Coachella Valley Unified School District serves 18,800 students. Wochit


Before Edwin Gomez was hired as superintendent of Coachella Valley Unified School District in May, he rode his bicycle through the east valley communities the district serves.

He asked people on the street what they thought about the schools in the area. They were informal conversations, but they gave Gomez a sense of what mattered to folks in the east valley.

PREVIOUSLY: Coachella Valley Unified appoints superintendent for $250k

"People have opinions. People have insights. Either they hate it or they love it, and they’ll give you some information," he said. "It gave me the insight that people really care about their community here."

Others have expressed the same sentiment. Teachers who have taught in multiple districts say parents in the rural east valley schools are the most grateful of any they've ever seen, often bringing food or whatever they can spare to the staff. And it's common for students who have gone to college and graduated to come back wanting to help the communities that raised them.

It's that sense of responsibility and the firm belief that education changes lives, that Gomez trusts will lift the district higher.

As students and teachers headed to class Wednesday morning eager to start a new school year, many hoped the district would also be turning over a new leaf.

READ MORE: County says CVUSD must cut $20 million from budget

The past few years have been far from perfect for CVUSD. Two years of bitter negotiations pushed the district to the brink of a strike and damaged the trust between teachers and administration. The school board has also been hit by multiple attempts to recall board members over criticisms of wasteful spending and poor student performance, and the state auditor's office released a critical report of the district's college readiness rates in February.

The future also holds challenges for the district. The county is warning of financial crisis if leadership is unable to cut nearly $20 million from its budget. Plus, newly elected school board member Frank Becerra has been arrested and charged with felony perjury and elections fraud by the District Attorney's office, though he has pleaded not guilty and the board declined to ask him to resign.

READ MORE: District Attorney files charges against CVUSD board member 

But Gomez said if district stakeholders come together as a team, he has no doubt they will overcome the obstacles.

"Within the team, I believe there are solutions," Gomez said. "There are resources, there are expertise that we can tap into to be able to resolve any concerns or issues that we have, and it's an ongoing thing."

Show Thumbnails
Show Captions

In the next year, Gomez hopes to guide the district through creating a strategic action plan that defines its goals and mission. The three key things he wants the district to focus on are aligning resources to support classroom teachers, holding employees accountable and making the district's resources accessible to all students. 

Carissa Carrera, president of the Coachella Valley Teachers Association, said colleagues told her they were excited about the district's new leadership. It will take time to rebuild the trust that was "destroyed" during the tense negotiations period, she said, but most teachers are eager to see where Gomez takes them. This year they'll have more professional development time and collaboration time on Wednesdays, which will improve student learning.

"In the past, it wasn't always student-centered decisions that were made," Carrera said. "I think the new superintendent and new assistant superintendents are here for the right reasons, which is the kids."

And focusing on students is exactly what Gomez intends to do, he said. His family immigrated from Peru searching for a better life when he was a child. They settled in a rough part of Pasedena afflicted by violence and poverty, but his mother impressed upon him and his brothers that they must go to college. He found an outlet in education. His teachers became role models, and school became a safe haven. 

IN DEPTH: Desert students are less prepared for college than other California kids

"It was a journey of experience because we didn’t have a lot of things," Gomez said. "So books were a way for us to unlock the mysteries of the world. For me I was able to read about different countries. ... I was able to understand things through my teacher, through the staff at the school sites."

He sees himself in the children of Coachella Valley Unified, where 97 percent of the students are Latino and 92 percent receive free or reduced lunch. He sees a lot of need in the district, but he also sees opportunity for children to reach their potential.

"I’m excited about our students starting the school year tomorrow and having kids come with their passions, their language, their social capital and their enthusiasm as human beings," Gomez said. 


Read or Share this story: