I would like to be the first to welcome you to the 2015-2016 school year. It is a pleasure to serve the students, parents, staff, teachers, administrators, and community of Val Verde Unified School District. As I begin my nineteenth year in this amazing District, I am proud and humbled to be part of this family – this is a dream come true!!
Continuing to build trust throughout the fabric of the district is a key priority. I am committed to enhancing structures and building relationships that lead to increased trust and many more “voices” setting District direction.
My leadership philosophy is rooted in the following principles:
- Learning is our core business
- The skill and knowledge of our staff is our greatest asset
- Nurturing leadership and professional growth at all levels of our organization is essential
- Data informed collaboration is keyfor quality decisions
- Excellence and equity can co-exist
- Relevance makes rigor possible
- Technology is a force multiplier
We will continue in our relentless pursuit of providing a world-class education to ensure our students are college AND career ready and prepared to assume their role as part of the 21st Century workforce.
On behalf of the Board of Education, I look forward to building on our past successes. Together, let’s continue to make a difference for our students and the communities we serve.
Michael R. McCormick, Superintendent
Talk Sup 
This is a great idea!
Thank you for openness to conversation ~ looking forward to great ideas, thoughts, and comments 🙂
Fantastic!
This is a great idea!! thank you
This is a wonderful idea to encourage open communication…thanks!
Appreciate the opportunity to be heard as a parent and also as an employee!
Thanks for a forum for open communication! Bravo!
Looks like I will, finally, have to learn to blog! It WILL be interesting!!
Great initiative!
Muy Bien! Looking forward to it. =)
Sounds great. Now we can connect/network with more parents. Thanks. From Laura Garcia Dunn-May Ranch Elem.
Thank you for this opportunity.
Great idea. One more reason why VVUSD is a great place to work!
“A+” Nice Picture!
My thoughts on the name for the new high school include keeping the tradition of use of a geographical description. Rancho Verde (green ranch) is a lovely reminder of the verdant hills in the school’s region. Citrus Hill is descriptive of our hilly landscape and of the region’s citrus and agricultural contribution. More suggestions on names to come 😀
My first thought when thinking about a name was what were the characteristics and attributes this new school will have. Technology, engineering, STEM, common core…the new ways of our educational future ~ I also prefer a person who was aligned with these same attributes – Sally Ride High School…:)
France Córdova
UCR Chancellor, July 2002 to May 2007
She was the first Hispanic woman to serve as chancellor at a University of California campus.
While serving as chancellor, Córdova’s accomplishments included the preliminary approval for a medical school at UCR, the opening of UCR’s Palm Desert Graduate Center, and the addition of over 1.8 million square feet of new or renovated space on campus.
Córdova was an internationally recognized speaker on issues related to diversity, particularly for women and underrepresented minorities in the areas of science, mathematics, and engineering.
Córdova joined UC Santa Barbara as vice chancellor for research in August 1996 and became UCR’s seventh chancellor in April 2002.
She received a Ph.D. in physics from the California Institute of Technology in 1979. In 1993, she was named the chief scientist at NASA, becoming the first woman and youngest person to hold this position.
Córdova resigned in 2007 to become the president of Purdue University.
Thank you for her bio, I will have to read more about her accomplishments!
Thank you for giving us the opportunity to share ideas, have conversations especially with the Common Core, and keeping us up-to-date:)
I believe it would be appropriate if the high school is named after the Indian Museum situated on the Lake Perris Regional Park site. It may not roll off the tongue but that’s because of our Eurocentric conditioning on what’s socially acceptable and appealing rather than making the sincere and genuine effort in embracing cultural diversity; especially that which is native/indigenous. And what name would be more fitting than the one coined by the speakers of the Cahuilla language? I make an earnest plea to Darlene, “Shelly,” Yarbrough, Pacific Regional Director of the American Indian Caucus of the National School Board Association to promote this name of our new high school: Ya’i Heki’ High School…
Many thanks to Mr. Lopez for his willingness and openess to hear the community and staff. VVUSD is a great place to work!
I would love to see the new high school with a name similar to Vista Alturas, Las Montañas or Vista Sierra High School.
Nice!
Thanks for the opportunity! I feel honored to be a part of this.
Hello Mr. Lopez,
Thank you for getting this blog going. I am also a blogger and I have my one of my video classes getting ready to be bloggers. Thanks for being accessible and also supporting our B3 mentor group at VVH.
Sincererly,
Gary Avants
Will the new high school be a comprehensive neighborhood school with a STEM emphasis or will it be a charter school with a STEM only focus? Thanks for the clarification on the new school program.
The new high school will be a comprehensive high school with an emphasis on STEM.
Thank you for your question.
Thanks!
Dear Mr. Lopez,
I live in Mead Valley, which has nothing to do whatsoever to the city of Perris. I am asking and speaking to you in regards to the Tomas Rivera Middle School in Mead Valley that is being used as a tool by the supervisors of the County of Riverside to engage Mead Valley for their political gain. I do not know what your position is in our area as a superintendent, I still have to do a little more research with all due respect, but I see a lot of wrongdoing here in the school system. First they let the kids out early whenever they feel like it. Today, March 19, 2014 at approximately I asked a little girl who was walking by my fence why she was let out early, and she answered “oh it’s just one of those things at school. On Wednesdays we get out early all the time. Can you imagine these children are being cheated out of an education that’s 72 Wednesdays out of the year that they do not go to school and don’t get an education. Are you people trying to intentionally keep the Hispanic population uneducated? Is that the idea? Because I do not think there is any other reason because their parents pay their taxes every year, so I would appreciate tremendously if you would get back to me with a correct answer with a legal aspect to the problem.
Yours truly and with all due respect,
Rev. George E. Gonzalez, Sr
Hello Rev. George E. Gonzalez, Sr.,
Thank you for your inquiry. I am not aware of the political activity which you spoke of, however I can speak to your concerns regarding the hours Val Verde students attend school. The State of California requires that every public school student attend a certain amount of hours every school year. I can assure you that all Val Verde students, including Tomas Rivera Middle School students attend an excess of those hours.
On Wednesdays, all of our middle schools have a shortened day in order to allow teachers and staff to work with each other and share ideas about how to best educate our students. In addition, they attend educator workshops, staff meetings and safety training sessions. All of these additional activities are conducted during non-student hours and are critical to the education process.
The time the students are in class is mandated by State law and not arbitrarily altered by site administrators.
Thank you again for your inquiry,
Juan M. López, Superintendent
nice