Candidate for
Board Member; San Dieguito Union High School District

2006 SAN DIEGO COUNTY SCHOOL BOARDS' ASSOCIATION SCHOOL BOARD MEMBER OF THE YEAR

Deanna"Dee"Rich, Vice-President of the San Dieguito Union High School District Board of Trustees, is running for another term on the San Dieguito Board. Dee, a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Tufts University, and her husband, Dr. Michael Rich, are residents of Del Mar Heights. Their children attended Del Mar Heights Elementary, Earl Warren Middle School, and graduated from Torrey Pines High before Robert headed to MIT and Laura to Tufts.

Dee served over 34 years as a community leader and 25 years as a School Trustee. She has experience as a former teacher, parent volunteer, and Chair of the Torrey Pines Community Planning Board. Dee helped form the Coalition for Responsible Planning, an organization that successfully fought San Diego City Hall to guarantee funding for schools in Carmel Valley. She worked to build schools known nationally for Academic Excellence. For many years, she was part of the Children's Creative Workshop Board. She was first elected as a Trustee to the Del Mar Union Elementary District in 1981. After one term on the Elementary Board, she successfully ran for a seat on the San Dieguito Union High School District Board of Trustees. She served as President of the San Diego County School Boards' Association, President of the Del Mar Elementary and San Dieguito High School Boards, and Vice-President of the NCW School Facilities Financing Authority. She was a Statewide Delegate to the California School Boards Association and successfully lobbied the Legislature for our schools. Dee was a Presenter at CSBA Conventions. She was a leader in two successful State Construction Bond campaigns.

Providing needed facilities to accommodate growth and raising academic expectations were motivations for a successful 1986 campaign for a seat on the San Dieguito Board. During her terms as a Trustee, La Costa Canyon High School, Carmel Valley Middle School, and Canyon Crest Academy were constructed along with expansion and renovation at the other campuses. Graduation requirements were expanded. College attendance went up significantly as did the number of students successfully taking Advanced Placement and SAT exams. All schools have won national or state Distinguished School Status. As a School District liaison to the Solana Beach City Council, Dee was instrumental in the decision to build the shared-use San Diego County Library at Earl Warren Middle School. The project saves taxpayer dollars and provides expanded library hours. As a Trustee, she worked to create both San Dieguito and Canyon Crest Academies offering district "schools of choice" to parents and students. Dee was the Board's representive to the Strategic Plan Committee for the last two years. Three of the five focus areas of the Strategic Plan are Academic Excellence for all students, Integrated Technology, and Communication. All District Schools now have API scores above 800 and all schools met Federal No Child Left Behind targets. Course consistency among different teachers was improved. Access to Honors was opened. A new Aeries Student Information System that gives parents password access to their students real time attendance, grades, testing, and assignments was implemented. Parents are giving rave reviews to this system that helps parents better assist their children. The Board went paperless two years ago. All meetings and budgets are available on the internet. New hands-on technology programs were developed. Canyon Crest Academy offers expanded curriculum in the arts and technology. Partnerships with the Symphony, the La Jolla Playhouse, and local Corporations were an essential part of the program. La Costa Canyon High School has a new hands-on technology program that was funded by the State Technology Education Program. Although the District is nationally recognized for excellence, closing the remaining Achievement Gap is key. A continuing emphasis on quality education for all students, innovative ideas, fiscal responsiblity, partnering with parents and the community, and experienced leadership with a track record of success are essential to further improvement in our already excellent schools.