JULY 2024 | DR. CHRISTINA KISHIMOTO
Voice4Equity welcomes Dr. Gloria Ciriza, San Diego County Superintendent of Schools. During her discussion with Dr. Kishimoto, Dr. Ciriza shares her personal story as she enters the superintendency role as the first woman to hold the position in the San Diego County School District in 76 years and offers valuable advice to women aspiring to leadership roles, emphasizing the need for perseverance and mutual support.
Enjoy the conversation as Dr. Ciriza and Dr. Kishimoto highlight the importance of authenticity, collaboration, and continuity in leadership.
The following transcript has been edited for length and clarity.
Dr. Kishimoto
Welcome to The Stories We Tell, July edition. I am thrilled to have with me Dr Gloria Ciriza, from the superintendency of the San Diego County School District. Welcome Gloria.
Dr. Ciriza
Thank you so much. What a joy it is to be here with you today. I am honored and thrilled to be in this position and to engage in this conversation with you today.
Dr. Kishimoto
It’s so much fun to talk to colleagues across the country, especially during these major change periods. I know you were serving as the assistant superintendent, and I believe in student support services. It might be a different title there, but you had this whole array of incredible responsibilities from special ed to juvenile justice and detention to support services of different areas. Now, you’ve just been named the county superintendent. Congratulations!
Dr. Ciriza
Thank you. You’re right; being able to serve in this role as the Assistant Superintendent of Student Services was huge. That role involved such a broad range of oversight, including special ed, juvenile court, student wellness, and mental health and community schools. I feel fortunate that I got to do that because the lessons I learned about supporting our students in San Diego in so many different ways were such a valuable experience.
It was perfect that I was in that role and was able to learn. It’s an area of leadership I didn’t have access to as a site principal nor in my former district in Chula Vista. Those were all resources and services that I, as a curriculum and instruction leader, didn’t get to learn as well as I have in this role. So, it’s very exciting.
