July 29, 2004

Don Iglesias named SJUSD’s new superintendent

By Lorraine Gabbert
Staff Writer

From surfing in Santa Cruz and driving his classic Woodie to stepping up to the plate as San Jose Unified School District’s (SJUSD) new superintendent, Don Iglesias is the epitome of confidence and conviction. On Aug. 31, he will pick up where Superintendent Dr. Linda Murray left off, guiding the direction of the school board and the school district through whatever challenges lie ahead.

“I couldn’t think of a school district that I’d rather be in,” says Iglesias. “I think San Jose Unified is the best urban school district in the state of California in terms of its quality of education, the number of California Distinguished Schools, narrowing the achievement gap and graduation requirements. It’s a wonderful, exciting place to be.”

“His role as deputy superintendent has provided Don with a great base from which to work,” observes SJUSD Board President Gary Rummelhoff. “And he’s had the added benefit of working closely with Dr. Murray, who’s been such a great role model. I’m very impressed that Don’s already built strong relationships in the community, with key staff members, and the board.”

Experience offers insight
Iglesias agrees that his experience working with the district has provided insight and understanding regarding his role as superintendent. “I’ve had the privilege of spending two years in the district as deputy superintendent,” he said. “So I feel fortunate to know what the issues are in the district and what needs to be done.”

Rummelhoff also appreciates Iglesias’ long-term perspective. “It’s one of the reasons we were attracted to Don as a choice,” he says. “Many school district boards undertake national searches to find superintendents only to see them leave a few years later, or fail to find the right person. Having a couple of years to work with Don assures our community that we didn’t make a mistake. We think that he is somebody who will be with us for a long time, which makes a huge difference. We were so fortunate that we were able to hold onto Linda for so long, and we want to do that again. Our community deserves that consistent leadership, and we can deal with problems better with stable leadership.”

Iglesias has served as president of the State Association of California School Administrators and built strong relationships in Sacramento with the governor’s office, Legislature, Department of Education and the Education Coalition. “He is a player on a statewide level,” notes Rummelhoff. “And he knows who to call to get things done.

In a district our size—the 20th largest out of a thousand in the state—you need somebody at that level, and Don brings that quality to the job, which is tremendous.”

“I am familiar with the politics of the legislators,” Iglesias says. “And I bring that statewide perspective and background knowledge of Sacramento lobbying issues to San Jose Unified.”

“During the time Linda Murray has been superintendent, and this board has been in place, we’ve really changed our culture to one of accountability and responsibility,” states Rummelhoff. “Keeping track of how our kids are performing and continuously improving, and Don really understands that. He also engages the public and brings the community into problem-solving. These are important things that Dr. Murray has put in place that the board wouldn’t want to see easily tossed aside with a new superintendent. I think Don’s a great choice.”

Shared passion
Dr. Murray agrees. “I brought Don here from Santa Cruz, where he was an assistant superintendent of Santa Cruz City School District. [I brought him] because he had shared my passion for the work of raising student achievement and closing the achievement gap,” Dr. Murray says. “And from the first time I met him, I knew that his values, goals and vision for quality education were right in sync with mine, and [that] if he were to become superintendent, the progress that we’ve made as a school district would just continue to unfold.”

Four years ago, when she knew that she would be retiring, Dr. Murray began her search. “I had been looking high and low for a deputy superintendent—someone we could bring into the organization, who had the caliber of superintendent and could potentially take over when I retired,” she said.

“Don turned out to be exactly that. I stumbled upon him through my colleague, Larry Aceves, who is superintendent at Franklin McKinley. Both he and Don had been state president of the Association of California School Administra-tors, and had grown to know each other through their professional leadership in that association. Larry knew that I had been searching a long time for a replacement, and one day he called me and said, ‘You really ought to talk to Don Iglesias,’ so I did, and I knew immediately that he was the right choice.”

“Urban education is what I know from the heart,” notes Iglesias. “I’m a product of urban public schools. I grew up in San Francisco in a working class, blue-collar family. My dad was an upholsterer and my mom was a secretary, so my sister and I were the first generation to go to college. I realized a long time ago that I was given a tremendous gift through education, which is the opportunity to have a fuller, richer life by going to school.”

Iglesias graduated from U.C. Berkeley with a bachelor of arts, majoring in science and history. He received a master’s degree from the University of Southern California in multicultural education.

