Happy Holidays!
As we close out the year, I am reflecting on all the things we accomplished since last summer, all in the name of our students. We leaned in together and… launched the process for a new Strategic Plan; adopted a prudent fiscal strategy to ensure we have funds for scheduled maintenance and capital improvements over the next 20 years; rode the Free College wave to much stronger enrollments; collaboratively resolved the class cancellation policy; hired a new permanent president at CSM, and opened the search for the same at Skyline College; hired a new Executive Director of the Foundation; and started down a long road of internal performance auditing.
And this past week, our re-elected board members were sworn in, with a renewed commitment to our district and to both the State and U.S. Constitutions. And they re-organized to elect a new President – Mike Guingona; and Vice President – Wayne Lee. Congratulations!
As we look to the immediate future, we are preparing for Flex Day (January 9 and 10, 2025) so that our community can lean in together to gain a deeper understanding of potential impacts on our community from anticipated changes to federal immigration policies. And, we are on track to complete the Strategic Plan—with your help—by summer.
In the meantime, I hope everyone has a chance to turn off work, and enjoy some restful time at home with family and/or friends. As many of you know, I am really good at failing vacation, but I certainly am going to try to get a passing grade this time! I hope you are able to lean in to the holiday season and enjoy.
Happy holidays to all…
Hitting the Circuit of Elected Officials
I had the pleasure of sitting down with our local elected officials over the last few months: Senator Josh Becker, Assemblymember Marc Berman, and Assemblymember Diane Papan. We chatted about a number of things, including Free College, food insecurity, student housing, and sustainability. Our relationship with our elected officials is strong. Senator Josh Becker will host SMCCCD at a virtual Town Hall on February 27, 2025. We will share more as details emerge.
Strategic Plan Update
The development of the District Strategic Plan continued throughout the fall semester (see previous update here), with the participation of the Advisory Committee and engagement with the IEPI Partnership Resource Team (PRT), otherwise better known as the PaRTy. The second meeting with the PaRTy was held on November 18th, and focused on feedback from the constituent engagement meetings from the first meeting, and reviewing the Menu of Options (MOO) provided by the PaRTy for the development of the SMCCCD Innovation and Effectiveness Plan. This plan can be found on the District Strategic Planning website, along with updates and other resources.
The Advisory Committee subsequently held two meetings to continue their work on developing the strategic plan. The first focused on alignment of District and Board goals with the respective College Educational Master Plans Goals and Initiatives to ensure the eventual strategic plan goals and initiatives support and extend the work of the colleges. The second focused on an alignment of values from each of the Colleges’ Mission, Vision, and Values statements. The Advisory Committee will be recommending a set of District values to be included as part of the District Strategic Plan.
The next meeting set for January 24, 2025 and will focus on reviewing data from the environmental scanning process that has been underway with support from the IEPI funding provided by the state Chancellor’s Office. Communication and engagement opportunities are planned for spring for the District community and external stakeholders, including an Employer Survey for identified growth sectors in San Mateo County.
Chancellor’s Circle
It felt like an honor to be a part of the inaugural Chancellor’s Circle on October 30, 2024 under new leadership at the Foundation. We focused on philanthropy and its impacts on education and community. I had a great time speaking about my history as a entrepreneurial leader and gave away a book I wrote back in 2013, rather a relic these days. I also enjoyed the Q & A and meeting many of our donors. I look forward to more events like these to help the Foundation grow. (I have a few remaining copies of my book if you want to stop my office for one in the new year!) Special thanks goes to Megan Barber Allende and the Foundation team, Rosanne Foust, and Nicole Taylor for all they do to support our District!
District Flex Day January 9, 2025: Advocating and Innovating for our Future
Don’t miss District Flex Day! (Find the link here). There will be two main strands: a focus is on AI and how to manage changes in federal immigration policy. I look forward to seeing you next year!