As August comes to a close, I have to share that I am so happy to have our students and staff back on our campuses!

August 17th marked the first day of school and it has been such a wonderful few weeks since then. Seeing the smiling faces of not just our students, but also of our teachers, staff and families, has been so uplifting.

We kicked off the new school year with “Welcome Back” celebrations put on by our school site staff and our schools’ PTAs. I, along with my fellow Board of Education members, cannot thank our staff and families enough for all they have done to welcome back our students in such a positive way after two challenging years.

As we look forward to a wonderful school year, I first want to share how excited I am to be able to continue to serve our Downey Unified students, staff and families as a Board of Education member.

I also want to take this opportunity to congratulate my fellow Board of Education member Martha Sodetani for her well-deserved retirement. She has decided to not run for reelection in November, and with that, I would like to welcome Tyrone Conde who will officially be sworn in as our newest member in December.

Mr. Conde is a proud Downey Unified parent and works for our local Downey Federal Credit Union. I know he will be a valuable addition to our Board.

I would lastly be remiss if I did not congratulate Nancy Swenson for being reelected to our Board for another term. Ms. Swenson has served on the Board of Education since 2005 and her continued presence will further guide our district as we move forward.

Now moving on to some exciting events just around the corner as we head into September… Be on the lookout for dates shared by your child’s school as all of our schools will be hosting their “Back to School” nights in the next few weeks.

This is a great opportunity to get a glimpse inside your child’s classroom(s), meet their teacher(s) and just get an overall experience of what their day is like at school.

Please make sure that your contact information is up to date with your child’s school so you can ensure that you receive all of these important dates and information.

We are also very excited to share that we will be hosting “Community Open House” events at all four of our middle schools and we invite all of our community members and families to attend. We know that many of you who live in the city have seen the progress of these projects as you drive or walk by our schools we wanted to provide an opportunity for anyone interested to get a personal tour of our newly complete construction projects of our middle school campuses.

Please visit web.dusd.net/openhouses for more details and to RSVP to one or all four of our Community Open House events in September.

Although we are just a few weeks into the 2022-23 school year, I also want to encourage all of our families to get involved in your child’s school. Either by volunteering or joining the PTA, if your able to be a part of your child’s educational journey, these are two perfect ways to support your school’s culture and help build on the already amazing things that are being done at your child’s school.

I was lucky enough to be able to be a part of the PTA during all the phases of my two sons’ time in Downey Unified. I started with Alameda PTA, then Ward PTA and then moving up to Sussman (well South, at the time) PTA before deciding to be a part of the Downey Council PTA that supports all of our schools’ PTAs.

I can wholeheartedly say that it was such an amazing time for me as a parent, so if I could share any advice as we head into this new school year, get involved and join your school’s PTA.

Have a safe and happy Labor Day weekend everyone!

Sincerely,

Bobbie Samperi, President
Board of Education