Superintendent Messages

Happy Friday, PUSD!

This week was full of learning opportunities for students and staff alike. We started the week with a PUSD Professional Growth Day to give staff across the district time to come together, learn and grow in their roles. I hope the day was productive for Team PUSD, and I’m eager to see what new skills are used to empower our students.  

I would like to remind everyone that the Board of Education will engage in a Budget Workshop next week to begin exploring options for future budget reductions. The workshop is on Thursday, February 6, 2025, at 4:00 p.m. in the District Office Community Room. This special meeting is open to the public and will be broadcast on our PUSD Board of Education YouTube Channel.

Last but not least, we are excited to announce the launch of our annual PUSD Survey!  Your feedback is invaluable as we work together to shape the future of our schools. The survey should take only a few minutes to complete. It is a chance to share your thoughts on your experience with PUSD schools, rate ideas from other participants, and see what others find important. Both staff and families will receive a link via email to complete the survey. All responses will be kept confidential. We encourage you to participate and share your voice!

I am grateful for every member of our educational community - from staff, to families, to education partners. Bright futures are created when we come together for the success of our students. 

Sincerely,

Ben

Dr. Ben Churchill, Superintendent, Poway Unified School District
See the latest Straight from the Supe

Happy Friday, PUSD! 

As we wrap up another busy and productive week, I want to take a moment to share some important updates and reflections with you all.

First and foremost, I would be remiss if I didn’t acknowledge that January is School Board Recognition Month. School Boards play a pivotal, yet often underappreciated, role in shaping the futures of our students and families. Their dedication to creating a better, safer, and more welcoming learning environment is inspiring. Here in Poway Unified, we are proud to celebrate and honor the PUSD Board of Education for their tireless commitment to the growth and achievement of our young people. Thank you to each of our Board members for the incredible work you do every day.

This week’s Board meeting was packed with a number of great presentations that will inform the future of PUSD. The Real Property Advisory Committee (RPAC) concluded its review of three vacant sites, and provided an extensive report to the Board about their findings. In another presentation, the Board reviewed information about the aging chiller systems serving Bernardo Heights Middle School and Rancho Bernardo High School. Staff will bring back information to the February 13 meeting for finalization of next steps to repair these systems. 

Staff also provided a budget planning update, including a look at the work that was done previously to reduce the budget deficit in the current year. The Board of Education will engage in a Budget Workshop to begin exploring options for future deficit reduction on Thursday, February 6, 2025, at 4:00 p.m. in the District Office Community Room. 

For a full recap of the Board Meeting you can view the Board Briefs here or watch the video here.

Finally, I’d like to thank and acknowledge the police and fire personnel that went above and beyond in serving our students and staff impacted by the Bernardo Fire this week. I also want to thank the staff at Rolling Hills Elementary School for leading a successful evacuation of their school, and the staff and students at Poway High School for working quickly to receive our students and facilitating a smooth reunification process. Our impacted families were incredibly cooperative and understanding, and their support was critical to the success of the evacuation.

Wishing you a restful weekend ahead.

Sincerely,

Happy Friday, PUSD! 

This week was an exciting one, and I am happy to share with you that our new Chief Communications Officer is now on Board. Please join me in welcoming Josué Reyna to Team PUSD! He is joining us from Menifee Union School District. I am excited to have his expertise on our team as we move forward in Poway Unified. You can learn more about him here.   

Looking ahead to next week, the Board of Education will hold its regular meeting on Thursday, January 23 at 6:00 p.m. The full agenda will be available here on Monday afternoon. In the meantime, here is a preview of some key items that will be included:

• Budget Update: The Board will hear a brief report on the current state of California's budget, including the potential challenges and implications for Poway Unified School District, and next steps in the development of the PUSD 2025-26 Budget.
  
  
• Personnel Commission Report: The Personnel Commission will provide an annual report highlighting their important work and accomplishments over the last year.
  
  
• Real Property Advisory Committee Presentation: The Real Property Advisory Committee will present their findings and recommendations to the Board regarding three vacant sites located in Santa Fe Valley, Torrey Highlands, and Black Mountain Ranch.

