Pomona superintendent nominated for federal post
Published: June 1, 2009
President Barack Obama has named Pomona Unified School District Superintendent Thelma Meléndez de Santa Ana as assistant secretary for elementary and secondary education. If confirmed by the U.S. Senate, Meléndez will serve as Secretary of Education Arne Duncan’s principal adviser on K-12 public education.
“She is an outstanding choice for assistant secretary,” PUSD school board President Andrew Wong told the local media. “She knows K-12 education from the ground up, having worked as a teacher, a principal and a superintendent. Her expertise will be invaluable in Washington, D.C.”
Over a 25-year career in urban school districts, Meléndez has served as a bilingual classroom teacher, principal, director of instruction and deputy superintendent in a number of Southern California districts. Before returning to Pomona Unified as superintendent, she worked with the Stupski Educational Foundation, the Eli Broad Center and the Annenberg Foundation in efforts to strengthen school districts’ capacity to enact educational reforms.
State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O’Connell congratulated Meléndez on her nomination, saying “her motto of ‘Respect, Responsibility, and Results’ for every student, parent, and educator [is] key to improving student achievement. I know she will serve the nation’s children well in her new position.”
While attending the president’s inauguration in January, Meléndez publicized “Is Anybody Listening?” a video produced by students at Pomona’s Village Academy High School. In the video, which has been viewed almost 60,000 times on YouTube, students appealed to the president about the economic hardships their families were facing due to the economic downturn. Obama quoted the students in a speech to the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and visited the school and Meléndez in March.
Regarded as an accomplished speaker and writer on the role of school administrators, the achievement gap, women in education, and issues of race and class, Meléndez was the Association of California School Administrators’ nominee for the 2009 American Association of School Administrators National Superintendent of the Year.
She completed her undergraduate studies in sociology at UCLA, participated in several graduate programs in school administration and leadership and earned a doctorate from the University of Southern California.
Related link:
Watch the Village Academy High School video, “Is Anybody Listening?” @ www.youtube.com/watch?v=_WMTTrOrKVI