So thats really our growth. His acumen in social justice, equity, and focus on accelerating student achievement here is impressive. Bill aims to boost salaries 50% by 2030, Future of state housing is at stake in UC ruling, governor says. Theres this assessment that comes out on an annual basis, its called the program of International Student Assessment, and it has rankings in English language arts, math and science, and were close to the bottom out of 35 industrial nations. So I have a number of priorities but I would certainly say my top priority is improving student learning and student achievement. Dr. Before leading the Othello School District, Dr. Hurst served as Associate Superintendent of Educational Services in Oceanside Unified School District, a 19,000 student district 35 minutes northwest of San Diego. Dr. Hurst has 23 years of experience teaching and leading equity in urban, suburban, and rural K-12 districts. Dr. WCCUSD1108 Bissell AvenueRichmond, CA 94801, Room 100Phone: (510) 231-1101Fax: (510) 236-6784, Dr. Kenneth Chris Hurst,SuperintendentEmail:chris.hurst@wccusd.net, Rosa Cornejo, Executive SecretaryEmail:RCornejo@wccusd.net, Genesis Munoz, Senior Confidential SecretaryEmail: genesis.munoz@wccusd.net. He received a bachelor of science in mathematics at California State University, San Marcos, in 1997 before teaching math, algebra, college preparation and computer science in Poway. WCCUSD received nearly 30 applications for the position from throughout the country. The District also gathered more than 6,000 responses from the community on the next Superintendents qualities and qualifications. He needs to acknowledge or review the abuse of the lowest performing students not given lunches, substitutes and other such things I witnessed myself. I look forward to working with him, and I have confidence in the experience and ability that he is bringing to this table.. Because of the professors or because of the teachers. So I sort of felt disenfranchised as a youth. Really, we love to read. Its an unhealthy system. Click here for EdSource's Comments Policy. That doesnt happen. The systemic inequities that Ive seen in different districts that Ive been in Ive been in high-performing districts and low-performing communities as well it reminds me of my experience kind of growing up being a disenfranchised youth. Chris Hurst's Phone Number and Email. We had the opportunity to serve the WCCUSD community in the highest way by hiring a new superintendent, Board Clerk Jamela Smith-Folds said. He also holds an Associate of Arts degree from National University, San Diego. Currently, only four of the states 30 largest school districts have Black superintendents. Why struggle with bad credits when you can actually get them fixed within a couple of days with, I tried getting a car loan sometime last year but my credit score of about 521 ruined the process. Chris Hurst (D) officially conceded to Jason Ballard (R) Wednesday morning in the race for the House of Delegates' 12th District. With my wife. Dr. Hurst has served as the Superintendent of the Othello District in Othello, Washington, since 2016. They didnt in 2019 or after or didnt say they did? Hurst is apparently just another neoliberal, protecting the wealthy by betraying his students and their families, when he asserts that his out of the box ideas (in fact, common buzzwords for years now) can change change educational outcomes without addressing wealth inequality. Are there strategies you used in the Othello, Washington, district that you hope to implement here? Kenneth Chris Hurst Sr. is the new leader of the West Contra Costa Unified School District,replacing Matthew Duffy, who led WCCUSD for five years. Superintendent Dr. Kenneth "Chris" Hurst, Sr. is the 10th permanent superintendent in West Contra Costa Unified School District History. Shomik Mukherjee covers Oakland, with a focus on local politics, developments and activism. All Access Digital offer for just 99 cents! Want to improve the achievement gap? This is kind of a lengthy response, but what I will say, first we have to build a healthy system, which means looking at our organization and how we are structured. Paris le-de-France CCI is a source of proposals, informs debates on key issues and plays an active role in the growth of local companies and the economy in its territory. Best to relabel it the Professional Practices Gap. So its going to look different for every single student. He said he was also drawn by the district and school boards passion for equity and mission statement to bring students a quality education so that they can better their community while being global citizens. Based on his 23 years of professional experience in education, he has some concrete ideas for how to do that in this San Francisco Bay Area district, which includes Richmond and several surrounding communities. And I loved it so much that I became a math teacher. Cmon, folks lets stop expecting out of the box miracles in the face of head in the sand funding. Hurst should identify a few professional practices such as Explicit Instruction or Formative Assessment with Descriptive Feedback and develop a plan to implement, monitor, and hold everyone accountable for the execution of these aligned practices at very high performance levels. What she really loves doing is to teach those technology skills to students who are visually impaired. It really means that we have to have our teachers trained in culturally responsive teaching, but also we have to look at the curriculum that were putting in front of our kids. University of CaliforniaNorth Gate HallBerkeley, CA. His military service includes Maintenance Supervisor at Camp Pendleton (19911993), Combat Duty (Desert Storm), Saudi Arabia (19901991), Communications Instructor/Supervisor at Camp Pendleton (19881990), Drill Instructor, San Diego (19861988), and Communications Specialist at Camp Pendleton (19821986). (The school) became a college-going community, and the beginning of a journey for me: where I could see how you can implement effective strategies in a struggling community and really change the outcomes for students and their lives, Hurst said. I think its really dependent upon our students I think its individual success and individually defined. So anything that involves her is what I like to be involved in. So how do we really present curriculum in a way that really entices the student and engages the student. In Oceanside, he implemented some of the same strategies he adopted at the small schools in San Diego, he said. Californias Community Colleges: At a Crossroads, Adjuncts gig economy at CA community colleges, College And Covid: Freshman Year Disrupted, Education during Covid: California families struggle to learn, Tainted Taps: Lead puts California Students at Risk, Full Circle: California Schools Work To Transform Discipline, Californias Homeless Students: Undercounted, Underfunded And Growing, Eyes on the Early Years Newsletter Archive, California Association for African American Superintendents and Administrators, funded in part by millions of dollars in grants, mostly from the Gates foundation, West Contra Costa Unified School District, Click here for EdSource's Comments Policy. And how do our teachers address and work with those differences as well? The districts board of trustees voted 5-0 Wednesday to hire Hurst. Copyright 2002-2023 Blackboard, Inc. All rights reserved. of Schools, Tony Thurmond, to do likewise. What kind of role model do you want to be to your students? Comments post automatically without review from our staff, but we reserve the right to delete material that is libelous, a personal attack, or spam. Find Us . I really believe in investing in building teacher capacity and building leadership capacity, and thats what it really comes down to when we talk about BIPOC and racism and implicit biases as well. I have an unwavering commitment and dedication to supporting a culture of inclusion and equity throughout the district and community, and what excites me is that we have a board and learning community interested in educational equity for all students., Fight your California speeding ticket and win, Recover Stolen/Missing Crypto/Funds/Assets. Vancouver Public Schools superintendent candidates, from left, Dr. Karen Cheser, Dr. Kenneth "Chris" Hurst, Dr. Hector Rico and Dr. Jeff Snell (Provided photos) Educators, students and. RICHMOND, Calif. (KGO) -- West Contra Costa Superintendent Dr. Chris Hurst says he was disappointed to hear Galileo Academy of Science and Technology had to forfeit their game against. My dad was my role model and he showed me how to be a man, and he showed me how to carry myself, and he showed me how to be a person of integrity and a person with ethics and values and morals. Here is a Q&A Richmond Confidential did with Hurst last week. Ive learned to work within the constraints of a budget; its not an excuse to exclude students from these types of experiences, Hurst said. School board trustee Jamela Smith-Folds also expressed enthusiasm Wednesday about hiring Hurst and assured him that the responsibility of turning the district around wont fall solely on him. Everything that Ive shared with you is what I plan to implement: preschool to close the early literacy gap; project-based learning to really address student engagement; as well as focus on building leadership capacity; and focus on building teacher capacity, culturally relevant teaching as well; but also addressing systemic inequities by having implicit bias training for our teachers. If you are using a VPN, try disabling it. He also implemented Othellos K-12 pathway, the Districts Social-Emotional Learning Standards. And whether thats either drug abuse, or some other sort of trauma that students are experiencing, we want to make sure that we partner with those agencies so that they can really check in either individually or with groups, those students. Chris Hurst is a Superintendent of Education - Ajax at Durham Catholic District School Board based in Oshawa, Ontario. The board of trustees approved a three-year contract that begins May 17 for. He said his drawn to central Washington in part because of the beautiful countryside his parents had lived in Yakima, and he and his wife always dreamed of living there. I think ethnic studies is certainly a great way to start. That is a huge concern, and we have been stagnant for years for a number of years. His approach to collaborative leadership and knowledge of teaching strategies, as well as community involvement, are just what we need here in West Contra Costa.. Hurst said every district he has worked in, except for Poway Unified near San Diego, has served a large number of low-income students with not many resources. So there has to be a big investment in preschool to make sure that we close that early literacy gap. But Hurst doesnt just want to throw things at people, he said in an interview with EdSource. Duffy had served as superintendent since 2016, and his total compensation and benefits last year was about $365,000, according to Transparent California. To read more, click the Meet Dr. Hurst headline. He needs to review what happened with those vacancies, like the Janitor, or clerk I reported that were hidden from the databases in the subsystem as permanent employees in the same position for years and not posting vacancies, having unequal numbers of subs whom could be temporary contracts if there are equal number of employees out. Agreed. Next, he worked as a principal under former San Diego Unified Superintendent Alan, Bersin. Hurst got his start in the education field in San Diego County, after serving 12 years in the Marines; he served combat duty in Desert Storm and was a drill