• Board Policy Updates: The Board will consider updates to six policies.
  
  
• Facilities Update: The Board will hear a status update on the Bernardo Heights Middle School and Rancho Bernardo High School chiller system.

• Adoption of new Career Technical Education (CTE) courses: American Sign Language 3-4, and Wildland Firefighting.

• Approval of the 2023-2024 School Accountability Report Card (SARC) for each elementary, middle, and high school.

As always, you can access the Board Briefs for meeting highlights from this page on our website. The briefs are made available the day after a Board Meeting.  

On Monday, Poway Unified schools and offices will be closed in observance of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr Day. In honor of him, I will leave you with a quote from Dr. King that I encourage all of us to reflect on - “Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?’” I hope you enjoy a refreshing three-day weekend, and we will see you back on campuses and in offices on Tuesday, January 21. 

With gratitude,

Ben

Dr. Ben Churchill, Superintendent, Poway Unified School District
See the latest Straight from the Supe

Happy New Year, Poway Unified! 

I don’t know about you, but I’ve had a wonderful first week back from Winter Break. Although it was challenging at times to get back into my daily routine, and I definitely miss the beach, it was invigorating to be back in the office and on campuses. This week I visited nine different PUSD school sites, each one buzzing with students excited to be back learning with friends and staff who were excited to be welcoming them. 

Out of the nine schools I visited this week, six were elementary schools. I enjoyed seeing the smiling faces of young students, witnessed teachers delivering impressive lessons to all age groups, and got to answer a lot of student questions. Although each of these elementary schools have a unique story and diverse initiatives, one thing rang true on each campus - the energy is electric and the staff dedication and connection with students is undeniable. 

I was also able to visit one middle school and two high schools - each equally as impressive. At Black Mountain Middle School I learned what it means to be an AVID National Demonstration School and saw firsthand how much AVID is impacting the Raiders. At both Mt. Carmel and Poway High Schools, I was blown away to see their many Career Technical Education (CTE) courses come to life. I visited the auto shop at Mt. Carmel, saw construction in action at Poway, and even met the Poway goats in Agriculture. In each of these classrooms it was encouraging to see the hands-on training and experience we offer our students.  

While I was at Poway High, I had the opportunity to tour the Nutrition Center/Cafeteria and met a great team of Food and Nutrition Assistants. It was there that I learned our high school campuses also serve as production kitchens for our elementary schools. What a beautiful example of our community working together across the district, campus to campus, to provide for our students. 

While I enjoyed these visits and my week, I don’t want to overlook the devastation happening just north of us. Many of us have ties to Los Angeles, whether it’s through friends and family living there, or fond memories of visiting our favorite places. My thoughts are with those that are affected by the fires, and especially with our Poway Unified students, staff, and families who have direct ties. 

It is my hope that you have a great weekend, and stay safe. We will see you next week.  

Ben
Dr. Ben Churchill, Superintendent, Poway Unified School District
See the latest Straight from the Supe

Dear Poway Unified, 

Happy Friday, and welcome to Winter Break! No matter your plans, I hope you find time in the next two weeks to connect with loved ones, relax, and reflect as we head into the new year. I know I plan to recharge as much as possible. Before disconnecting, however, I’d like to share a few notable things that have happened this week. 

During the Board Meeting on Tuesday, two new Board Members were sworn in and officer elections were made. Your Board of Education is now:

• Ginger Couvrette, Board President
• Michelle O’Connor-Ratcliff, Board Vice President
• Heather Plotzke, Board Clerk
• David Cheng, Board Member
• Tim Dougherty, Board Member
• Sinead Kiley, Student Board Member 

Two new leaders were also hired during the evening’s meeting. Eric Dill will be joining Team PUSD as the Associate Superintendent of Business Support Services, and Josué Reyna will be joining Team PUSD as the Chief Communications and Community Engagement Officer. You can read more about these individuals here. I am looking forward to starting the new year working alongside this team - there is so much exciting work to be done! For a full recap of the Board Meeting you can view the Board Briefs here or watch the video here. 

