FCUSD Superintendent Calls for Teamwork to Help Youth Achieve Their Dreams

Rancho Cordova, CA (MPG) – There are many ways to be a leader and a great influence to youth today. Sometimes it is done by “leaving a heart print.”

Dr. Sarah Koligian at the Rancho Cordova November Luncheon called for all those involved in teaching and influencing our kids to “Leave our heart print.”  The new Folsom Cordova Unified School District superintendent referred to the term from a book titled Heart by Timothy Kanold.  It’s all about relationships.  “When the day is done and our students graduate from our schools, what do you think they’re going to remember?” Koligian said.  “It’s the . . . memories that they make when they’re in our schools, those wonderful events that take place, and those teachers and custodians and food service workers, and instructional aides and administrators – all those people that left their heart print, or their legacy.”

Koligian started with FCUSD on July 1.  Previously she was superintendent for Tulare Joint Union High School District and before that for Golden Valley Unified School District in Madera County.  Her years of experience include instructional leadership positions after beginning as a resource teacher at Madison Elementary School in Fresno.

“She has every aspect of school leadership you could imagine and has a wonderful sense of direction for our District,” said Curtis Wilson, assistant superintendent of elementary instruction.  That direction, he said, is “Excellence in learning for all students.”

Koligian has visited all 32 school sites in the District and is now starting on her second round.  She said what she learned was all about the glows and the grows.  “The glows are those things that the schools are most proud of, the successes that they’ve been working so hard to achieve,” Koligian said.  This includes Cordova Villa Elementary teacher Mary Hawkins receiving ABC10 teacher of the year, and Walnutwood High School teacher Jessica Cisneros-Elliott being chosen as 2017 teacher of the year.  There are many stories of individual students excelling; students from Peter J. Shields Elementary are learning how to code.

The grows are the challenges the District is facing, such as support for the new refugee population in Rancho Cordova.  In tune with her heart print theme, Koligian said, “We want to remove the barriers that some families feel about not feeling that welcoming embrace into our schools.  It’s really forming the trust and relationship with our families, feeling comfortable enough to be there and to be fully engaged with their child’s education.” 

What she has learned from her students and from raising her own four children, Koligian said, is that not every child learns at the same rate, in the same way, at the same pace or in the same setting.  “It also formed my philosophy, that we have to offer opportunities for our students to succeed and it may not always be the traditional classroom setting.”   

The District must also continue to challenge the students that are ready for the next step.  “What we’re aiming for is educators and family leaders jointly planning interactive training for family members on how to support college and career readiness. And it starts really at the time that our children enter school as kindergartners.”

JoAnne Reinking, FCUSD Board vice president is pleased with Koligian’s emphasis on a safe, positive, school climate.  “It’s all about the kids,” Reinking said.  “And that message is resonating throughout the District.”

Koligian’s call to action is, “Look at the ways that you can be involved.  It really does take all of us to help our youth reach their dreams, we can’t do it by ourselves.”

Speaking of the Folsom/Rancho Cordova area, Koligian said it has far exceeded her expectations.  Koligian and her husband had passed through the Highway 50 corridor many times on their way to Lake Tahoe, without realizing what was on either side of Highway 50.  They have not found it difficult to adjust to the move.  “It’s been a hidden gem, and it’s just been like opening a gift as I explore and find out about Rancho Cordova, about Folsom and all the wonderful opportunities and offers to the children, to our families, to the community.”