instructor, communications specialist and maintenance supervisor at Camp Pendleton. Bay Area students chosen as semifinalists in the prestigious U.S. Presidential Scholars Program who made the cut? It takes things like early literacy as well. Its about giving back, and giving ourselves to the community of West Contra Costa, Hurst said of he and his wife. I am excited to get to work in West Contra Costa Unified and about working together to provide a world-class educational experience for students that prepares them to be globally competent and allows them to compete and participate in our diverse and global society, Hurst said. This is not a warm-body job.. Actually, I have an overall safety concern from COVID, and then the Delta variant as well. Dr. Hurst also served as an administrator in the San Diego Unified and Poway Unified school districts. We kind of moved every two years. Before taking the job in May, Hurst was superintendent of the Othello School District in Othello, Washington, for five years, where he is credited with increasing graduation rates and decreasing overall student absences. He collaborated to implement the Future Ready technology initiative, designed to create a shared vision of preparing students for success in college, career, and citizenship. So thats the conversation that were going to actually have. Ervin. He earned a master of arts in educational administration in 2008 and a. Chief Master Sgt. He brings 23 years of education experience to the table, and is committed to closing achievement gaps within the district. I think Ive spent more time in California than any place, because after I got out of the Marine Corps, we kind of settled in Southern California and San Diego. I firmly believe that every single person was designed to do something big and to contribute back to society in a big way. Hurst works non-stop and is very dedicated to his job. I was the type of student that really excelled in math and I used to love taking tests like an assessment, and I was the type of student that would go in and I would just excel, get 100% and do the extra credit. He needs to acknowledge or review the abuse of the lowest performing students not given lunches, substitutes and other such things I witnessed myself. How will you address the systemic inequality that BIPOC students have had to deal with? Thats the kind of role model I want to be. Teachers, principals, and district administrators need to learn the notes of high quality instruction before they can play jazz. There needs to be people like myself that are willing to invest in challenging the system. Hurst has also used a train the trainer approach to professional development. All rights reserved. What the research says is that most of the growth that were going to see over the next several years is going to be from students coming from Spanish-speaking populations, and from Mandarin-speaking populations. Richmond Confidential is an online news service produced by the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism for, and about, the people of Richmond, California. Sylvester Greenwood andDr. Cynthia LeBlanc each served one-year terms as interim superintendents. He also boosted the districts linked learning programs, which integrate academics with real-world work experiences. Contact. I think its not just Richmond, I think its an issue across the United States and mostly found in large urban school districts, you see a high rate of suspensions. I think its inspirational, motivational, and I know people will look up to me as a positive African American role model.. I think Ive already talked to you about the soft start and checking with our students about their social social emotional learning needs. Hurst said he assisted in Bersins, From San Diego, he became a principal in Oceanside in. The result was double-digit growth in academic test scores. We really want to make sure that we have structures in place for every school, every classroom, so that were meeting the social, emotional, learning needs of our students. Superintendent Dr. Kenneth "Chris" Hurst, Sr. is WCCUSD's 10th permanent superintendent. Were not going to let anyone hosannah you in and crucify you out, Smith-Folds told Hurst at the meeting, said, alluding to an often typical pattern of welcoming incoming superintendents as a savior for all the districts problems, before disillusionment sets in, and they are forced out. I had a couple of few role models in my life. So there is a gap that happens between parents who are reading to their kids when theyre young, and parents who are not reading to their kids. Comments from the same user posted under multiple aliases may be deleted. The research says that kids should be reading at least 20 minutes per day or parents should be reading to their kids 20 minutes per day. West Contra Costa Unified includes Richmond, El Cerrito and several other East Bay communities. Although only 6% of the states student enrollment is Black, an even smaller percentage have been selected to run districts. College and Covid: Freshman Year Disrupted, Education During Covid: Families Struggle to Learn. They are as follows: . All Rights Reserved. From San Diego, he became a principal in Oceanside in North San Diego County, turning around Jefferson Middle School and Oceanside High, he said. Im equally excited about deepening our understanding of equity and systemic inequities and also moving toward what it should look like, feel like, and sound like to have an equitable and culturally responsive education for all students.. Some students may define their success as going into a career field of their choice, or some may define success, another different way. Dr. Its general assembly is made up of elected business leaders and acts to represent and defend the interests of businesses with public authorities, as well as taking positions . The district