This week I also had the privilege of attending two Abraxas High School graduation ceremonies, one for the diploma students and one for students in the Transition Program. These were my first PUSD graduations, and what an incredible way to start. The graduates all have amazing, inspirational stories of overcoming obstacles and perseverance in order to walk across that stage. Congratulations, December 2024 graduates, and best of luck to you in your future endeavors! 

Now, as we head into the new year, I am hopeful for what is to come for Poway Unified. I’m looking forward to working with all of you, building connections, and transforming our culture as we continue to empower world-class learners. But not before enjoying this break! 

Happy holidays, Poway Unified, I’ll see you in 2025. 

Dear Poway Unified, 

Happy Friday! Before we enter into the weekend, I wanted to connect with you about some exciting happenings from this week as well as what to expect next week. 

This week began my school site visits, and it was truly a highlight. Stepping onto our campuses to meet students, hear from staff, and get a sense of each school’s culture was an honor. I also had the opportunity to meet with the Superintendent’s Student Advisory Council. It was our annual holiday party, and I was delighted to see the students take charge and lead the meeting, collaborating together and enjoying each other. I can’t wait to learn more about them - and the issues that are important to them - in the new year. 

Next week, on Tuesday, we will have our last Board Meeting of 2024. It is our Organizational Meeting, meaning we will be using some of the evening to have newly elected Board Members sworn in and officers elected. Items of interest on the agenda include:

• The First Interim Financial Report, which will give an in-depth look at our first quarter financials and forecast forward.

• Recommended appointment of a permanent Associate Superintendent of Business Support Services and a new Chief Communications and Community Engagement Officer.
  
  
• Recommended adoption of new high school courses, including three potential Career Technical Education courses - Construction Technology Advanced, The Art of Game Design 1-2, and Project Lead the Way Capstone 1-2; and two potential World Language courses - Japanese 1-2 and Korean 1-2.

• And many more items!

I want to thank everyone who participated in submitting questions for our new Straight from the Supe series. You can view our first one here. It is very meaningful for me to hear the questions you have, whether it be about my personal preferences or my intentions for this position. We will work through answering these questions week by week, addressing some in our videos and addressing others here in my regular check-ins. If you would like to submit a question, you can do so here or email them directly to Brittanie Arnett at [email protected]. 

Have a great weekend - one more week until our holiday break! 

With great appreciation, 

Ben 

Dear Poway Unified, 

Today marks the end of my first official week as your Superintendent, and what a great week it has been! 

I started off the week by inviting staff members in the District Office to drop by for coffee and doughnuts. I met so many wonderful people and hope to do many more ‘open office hours’ in the future. The week continued with meetings with leadership and a general introduction to Poway Unified. One of the highlights of my week was meeting students in the kitchen tABLE program and sampling coffee from their coffee cart. I also learned that the students won first place in a Pie Baking Competition at Abraxas High School - congratulations to them! And now, I’m finishing the week at the California School Boards Association Annual Education Conference with our elected Board Members. 

Over the course of the week, the welcoming atmosphere and kindness that I’ve encountered as I’ve met some of you has been overwhelming. For those of you that I haven’t met yet, I can’t wait to meet you in the weeks to come! 

As I get into a new routine with Team PUSD I want to be sure that the routine includes regular touchpoints with all of you. You can expect to see more communications like this in the future; although this week is more of an inside peek into what my week looked like, future emails will also include important District updates and information.

I’m looking forward to getting into the heart of this job - for me, that’s getting out to school sites and meeting students, staff, and families. My first school site visits begin next week! 

It will take some time before I can physically get to every school site in the District, but in the meantime I’d like to provide an opportunity for you to ask me any question you’d like in a fun and casual way. 

