THOUSANDS OF TEACHERS, staff and administrators from Stockton Unified School District gathered Monday morning inside Adventist Health Arena for the district’s third annual staff kick-off — a high-energy event designed to unite the SUSD workforce ahead of the 2025–26 school year.
More than 5,000 employees filled the arena for the hourlong event, which featured student performances, prize giveaways and a keynote address from Superintendent Michelle Rodriguez, who laid out the district’s goals for the year ahead.
“It’s always so special to me,” Rodriguez said. “We’re trying really hard to build traditions here, so that people can depend on things — things they can look forward to.”
Focused on progress
Rodriguez highlighted four major areas of progress and continued improvement: graduation rates, literacy, attendance and English learner reclassification.
Last year, the district reached a historic 87% graduation rate, up from 85% the year before. Rodriguez said the goal is to cross the 90% threshold in 2026. Literacy among third-grade students rose nearly 20% in the past year, though it remains at 35%. The district hopes to raise that to 50%.
Stockton Unified also saw chronic absenteeism decline from 37% to 29%, with a goal of lowering it further to 15%. Rodriguez urged parents to support consistent school attendance.
“Each day that you miss is worth two days missed,” she said.
One team, one vision
Kennetha Stevens, president of the Stockton Unified Board of Trustees, called the kick-off a strong start to the year and a symbol of unity across departments, unions and leadership teams.
“We want to make sure we’re collaborative across the board,” Stevens said. “We’re the policymakers, and they’re the practitioners. But we’re working toward one mission — Stockton Unified strong.”
Stevens said her top priority remains student success.
“We want to make sure all of our kiddos can live out their hopes and dreams,” she said.
Building momentum
Melinda Meza, the district’s director of communications, described the event as both a celebration of accomplishments and a rally to prepare for the year ahead.
“Our graduation rates are the highest in SUSD history, and we want to keep that going,” Meza said. “Today was about lifting up our staff, showing them their work matters and recognizing everything they’ve done to prepare for our students.”
She said consistency remains a key theme under Rodriguez’s leadership.
“We’re consistent, and we’re keeping students at the forefront,” Meza said.
Cheerleaders welcomed employees as doors opened at 8 a.m., setting the tone for the district’s message of energy, focus and unity.
“We want everyone walking out of here knowing that together, we are efficacious,” Rodriguez said. “Together, we can do anything.”
This story originally appeared in Stocktonia.