has schools in Richmond, El Cerrito, San Pablo, Hercules, Pinole and other cities and communities in west Contra Costa County. The state has such a large influx of revenue this year due overwhelmingly to very high taxes paid in Contra Costa and the Bay Area that it may have to give some back. When the federal firehose of Covid spending suddenly stops next year, do Legislators Hicks and Skinner really want Dr. Hurst to be the latest superintendent of color to fall, in the face of economic realities? Please check your e-mail for a link to activate your account. Im not sure if youre familiar with the High Tech High School System, mainly in the San Diego area, but they do whats called learn by doing. The small academy Hurst oversaw was geared toward students interested in careers in medicine, with a pathway for graduates to go directly into nursing assistant jobs. And their whole theory of action is, if we can really transform the central office, like people that work up here with me, and if we put the right people in place to have the right tools, then we could better go down to the school sites and support them and build capacity with the leaders. I think thats a big concern. Our goal is to produce professional and engaging journalism that is useful for the citizens of the city.Please send news tips to richconstaff@gmail.com. So my real goal is, and how we define success is going to be dependent upon those teachers working with the students coming up with an individualized learning plan, and then building this plan, all the way from pre-K to 12th grade so they are able to achieve that. So its almost like if we do this, we can do this and we can better support our students. Othellos student population this year is 91% Latino; 32% are English learners, and 75% qualify for free and reduced-price lunch. Kenneth Chris Hurst, who will take over as the first permanent African American superintendent of West Contra Costa Unified School District within a few weeks, has his sights set on closing longstanding achievement gaps between Black, Latino and white students at the 30,000-student district. Robert Hurst is an employee working in Thames Valley District School Board, according to Province of Ontario, Treasury Board Secretariat. We also are partnering with a number of organizations that have reached out to me. He holds a masters degree in educational administration and a bachelors in mathematics from California State University San Marcos. Prior to his long career in education, he served 12 years in the U.S. Marine Corps. 2/22/2023 4:33 PM. Coming from Washington State as a superintendent, there, our students were back in January. The theory of action is: build capacity across a system so we could better support the students, because thats what it comes down to, how are we better helping and supporting students. But that means a lot of work needs to happen within the district, because right now, as I look at our district, West Contra Costa Unified School District, were not set up for success. I wanted to go to a military school. Its not just about getting a job and making money. For interview and speaking requests for Dr. Hurst, please contact Communications at communications@wccusd.net. Education | General | Kennedy High School | community. So, another piece that Ive talked to people about is instituting threat-assessment teams at every level of the organization, at the district level but also at the school level. Keep it simple and focused on a few aligned professional practices. Im a big proponent on ethnic studies, so youre going to see that happening in our district. So when our students came back in January, what I saw was a disconnect, like our students werent talking a lot, they werent engaging a lot. I have a lot of rich experiences, so I cant say that I grew up in one single place. They are Adam Clark of Mt. The patient needs a very limited and focused diet for improvement. So really, my concept is that we get to the point where were planning individual learning plans for our students, starting from pre-K going through the 12th grade. Ask Amy: I put a security camera in my room, and what I saw was creepy, Ask Amy: My fiancee's family says I'm not invited, and she's going without me, The dad whose wife and child were among 5 killed by a neighbor in Texas describes how the massacre unfolded, 'Total dominance': Steph Curry breaks NBA Game 7 record, leads Warriors over Kings, Dear Abby: The reason her fiance hid his phone was something she never guessed, Mortgage fees to rise for buyers with high credit scores, fall for those with lower scores, Kurtenbach: Steph Curry built the Warriors dynasty. Chris Hurst's Phone Number and Email Last Update. Dr. Kenneth Hurst Email: chris.hurst@wccusd.net Phone: (510) 231-1103 . Since I was in desperate need of a car due to the nature of my new job, I resorted to making online research on how I could restore my credit to a minimum of 650 to enable me to qualify, after a few months of searching, I bumped into a blog and found positive reviews about, I am excited to get to work in West Contra Costa Unified and about working together to provide a world-class educational experience for students that prepares them to be globally competent and allows them to compete and participate in our diverse and global society, Hurst said. While serving as the Associate Superintendent of Educational Services, he supervised the Oceanside Promises implementation to ensure all Oceanside students graduated ready for college and career and established the Oceanside Promise Foundation, a 501(c)(3). But in addition inequitable funding of districts, the bigger issue is that a _family's_ income is the biggest factor in a child's educational success. But also were doing whats called a soft start to our school year, which means that were taking this whole social emotional learning piece and trauma