Straight from the Supe

Once each week, we will be posting a video on PUSD’s social media platforms of me answering any questions you might have. We will be collecting questions from students, staff and families and hope to have a mix of lighthearted (i.e. what’s your favorite color?) and substantial (i.e. what are your goals as Superintendent?) questions. You can submit your questions by filling out this form, or by emailing Brittanie Arnett at [email protected]. 

Teachers, we’ll need your help to gather student questions! Feel free to ask your class what questions they would like to ask PUSD’s new Superintendent and submit them through the form or as bullet points in an email to Brittanie. 

It is my hope that this will be a fun, easy way for you to get to know me a little more. 

Have an amazing weekend - I can’t wait to answer all of your questions! 

With great appreciation, 

Ben

Dear PUSD Families,

I am honored and humbled to be your new Superintendent. During my initial meetings with the PUSD Board of Education, they communicated the community's priorities for the leadership qualities sought in the next Superintendent. Those qualities include integrity, strong communication skills, and the ability to foster meaningful, engaging relationships with PUSD’s exceptional staff and highly engaged families. I strive to embody these qualities daily, and will continue to prioritize them as I move into this new role. I am officially starting on December 2 and could not be more excited. 

August 19, 2024 - Back to School Welcome Message

Dear PUSD,

Welcome back!  Please view the following video message from Interim Superintendent Greg Mizel, as we begin the 2024-25 school year.

The full text of his message is also below.

Hello,  PUSD staff, students, and families! I’m Greg Mizel, Interim Superintendent of the Poway Unified School District.  Welcome back! 

As we begin this new school year, I want to ask you a simple yet powerful question: What if?

• What if this year we dared to dream bigger for our children, our students and ourselves? 
• What if we saw the potential in all the people around us instead of focusing on their limitations and deficits? 
• What if this year every student got whatever they needed - that just-in-time support -necessary to overcome obstacles to learning?
• What if this year every staff member had the skill set, mindset, resources, and knowledge necessary to respond to learner variability?

What if?  These questions encourage us to imagine possibilities instead of limitations and deficits.  They empower us to innovate and take risks, instead of settling for the status quo.  They challenge us to collaborate to find common ground…instead of focusing on our disagreements and differences.

I do want to acknowledge that we are coming off a few very challenging years.  And while I am full of hope that this new school year ahead will be easier, I know, even if it is, we’ll still likely find ourselves stretched as we navigate pain points and conflict together.  What if this year we recommitted to rallying around one another on those harder occasions, Team PUSD!  What if we created working and learning environments where people were appropriately challenged, regularly encouraged, and held accountable to achieve reasonable outcomes? 

Over the last several weeks, many of us have been mesmerized by the Olympics.  Yes, the performances were dazzling. But what stays with us, and resonates in both our hearts and heads, are the stories that came out of these games - the sportsmanship, the perseverance, the discipline, and the humility of the participating athletes.  How it took a lifetime of coaches, teachers, friends, family, churches, businesses, therapists, all making sacrifices, pouring their time, knowledge, and resources into these athletes just to enable them to qualify for the opportunity to compete in Paris.  In many ways, our schools are like Olympic training centers.  At each of our unique campuses, our students are paired with world class administrators, school counselors, teachers, instructional assistants, and support staff.  Teams of people, well known for their unwavering commitment to our students’ success, pour into our kids’ lives, daily, working to ensure that they're ready when their time comes to step out into the arena of life. 

What if we treated each of our students like future Olympians… What if we all came together in recognition that each and every one of our 35,000 children has unlimited potential, and with the right training, mentorship, practice, and instruction, can achieve greatness?  What I mean is, doesn’t every child deserve that kind of support system?  Just imagine all the places our students could go, if they got the care and coaching and attention our Olympians do!  So this year, let’s ask ourselves: What if?  What if this was your best year parenting, your best year teaching, your best year learning?  What if this was your best year…ever?

Here's to a new school year TEAM PUSD - full of promise and possibilities, exploration, discovery, growth, and transformation. 

What if?  I can’t wait to see how we fill in that blank together.

Welcome back, Poway Unified!

Greg Mizel

Interim Superintendent

Poway Unified School District