Dear CVCHS Stakeholders,

As you most likely know, Clayton Valley Charter High School is experiencing some turmoil as of late. Most specifically, at the last CVCHS Governing Board meeting, the Board voted to terminate without cause the Director of Operations, Pat Middendorf. The school cannot disclose or discuss the confidential personnel information that led to Ms. Middendorf's termination, however it is important to assure you that the Governing Board has acted, and will continue to act, in the best interests of our school. Unfortunately there is a great deal of misinformation and rumor circulating our community in the absence of knowing the full story. It is important that we all concentrate on moving forward in a positive and productive manner with a focus on meeting the needs of our students. CVCHS became a charter school first and foremost for students. It's not about the adults, it's all about the kids!

I can assure you that the educational program and our students' success remain our top priorities and the vast majority of staff members are maintaining high standards of professionalism and excellence in the classroom. Our primary focus right now is to finish the year strong and to celebrate our senior class who will be graduating this coming Thursday. They have accomplished so much and we need to make sure that they stay in the spotlight.

We have worked far too long and hard to establish CVCHS as one of the great high schools in the region to allow these "growing pains" to take us off track. As a charter school, we have the responsibility to be a model of excellence and it is unfair that our reputation has temporarily been compromised. Unfortunately, the key personnel issues at the root of this current conflict have engaged some of our staff. Most alarming is that the adult problems have spilled over to our students to some degree. This should not have happened, and I will work diligently to correct any damage to our school climate. Students should always be off limits when employees are handling their concerns.

We must renew our commitment to the CVCHS mission and make a strong collaborative effort to establish unity between all stakeholders once again. CVCHS has received a tremendous amount of notoriety in just two years of existence. Just this week we were awarded a six-year term of accreditation by WASC (Western Association of School and Colleges), the highest term possible demonstrating our students are receiving an outstanding education. The report was full of accolades, speaking to the top-notch caliber of our instructional program and leadership - qualities that I know will carry us through to greatness once again. I greatly appreciate the outpouring of support the Governing Board and I have received from parents, staff, and community leaders.  It means a great deal to have your confidence.

I would like to leave you with an inspiring poem that it is near and dear to my heart...

ATTITUDE

by: Charles Swindoll

 The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life.
 
Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company... a church... a home.
 
The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past... we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude... I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it.  

And so it is with you... we are in charge of our attitudes.

I am committed to helping us renew our vision of excellence in education. I invite all of our stakeholders: teachers, parents, students, and community members, to join me by focusing our attitudes on all the good we have accomplished together these past two years and all that we have to look forward to in our future.  We have a great high school full of great teachers, staff, students, and parents, and we have the support of such a great community. I wholeheartedly believe that "united we stand and divided we fall." Let us reunite our hearts and minds for the sake of the students that we serve.