McKinley parents fighting principal’s transfer
A handful of parents at McKinley Elementary School in El Centro are hoping to stop the transfer of school Principal Patty Weeks, stating she is one of the reasons the school has been recently successful.
On Wednesday afternoon, a handful of parents who are part of the school’s Parent Teacher Organization were seeking signatures for a petition to present to the El Centro Elementary School District Board of Trustees on June 13. “One of the main reasons is that Patty Weeks has given us more hope in school,” said PTO Vice President Dario Ortega. “Our grades have gone up since she’s been here.”
However, while the PTO is hoping to stop the transfer, Weeks is looking forward to returning to her alma mater.
“I’m really excited about doing that,” said Weeks who moved to the Valley as a child from Orange County, going straight to Harding for fourth through sixth grades. “I was actually a student at Harding. They have a wonderful staff and teachers over there so I’m looking forward to that.”
Weeks has lived in the Valley ever since.
Juan Aguilera is the current principal at Harding Elementary and will be shifting to Lincoln Elementary.
When the position at Harding opened up, district Superintendent Jon LeDoux approached Weeks to see if she was interested in the Harding position.
“When a principal position comes open, I use that as an opportunity to evaluate who would best fit into that opening. Recently, just such an opening occurred. When Ms. Weeks was approached about moving to Harding Elementary School, our largest elementary school, she accepted the position,” LeDoux said. “It was a voluntary move that she is taking on. Taking on such a large school can be quite a challenge, and Ms. Weeks feels she is ready for that challenge and I agree. Harding School is an outstanding School with traditions and programs of its own, and Ms. Weeks will fit right in and provide her own brand of excellent leadership there.”
According to www.public-schools.startclass.com, Harding has an enrollment of about 550 while McKinley has about 400.
Replacing Weeks will be Jose Ureña, a longtime principal from the Gadsden Elementary School District in San Luis, Ariz.
In 2016, McKinley was named a Gold Ribbon School by the state Department of Education.
Harding also recently celebrated a handful of successes like the completion of its inaugural Dual Immersion Program.
With the wheels set in motion, it appears Weeks’ transfer appears set and she couldn’t be any more humbled by the fact parents don’t want her to go.
“I’m very touched by their confidence and their support and I’m going to miss them, but I know they’re going to be in good hands, they’re going to be OK,” Weeks said. “The McKinley staff is so talented, they have done so much good work and moving forward and are doing so well, I have confidence they’re going to continue moving forward.”