Dear Burbank Families and Friends,
I hope this message finds you well. Today, I am writing to share some bittersweet news. After 40 years of dedicated service to students, staff, and families in Districts in the greater Bay Area, including the last 5 years serving as your Superintendent, I have decided to retire.
During my tenure as your Superintendent, I am proud to have successfully led the District through the unprecedented challenges of the COVID pandemic. This included establishing health and safety protocols that included weekly testing, pivoting to online instruction, and being one of the first districts in the county to establish learning pods. Our teachers provided 4 hours of live instruction and 2 hours small group tutoring daily to ensure our students continued their academic learning.
We seized the opportunity to reimagine the learning experience for our students and created an enrichment and intervention program to meet the needs of all students. Some program highlights include:
1) Small class size of 12 or fewer students in our primary grades for reading and math instruction
2) Enrichment classes such as Art, Makerspace, Coding, Spanish and a dedicated PE teacher
3) Middle School Electives that include Leadership, Art, Robotics/Coding, Makerspace, and Spanish
4) Partnering with Right At School to provide our extended learning program for grades TK-5; Dedicated resources to support our popular afterschool Sports Program for grades 6-8.
It has been an honor to lead the district on its journey to academic excellence. We can celebrate our progress and steadfast focus on providing rigorous and engaging learning experiences for our students. Luther Burbank School District posted the greatest gains within Santa Clara County on the 2023 statewide California Assessment of Student Progress and Performance (CASPP)!
Luther Burbank was also one of the first district's in the county to establish an on site Wellness Center in partnership with Santa Clara County Office of Education. This grant provides the district with approximately $500,000 of in-kind services/resources annually. Ensuring support for our students' social emotional learning and well being we augment these services with our partnerships with School Linked Services, Healthy Kids, Pacific Clinics and a full time school counselor! Our commitment to serving the whole child (and family) is a high priority for our district. The District received Project Cornerstone's Caring Middle School Climate Award and California School Board Association's Hoffman Award for its exemplary afterschool program.
While it is with mixed emotions that I plan for my departure in June 2024, I am immensely grateful for the opportunity to contribute to fulfilling Luther Burbank School District's mission to Engage, Educate, and Empower our students. There is still much work to be done as we plan for the construction our new 2 story building that will house 7 classrooms and create our new 3 year Local Control Accountability Plan.
As we embark on this transition, the Board of Education will begin the search for a new Superintendent. We are confident that with your continued support and collaboration, we will navigate this transition smoothly and ensure a seamless succession for the betterment of our students and school.
Warmest regards,
Mrs. Edith Mourtos, Superintendent