Welcome to the 2022-23 School Year!

"If you can clearly articulate the dream or the goal, start."
- Simon Sinek 

As I visited schools during the first week, I was filled with optimism as I saw students, families, and educators reconnecting with so much positive energy after two years of turbulence and uncertainty. It is because of the work you have done that has made that possible, and I am grateful to each of you as we continue looking forward and preparing for the journey ahead of us.

This week we have a tremendous opportunity to come together as a team to ensure every student is enrolled, in class, and ready to learn. There is grace and beauty in working to find the thousands of students whose whereabouts are still unknown by lifting the iAttend campaign and making it our reality.

Last week, as we knocked on doors and engaged with families, we were reminded of the many Social Influencers of Health and Education that are barriers to academic excellence for many of our students. In the weeks ahead, we will work together to empower our school-based teams to reach out and offer the right connections and support to the students and families most in need.

In the days ahead your team leaders will provide more information on the actions we are taking to help our school communities find their students, reconnect them, and prepare them to be ready for the world.

And, as it is a new year, it is time to re-engage in our ongoing Reflections. We will continue building our SHHS community by sharing our thoughts and experiences to achieve success in helping our communities thrive. What has helped me to show up each day is my WHY. I hope to tell you about my WHY someday as I learn about your WHY. I encourage you to reflect on your purpose – your WHY – your reason for getting up each morning, as this understanding serves as a buffer to the challenges we experience daily. You will be hearing more on this in the coming weeks.

For now, I hope you have had a chance to reflect on the many lotuses from last year. Despite the mud and guck, they are everywhere across our campuses and LAUSD community. And, your health and wellness are critical to their continued success.

Have a wonderful 2022-23 year, and I look forward to visiting you soon and learning from your reflections.

Pia