that may have happened very seriously. I have a number of concerns. One unfortunate issue he has to face is for funding was the union's driven zealous raising of salaries that hurt the district. Thats probably the biggest piece for me as far as priorities, is really working with our students. I have an unwavering commitment and dedication to supporting a culture of inclusion and equity throughout the district and community, and what excites me is that we have a board and learning community interested in educational equity for all students.. That can involve, for example, a few teachers participating in a training session on restorative practices; they then teach their colleagues what they learned. West Contra Costa Unified has had two African American interim superintendents in the past. Hurst is apparently just another neoliberal, protecting the wealthy by betraying his students and their families, when he asserts that his "out of the Read More. We hired 20 counselors, additional counselors, so the case loads were at 750 per counselor but now weve reduced that down to 350. She has a lot of Braille technology in our home, so she has devices that read books to her, that can download a book from this software. Its going to be a community conversation. So those conversations are going to happen and thats part of my vision. Dr. Hurst succeeds Matthew Duffy, who announced in November that he would not seek an extension to his contract. My dad was in the Army for 30 years and I was in the Marine Corps for 11 years and I loved it. 1003 On June 30, 2021, the OSD Board of Directors approved a three year contract naming Pete Perez the district's superintendent. But this is its first permanent African American appointee. EditorsNote: As a special project, EdSource is tracking developments in theOaklandUnified and West Contra Costa Unified School Districts as a way to illustrate some of the challenges facing other urban districts in California. So if there is some trauma thats happening with a child at the home that our teachers know precisely the steps to take to get help or to refer to that child. Its going to take a community effort, to take all of us working together as one for a shared vision., Currently, only four of the states 30 largest school districts have Black superintendents. Two-thirds of the students qualify for free and reduced price meals. Ervin has just been selected to be the next of superintendent of San Bernardino City Unified, and will take over there on July 1. Phillips declined to comment on what set Hurst apart from other applicants, citing a closed-session deliberation, but he did praise the hiring process as yielding a desirable outcome. He became assistant principal in Poway Unified just north of San Diego, where he helped open Westview High School in 2002. I think we took the time we needed, Phillips said. Dr. Hurst has a focused intention to plant seeds of greatness in WCCUSD students, provide resources, and create opportunities.. Previously, Chris was an Assistant Principal at Camino High School. Prior to his long career in education, he served 12 years in the U.S. Marine Corps. John Moore, 757th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron superintendent, Chief Master Sgt. West Contra Costa Unified school board members unanimously approve a three-year superintendent contract for Kenneth Chris Hurst, shown with his wife Crystal in the center of the bottom row. So some students may define success as being able to get into Stanford or USC or Berkeley or UCSD or something like that, and that they have that list of goals. There just isnt anymore.. Superintendent Dr. Kenneth "Chris" Hurst, Sr. is WCCUSD's 10th permanent superintendent. She wasnt always blind. So its my job to really unlock that potential in students Thats what I want to be for students, that person. Kenneth Chris Hurst was chosen as the next superintendent of West Contra Costa Unified. Dr. Hursts first call should be to Sen. Nancy Skinner to ask her to get over to Sen. Josh Beckers office to talk about a regional cost supplement to LCFF. I enjoyed it. Watching superintendents fail in LCFF-funded districts in high-cost counties has become routine. Christopher Hurst, 99th Security Forces Squadron superintendent, Chief Master Sgt. Marvin Parker, 99th Logistics Readiness Squadron superintendent, Chief Master Sgt. In Oceanside, Dr. Hurst collaborated with ConnectEd California, implementing Linked Learning to establish K-12 industry-aligned pathways to prepare students to succeed in college and career. If it needed to be longer, it would have been. Hurst is only one of a tiny number of Black superintendents among the states 1,000-plus school districts. And as I look at large, urban systems like San Diego or LA or Oakland or Long Beach and even, West Contra Costa Unified School District, these are large systems which for the most part are failing are Black and brown kids. Hurst is the districts 10th leader and its first non-interim African American superintendent. The. The long term goal is to really transform our system of education so that more and more of our students are achieving, high achieving and achieving their goals to either go to college, or going to a particular career. Daryl Camp, superintendent of San Lorenzo Unified near Oakland and president of the California Association for African American Superintendents and Administrators, or CAAASA, agreed. Ive been to France and Italy and Austria. One of the things Ill share with you is based on our research. But what we see also across the United States and in Richmond is that, generally speaking, our teaching force is made up 70% of white women. He will succeed Matthew Duffy, who announced in November that he would be. North San Diego County, turning around Jefferson Middle School and Oceanside High, he said.

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