Interest in public education
“When I graduated from college, I began to get interested in public education,” he reflects. “I had tutored while attending college and found that I absolutely loved working with kids—it was a calling and an opportunity to give back to the community. I was in the federal Teacher Corps Pro-gram that taught us how to deal with migrant, mobile, low-income students in a rural area of Southern California for two years. That was wonderful training that I’ve really used.”

Having spent 33 years in education, Iglesias also brings experience to bear on school curricula and instruction. His first teaching job was as an elementary school teacher in the Berryessa School District of San Jose. He also taught secondary school, and acted as school counselor and assistant principal for the district before relocating to Santa Cruz, where he remained for 25 years. In the Santa Cruz District, Iglesias held the positions of principal, director of curriculum and assistant superintendent.

Iglesias’ ability to face challenges head-on stems in part from his boyhood love of surfing. Since the age of 14, surfing has been his passion and a part of his personal philosophy. He has surfed all over the world, and recently came in second in the Sunset Beach Waimea paddleboard race in Hawaii for age 40 or over.

Surfing education
“Surfing has taught me a lot,” he says. “I’m not afraid of taking calculated risks in the best interests of others, and I think that attitude helps in the way you look at life. I’m not fearful of taking on difficult challenges and pushing myself to the limit. Some things you do collaboratively and sometimes you have to go it alone, face your fears and take the drop—that’s what we do surfing big waves—and it’s something we do sometimes in professional life, too.”

His other love is classic cars, specifically Woodies. “They’re reminiscent of a simpler time,” says Iglesias. When he was a child, the Iglesias’ family car was a Woodie, and Don says that when he finally had a chance to own one for himself, he found great fulfillment in working on it with his dad. Ten years ago, Iglesias started the Santa Cruz Woodies, an organization that annually brings 200 Woodies and several thousand people to the Santa Cruz Wharf.

“I have a lot of energy, a lot of enthusiasm, and a lot of background knowledge,” he notes. “And I can contribute all of my experience to the community to improve learning for the kids in San Jose Unified. I’m committed to Universal Preschool so that every one of our kids comes to kindergarten ready to learn. Any kindergarten teacher will tell you that when kids come in the first day of class, they know who went to preschool and who didn’t as far as their abilities to attend, follow directions, interrelate with peers and reading readiness skills. The only way we can guarantee quality programs is by making it a part of the K-12 system and set consistent standards through statewide legislation.

Give students the best
“I’m committed to the Latino population, and the issues we face through desegregation,” he asserts. “Every kid deserves the best, and we’re going to provide it for them regardless of language or culture, or neighborhood in every one of our schools. What we want to develop is a ‘college-going culture.’ We want every kid to know that this is an opportunity for you, we believe in you, and you can be successful. If they want to go to college, we’re going to do everything that we can for them, and to provide every senior in high school with the maximum number of choices they can possibly have.”

Iglesias admires the work Dr. Murray has done as superintendent, as well as the dedication of the school board.

“They work together, and every one of them is passionate about the areas they represent, and the district as a whole,” he says. “They have hearts of gold when it comes to the kids, and that makes a huge difference.”

He also appreciates the board of education’s desire to engage the community in the decision-making process.

“They worked with a group called Public Agenda, to learn how to have community conversations with meaning with parents and students about what they see as our successes and [what] areas need to be worked on,” he relates.

“I believe in community-involvement in decision-making and building that relationship to be even stronger.”

As the district faces financially-challenging times combined with declining enrollment, it will have to prioritize its funding and goals, says Iglesias, who sees its top four priorities as ensuring student performance, having a highly-trained staff, creating community involvement and being fiscally prudent.

“Although the journey is never done…it makes it a lot easier for me to leave since I feel so confident that I’m leaving the reins in great hands,” Dr. Murray said. “He will continue to take this organization forward, and keep on track with the efforts to improve the quality of education that we provide to our students. Don is a solid educator with the right credentials, instincts and ability to lead a large urban school district. I think he’s wonderful.”

“I’m ready,” Iglesias says. “It’s a wonderful opportunity to be in a school district for two years and intimately learn about its organization, challenges and successes. I’m coming in with a good solid base of understanding how it works, and what needs to be done. I’m going to hit the ground running and continue to move the district forward in a positive way. Linda and I have had a great relationship, and two years of transition time, which is an incredible gift, as was having her for a friend.”