Superintendent of the Year: Region 10

Dr. Michelle Rodriguez, Pajaro Valley Unified School District superintendent of schools, will be honored May 6 as Superintendent of the Year by the Region 10 Association of California School Administrators.

Region 10 covers Monterey, San Benito and Santa Cruz counties.

For everyone across the educational community who has witnessed Dr. Rodriguez’s work on behalf of the 20,000 students in the Pajaro Valley, this recognition is well deserved.

Dr. Rodriguez is an inspirational leader, modeling and mentoring leaders within the school district.

“Her dedication to meeting the needs of children, their families and the community at large is beyond expectations of a superintendent,” said Erica Padilla-Chavez, CEO of Pajaro Valley Prevention and Student Assistance, who will become CEO of Second Harvest Food Bank in July.

Since her arrival in 2016, Rodriguez has led a myriad of initiatives based on the Whole Child approach, focusing on the wholistic success of students over time. These include programs such as Latino Youth Film Project, Career Tech Education Signature Pathways, College & Career Centers, two computer immersion elementary schools, and Save the Music and El Sistema at elementary schools.

In 2021, she expanded the approach to Whole Child, Whole Family, Whole Community, honoring contributions that families and communities make to the development of the children.

In every initiative, she actively promotes mindsets that serve the educational, social-emotional, and physical well-being of the students.

Trustee Jennifer Holm cited the superintendent’s role in restoring music education. “When my children started attending schools in the district in 2003, there were very few opportunities for music instruction. Many schools had no music instruction. Since Dr. Rodriguez came to our district five years ago, she has supported the expansion of our music programs in a steady and sustainable manner. The majority of our schools now have music programs, and, within two years, they will have expanded to every school in the district.”

Don Burgett and Judit Camacho, co-executive directors of LifeLab, the garden education nonprofit, said, “Dr. Rodriguez recognized the opportunities that partnership with LifeLab could bring for her students and devoted much of her own time and her team’s resources to capitalizing on it for the benefit of the children and the community.”

Padilla-Chavez said, “There is increased opportunity for our children to achieve academic success when they are supported in all ways, not just academically. Simply stated, Dr. Rodriguez understands the whole student and is aligning resources to support them to succeed.”

Rodriguez said, “It has always been clear to me that to positively impact the students under our educational care, it is critical to have active engagement of students, the support of staff and families and the collaboration of community partners… it has been my purpose to strengthen our engagement, support and partnerships to ensure every student can explore their passions, interests and talents and be successful individuals.”

She will be honored at the Region 10 ACSA spring fling 5 p.m. May 6 at Embassy Suites in Seaside. To join the celebration, register at: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/acsa-region-10-spring-fling-registration-299413853897.