Schools
Lynwood Unified School District Welcomes a New Board
The Lynwood Unified School District recognized outgoing board members, and marked the swearing-in new and re-elected board members held its annual reorganization meeting on Dec. 10.
The board also vote on the election of officers for 2014.
Below is their announcement:
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The District welcomed new board member Alma-Delia Renteria, a Lynwood Unified alumna who replaced board member Rachel Chavez following her retirement. The District also swore-in Alfonso Morales, Esq., who voters re-elected in November, and recognized the dedication and contributions of Chavez and outgoing board member Jose Luis Solache, who was recently elected to the Lynwood City Council.
Renteria attended and graduated from Lynwood schools and currently works as a classroom teacher. She also serves as the co-chair for the Lynwood Alumni College Conference Committee. Renteria attended Loyola Marymount University for her teaching credentials and is continuing her education there to pursue a master’s degree in Urban Education with a concentration in Administration and Policy.
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"I ran with the concept of teaching to believe: to believe in our potential to succeed as a district, to believe in our children, and to believe in our ability to collaborate in order to lead towards creating transformational change,” Renteria said. “As a teacher, there is no greater success than witnessing my students grow, both academically and in character. I look forward to seeing all of our students grow as well, and I know we will create many new pathways of opportunity if we all focus on the single most important priority: putting all students first."
Solache, who spent 10 years on the board, conducted Renteria’s Oath of Office along with Renteria’s mother, Maria Elena Renteria.
LUSD Superintendent Paul Gothold conducted the Oath of Office for Morales, an immigration law attorney whose practice is based in Lynwood. He was first elected to the Board of Education in 2005 and was re-elected in 2009. He thanked all those who helped to return him to his seat, including his campaign team and his sister.
“I chose our Superintendent to perform my Oath of Office to represent the great working relationships and unity we have in this District,” Morales said. “We truly have people who care and are dedicated to improving the opportunities we offer for our students. I thank the community for having faith in me to continue the work that we are doing here so that all students have access to a great education.”
Before the swearing-in, Gothold presented outgoing members Solache and Chavez with certificates of appreciation for their service to the community. In addition, representatives from State Sen. Ricardo Lara’s Office and LUSD employee groups presented recognitions to the two outgoing board members to show their appreciation for their dedication to the community.
Chavez is retiring after a 24-year career as a board member in Lynwood. She became involved in the District in 1969 as a parent volunteer and has had three children and one grandchild who attended Lynwood schools.
Solache was the youngest Latino to be elected to the Lynwood Unified Board of Education in 2003. Voters elected him to the Lynwood City Council last month and he was formally installed as a Councilman during the city’s reorganization meeting on Dec. 3.
The Board of Education is currently working to determine a process to appoint a board member to fill the vacancy left by Solache.
Following the swearing-in ceremony, the Board nominated and appointed new officers for 2013-14: Briseida Gonzalez as president, Morales as vice president and former president Maria G. Lopez as clerk.
Lopez served as president over the last year and was recognized through the District’s accomplishments during that time, including higher test scores and graduation rates, closer articulation with local colleges and universities, progress in the implementation of the Common Core and the commencement of many construction projects under Lynwood Unified’s Measure K General Obligation bond.
Gonzalez thanked her colleagues for the opportunity to serve as president over the next year.
“My focus has always been to help the whole child,” said Gonzalez, who works in social services. “Not just in their academics, but in everything that affects them so that we can support them and provide them with every opportunity to succeed.”
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