Hearing thoughts, sipping java
Newhall district leader hosts second Coffee with the Superintendent event
When the Superintendent of the Newhall School District outlined the goals of his 90-day plan at the beginning of this school year, he hoped to make discussion with district stakeholders a regular occurrence.
On Monday, Superintendent Jeff Pelzel completed his second Coffee with the Superintendent event of this year accompanied by parents, board members and teachers, who were eager to share their thoughts about the Newhall District and how it can continue its success while also addressing its challenges.
“We’ve had two meetings so far this year with one taking place in September and one in October,” said Pelzel, who assumed the superintendent position at the beginning of the academic year. The next discussion will take place 8:30-9:30 a.m. on Nov. 26.
“It’s happening once a month,” Pelzel said.
During the first meeting, the group named the programs, traditions or protocols that they’re most proud of in the district before they picked their top three to share with the superintendent and others in attendance.
The second meetup allowed stakeholders to ask follow-up questions from the last event and learn about the new programs that will soon be available in the district, such as the adult classes that will be offered through College of the Canyons at two district school sites.
“The whole purpose is to identify the areas we can get better at,” Pelzel said. “I’ve been doing this with every stakeholder I’ve met with,” whether it be teachers, parents groups or others who have an interest in the success of the district.
“It’s an ongoing conversation,” which is great because there’s never enough time to talk about all of the unique programs happening in the district, Pelzel said. “They’re also collaborative in nature, so the goal is to get people to come out and share their points of view.”