Fresno County, Calif. (UK) — Fresno County School Superintendent Dr. Michelle Cantwell Cooper said her mission is to engage and unite the community in support of public education, and she is determined to achieve that goal in her first 100 days in office.
Even before she was sworn in as the 2022 Superintendent of Fresno County Schools, Dr. Michelle Cantwell Cooper spent a lot of time listening and talking to those doing the work and meeting with community partners. This is what I took away from those meetings.
A shared optimism, a shared sense of responsibility that there is strength in our purpose. “We are well equipped to serve our children well especially when we do it together,” says Dr. Cantwell Cooper.
After she took on the position of Senior Educator, she was ready to move on and put together a 100-day plan, with goals and an action plan in place.
“First and foremost, build some trust, be involved in our decision-making, and communicate the vision for improving the lives of children and families through this office and in our community,” says Dr. Cantwell Cooper.
Fresno County Superintendent’s Office of Schools Abroad 32 school districts. Dr. Cooper says she is actively working with the managers of those areas and focusing on some key priorities.
“I want us to remain committed to securing our schools and making sure our students feel safe in every definition of that term,” says Dr. Cantwell Cooper.
Other priorities include improving literacy, enhancing the experience for children learning to read, and leveling the playing field for students with strong programs in early care and education.
“So those first five years are very important, and building early math and literacy skills will make a difference for the kids in our classrooms,” says Dr. Cantwell Cooper.
It will take a village to educate county children, says Dr. Cooper. So as she celebrated her first 100 days in office, the focus was on those doing the work.
“I think most of my moments are just this deep sense of the importance of the work we do and how important it is for adults to do that work. To feel supported and assured and equipped to do their jobs really well, that’s what some of the uh, uh moments of the last 100 days have been like,” he says. Dr. Cantwell Cooper.