SAN DIEGO (KGTV) - From her office above Mission Valley, Dr. Gloria Ciriza has a great view of San Diego. It's a fitting metaphor, as she takes over the role of County Superintendent of Schools. From high above the hills in Linda Vista, she has to look over every student in the county.
"There's work to do," Dr. Ciriza told ABC 10News Anchor Jared Aarons during an hour long interview ahead of the 2024-25 school year. "We're not done until every single child feels like they belong, like they are valued, like they are prepared to live a life and thrive."
That's her goal as she takes over the job after a three-decade career as a teacher and administrator.
Ciriza was promoted to the role last April, after working for the San Diego County Office of Education for three years as the assistant superintendent of Student Services and Programs.
Now, as her first full school year gets underway, she wants to make sure every school and district in San Diego County keeps one thing as their central focus.
"How are the children? And if we can't definitively say ALL of the children are well, then we need to keep going. We're not done," Ciriza says.
To do that, Ciriza says the county must follow what the Office of Education calls it's "North Star," a mission to reduce poverty through education and programs. She believes the SDCOE's community school strategy is the best way to achieve that goal.
"We see the community school strategy to be developing our public school buildings as hubs in the community, where all of the resources flow into those hubs so that students and families have access to get what they need," she says.
That can be anything from education to extra food for the family, or even help for parents, and Ciriza says it will take a lot more than teachers and administrators to make it happen.
"We need our families. We need our community partners. We need our local businesses to say, 'Oh we're part of this community too. What school is in our neighborhood that we need to show up and say I'm here, I'm right next door. How can we contribute to caring for the children in this neighborhood?'"
It's a lofty goal, but Ciriza feels she's up to the challenge. After all, she's already making history as the first woman to be the SDCOE superintendent in its 76-year history.
"Representation matters," she says. "That wasn't something I set out to do, to be the first woman to sit in this seat. The opportunities line up for you, and you step into those opportunities. It's a calling. I feel like I've been called upon to do this work and to be the first woman to do that, it's an honor... The majority of our educational workforce are women. So, as I step into this role and think about all of the women I have worked with along the way, all the women that have inspired me to keep learning and keep growing, it's really an honor to be a representative of that incredible force of women."
She also hopes to inspire young female students to believe they can do anything. It's all part of her "North Star," guiding San Diego County's schools and families to a shining future.
