Welcome to the 2015-2016 school year!

It is with a spirit of enthusiasm and anticipation that I welcome our Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School District families to the 2015-2016 school year. I look forward to this new school year and the promise it holds for great successes and exciting experiences for all of us.

As we embark on another adventure in education, it is always good to remind ourselves that we are a part of a rich legacy of commitment to the young people of our community. In 1874, Orange County settler and educator William McFadden built a one-room schoolhouse in Placentia at his own expense and welcomed children from this area to come to learn and grow. Now, all these years later, we as the Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School District continue to welcome and dedicate ourselves to over 25,000 students from our community.

Though it is understandable to start the year concentrating on WHAT we have to do and HOW we are going to accomplish those tasks, it is also critical to start with – and remember daily – WHY we are here. The WHY is the very reason our organization exists.

Simon Sinek, author of Start with Why, shares this thought: “When people come to work with a higher sense of purpose, with an understanding of the WHY, they find it easier to weather hard times or even to find opportunity in them.”

As we begin this new year, I have encouraged my colleagues in PYLUSD to reflect on our greater purpose: to prepare each and every student for success now and in the future. I have challenged all of us to dedicate ourselves to this purpose in whatever role we play and reflect on these three statements:

Every student. Every day. Whatever it takes.

I cannot imagine a higher or more compelling calling in life.

It is such an honor to be entrusted with the responsibility of equipping students for the future and unlocking the potential that they possess. We take this responsibility seriously and look forward to the opportunities it brings.

With respect,

Doug Domene, Ed.D.
Superintendent