
This month, staff from the SCCOE's Office of the Superintendent and Media & Communications department presented at the annual National School Public Relations Association (NSPRA) conference held in Baltimore, MD.
 Ken Blackstone, Director of Media & Communications, and Toni Cordova, Chief Strategy Officer, shared how several departments collaborated to create a comprehensive communications toolkit for use in community outreach and advocacy efforts. The SCCOE's Biliteracy and World Languages Communications Toolkit was used as an example of an effective toolkit that was created to address a specific need for the schools and districts of Santa Clara County, while supporting the overarching mission and goals of the organization and Board of Education.
Through the SCCOE's presentation and study session, participants learned how to create a message that would resonate with their target audience, leverage the resources available to them from key stakeholders, determine the elements for a successful communications toolkit and distribute the toolkit to students, families, educators, schools and community partners.
The NSPRA national conference is the largest gathering of school communications professionals in North America, bringing together the knowledge and expertise of school public relations professionals and educational leaders for a seminar covering a wide range of topics, including accountability and transparency, communication technology, media relations and branding and marketing. |
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Walden West offers grants for new sustainability center program
 The Abby Sobrato Science and Sustainability Center, a new feature of the SCCOE's Walden West campus, is offering grants of up to $500 to elementary and middle schools in Santa Clara County to cover the cost of transportation and attendance fees for students to attend programs during the school year.
 The Sustainability Center is a one-of-kind facility in Santa Clara County, with science programs that can accommodate groups of up to 90 students during one-day field trips. A unique blend of activities allow students to rotate through three investigative stations where they explore the outdoors and participate in a hands-on, inquiry-based science and sustainability-related lesson.
Santa Clara County schools with a student population that has a free and reduced meal status of at least 40 percent are eligible to apply for funding. Approximately 12 grants will be awarded each semester on a first-received, first-served basis, and an unlimited number of grades from the same school may receive a grant. The submission period for applications opens Friday, Aug. 1.
For more information, please visit the Walden West website.
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Board actions in July
Here's a summary of some of the actions taken by the Board at its July 16 meeting:
- Approved a contract with the next Santa Clara County Superintendent of Schools, Jon R. Gundry;
- held a public hearing on the disclosure statement of the tentative agreement for a successor contract between the County Superintendent of Schools and the Psychologists and Social Workers Association;
- awarded a bid to San Jose Construction Company for the construction and replacement of the SCCOE's Ridder Park Data Center; and
- recognized Paula Bates, Paul McConville, Yvette McShane, Luz Olivas and Steve Sanchez as the SCCOE Substitutes of the Year.
The Board of Education is the elected governing body of the SCCOE. Its seven members serve four-year terms and are elected by different regions of the county. Learn more about the members, and view their meeting schedule, agendas and minutes.
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Since 1852, the Santa Clara County Office of Education has provided vital services and resources to the county's 31 K-12 public school districts and more than 250,000 students. The COE strives to provide advocacy and leadership on education issues, student programs that are models of excellence and indispensable services to schools and community partners. The COE is commited to serving, inspiring and promoting student and public school success.
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