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New schools head marches into job photo by Drew Fleming Parade on 4th was Juli Di Chiro�s intro to Ashland district By Wendy Siporen ASHLAND � Juli Di Chiro�s first official act as the new superintendent of Ashland schools was to march in the Fourth of July parade. Walk, wave, greet. That visibility was the beginning of a relationship Di Chiro hopes to cultivate with teachers, parents and the community as she takes on the leadership of Ashland�s seven public schools. "The main job of a superintendent is to be what I would call a symbolic leader," said Di Chiro. "You should try to become the cheerleader for the values and vision of the district." Juli Di Chiro Name: Juli Di Chiro (pronounced DEE-KIRO) Position: Ashland School District Superintendent Age: 50 Education: B.A. Loyola University; M.A. in School Administration from the University of San Francisco Family: Husband Bob, and three children: Amy, 20; Clayton, 17; Gabe, 13. Hobbies: Reading, music and the outdoors Di Chiro brings more than personality and pep to the position. She has a commitment to continuing professional development for teachers and a model of education founded on a partnership between parents and educators. "Only through strong partnerships can we really be serious about making sure every kid is successful," she said, "knowing that we can�t do it alone ... that some of the issues kids are dealing with are way too great to deal with just in school." Di Chiro said teachers and administrators need to get to know each child, not just academically, but socially and emotionally as well. "Families will know their children in a way that we will never know them. They are going to be able to bring us the best advice about ... what that child needs. We may have other advice to give. ... It�s a two-way street." Di Chiro�s experience as a teacher, assistant principal, elementary school principal and administrator is rooted in and around her hometown of Santa Monica, Calif., where she cut her teeth in schools twice as large as Ashland�s, some with majority Spanish-speaking populations and huge income disparities among student families. As the principal of Will Rogers Elementary, Di Chiro oversaw an award-winning reform program that divided the school into four smaller learning "houses" and brought in additional counseling and legal services to families. What drew her to Ashland, she said, is its small size and the commitment of the district and community to "good teaching." To Di Chiro, that means helping kids discover why something is true rather than being told "this is the formula to use." It means understanding not just how to divide fractions, but why you invert and multiply to get the right answer. Di Chiro said it�s her priority to be out in the schools, particularly her first year, to listen to teachers and administrators and assess the priorities of the district. From speaking with staff and parents, Di Chiro said, she already believes the district needs to match its strength in technological hardware with an equal amount of funding for maintenance and teacher training on how to integrate technology into the classroom. The elementary schools will use a grant to help students learn how to solve everyday problems using math concepts. Schools need to pay careful attention to student transitions, she said, whether it�s the first day of kindergarten, middle school, high school or graduation. Making time for principals to work together or attend training conferences is another priority. With the resignation of Curriculum Director Karen Dalrymple and with personnel manager Vance Littleton�s intention to retire next year, Di Chiro says she would like to ask for an independent audit of the district�s administrative needs. Di Chiro praised Oregon�s school reform effort as uniquely focused on preparing children for the four to five different careers they are likely to have in their lifetimes. "The system that we have awards kids for seat time, awards kids for just being there, but not necessarily learning or changing," she said. Oregon�s school reform, however, "has the potential to radically change the way we�re working with kids, particularly in high schools, and to try to build some relevancy into things," she said. "There�s no way right now that we can say �these are the skills and knowledge base that kids need to have to be successful in their adult life,� " she said. "What we have to do is have kids learn how to learn." Obituaries | Sports | Business | Classifieds | Tempo | Prime Times | So Oregon Sites | Outdoor Journal | Subscribe | Contact | Movies | Advertise | Real Estate Showcase | Archive | Editorials | Letters to the editor | Religion | Wake-up Call | NIE | Cyber Chef | Job Network | So Oregon Weather | WSJ Northwest | Forums | AP Wire | AP Money | F.A.Q. | Awards Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. The Community Newspaper Subsidiary of Dow Jones & Co, Inc Copyright �The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA