Welcome and Weekly Message

Dear Anderson Valley Community,
This will be my last message to you, although I prefer to frame it not as goodbye, but  as I will see you again soon. The last three years, we have made some transformative change together, particularly in the area of facilities. I am excited for your new superintendent, Kristin Larson Balliet and administrative team of Heath McNerney and Alyson McKay to propel the achievement and academic levels forward. Everybody has their wheelhouse and mine was facilities equity. The team that is on boarding will concentrate on the academic and social achievement now that the facilities are in fairly good shape.

I have been most lucky to work for a school board that is wise and thoughtful and keeps politics out of the boardroom. I thank them for their partnership. I thank the parent and community for their support on the bond, and in their outrage getting legislation passed for the $500,000 septic bill, and letters of support for the track and field. I appreciate the gargantuan lift of the district office staff that put more and more on their plate that  would be good for the District's kids and simply got it done. For Don Alameida for his hard work to retrofit the facilities at a cost that is far less than the large staff-heavy design firms. I thank  Bruce Anderson and the Major for giving us a platform to let the community know what was happening in their local schools.  I thank the Ed Foundation and Robert Mailer Anderson and Nicola Miner for their generosity for our kids. And, I thank the staff for their hard work and effort for kids.

There is much more exciting construction to come. The Cal Trans track will be finished by fall of 2025. The gym will certainly qualify for a major upgrade or perhaps a full replacement on the State’s dime.  The elementary kitchen should be out to bid for construction in December.   More good things are coming.

I wish you all continued health and success and leave you with one of my favorite quotes by Yeats, “Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.”

Wishing your children all the best as they learn and discover all that they can become.

Sincerely yours,

Louise Simson
Superintendent