SOLEDAD — Soledad Unified School District will begin the 2017-2018 school year with new Superintendent Tim Vanoli, who received a special welcome during the Soledad City Council meeting Aug. 2.
Vanoli and Mayor Fred Ledesma grew up in close proximity to one another, with Ledesma on Walker Drive, and even participated in Little League together.
“He and I go back a long way,” Ledesma said. “I’m very excited that the local boy came home.”
Vanoli began his new role July 1 and has welcomed close to 40 new teachers on July 31 for a four-day orientation. Prior to attending the City Council meeting, there was a city tour given by the school district.
“We got on the yellow bus and went all the way up to Camphora and down to Foods Co. and everywhere in between,” Vanoli said. “We showed them the different spots in town so they can get acclaimed with the community and also with the students they will be serving.”
School resumes Aug. 14, but before that the Soledad Unified School District is hosting a kickoff Aug. 9 for all school staff at Soledad High School. The School board will be serving lunch to the school staff.
“Soledad’s changed a little bit over the years, but it still has that wonderful hometown feeling and there’s a lot of care in the community,” Vanoli said. “You see the pride in our families and in our employees that work for us that extends beyond the school district into the city.”
Vanoli has several goals for the upcoming school year that are aligned with the LCAP surrounding student achievement. Vanoli wants to support teaching in the classroom and working efficiently with the students to acquire the necessary skills to be successful. Attracting and recruiting teachers to maintain a strong work force as well as a safe environment for students are also goals of Vanoli’s.
A focus for the school year is also to continue to support English language learners and other groups and to graduate from high school with that knowledge.
“I’ve had the pleasure of working with Tim for about 10 years now in my role at the County Office of Education, and it’s always such a pleasure to work with him,” Council Member Carla Stewart said. “I couldn’t be more happy that you’re here in Soledad at our district.”
Council Member Alejandro Chavez is looking forward to creating a partnership between the city and the school district, stronger than in the past.
“It’s not been much of a partnership over the years and I would like to see that happen through memorandums of understanding, the use of facilities and partnering on projects together,” Chavez said. “Hopefully this new page that is being turned will be one that’s positive for the entire community.”
