New CVUSD Superintendent Talks 2019-2020 School Year Goals

The Coachella Valley Unified School District will open its doors for the 2019-2020 school year under new leadership.

Dr. Maria Gandera became the new superintendent in July of 2019, boosted from her previous position as the Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources and Risk Management.

Her mantra to the kids is a classic one: Reach for the stars.

“When they walk out of our doors, they can decide which star to reach for,” said Gandera. “Are they going to reach for the college star? Are they going to reach the career star?”

Armed with fresh optimism, Gandera stressed it’s vital that kids start looking toward the future as soon as they step foot onto a CVUSD campus. A product of Stanford and USC herself, Gandera said universities are a part of the key focus for the more than 29,000 students in the district.

“It’s too late in high school. We have to start from the very beginning to show the possibilities to our students,” Gandera said. “We are focused on college, career, and citizenship from the very beginning. So as they walk into TK, they are going to start seeing and learning about different colleges. Not just UCR, UC Santa Barbara, Cal State Bernardino, Stanford, Harvard…you name it.”

Getting to college means being a citizen of the world. The district is also looking to build on the seven dual-immersion elementary school classrooms in English and Spanish, with students becoming bi-literate when they leave the sixth grade.

“As we help our students become proficient in their native language, and they gain the skills in the english, that transfers over,” said Gandera. “They are going to be more proficient and have the ability to find good jobs as they move up in their career span.”

But CVUSD does come with its own challenges. More than 80% of CVUSD students are on the free or reduced meal program. It’s a figure that Gandera said will play into how teachers will approach education.

“We have a program where our students are fed as soon as they walk in the door,” said Gandera. “We have early breakfast, we have lunch that happens and some of our students that stay in our ACES program, stay until 6 o’clock, and they get supper there as well.”

The district is a family that must help each other, Gandera said. It’s part of her philosophy in a role she’s taking on for the first time.