Pleased with our superintendent

I just returned from the Agoura/ Oak Park/Las Virgenes Chamber of Commerce networking breakfast.

I very much enjoyed meeting again Dr. Sandra Smyser, new superintendent of the Las Virgenes Unified School District (LVUSD) and welcome her to the Conejo Valley. In her comments, she brought out an important point— her introduction to education a few years ago when special education was “hush hush” and not heard of. She wanted to learn more about autism. Look how far this has come in the 21st century.

A Chamber member thought Oak Park Unified School District (OPUSD) was part of LVUSD. I told him proudly that OPUSD earned its success by itself and with the help of the community. Thanks to the formation of our district in 1977, voted “yes” on the May 1977 ballot by 93 percent of the community, we have achieved many goals we set out to do.

We now have three elementary schools, one middle school and two high schools. In an April 2003 issue of Newsweek, the 100 top high schools in the U.S. were listed and Oak Park High School was 95th, quite an accomplishment considering there are over 10,000 high schools in the U.S.

Thanks to the school staff, classified and certified, and the community, we never stop going forward. Keep doing what you’re doing; it really works.

The OPUSD, LVUDS and Conejo Unified School District are three of the top unified school districts in the state.

The Kahn family is 300 percent in favor of public school education: 100 percent by Bob, 100 percent by Arthur and 100 percent by me. Eileen Kahn Oak Park