Socorro Shiels, Sonoma Valley Unified Superintendent

This week Schools on the Frontlines host Carl Cohn talks with Socorro Shiels, superintendent of Sonoma Valley Unified School District.

In response to the killing of George Floyd and the protests for racial justice that followed, Shiels wrote a letter to the school community in which she said that “racism is not just in our past but woven deeply into the fabric of our institutions.” Cohn and Shiels discuss the reaction to the letter, as well as the challenges the district faces as fall approaches. 

Cohn and Shiels were both at the California Collaborative for Educational Excellence when that agency was first established as part of the Local Control Funding Formula. They bring their statewide experience as well as district leadership perspectives the conversation. 

For more information about Sonoma Valley Unified School District, please see:

• Sonoma Valley Unified School District homepage
• Sonoma Valley Unified School District profile on Ed-Data

This is the fourth in a special series of podcasts hosted by Carl Cohn and sponsored by EdSource and the Ball/Frost Group.