Dr. Damon J. Wright Takes the Helm of Santa Clara Unified School District

The Santa Clara Unified School District (SCUSD) has undergone significant changes at the top. With three different leaders in the past three years, Dr. Damon J. Wright is just the latest leader to take the helm. Dr. Wright took over the role in June, taking over for the retiring Dr. Gary Waddell and he’s hoping to bring long-term stability to the district. More than that, Dr. Wright has bold aspirations for where he wants the district to go.

“I want to be the best school district in the state. I don’t want to be second to anybody. And it’s not about me. It’s a we,” said Dr. Wright.

Dr. Wright’s approach to education is simple: “All means all.” Whether a student is looking to go to college or trade school or directly into the working world, they’re going to be the best at what they do.

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“I think success looks different for students just based upon their interest,” said Dr. Wright. “There’s some folks that are going to go into the vocation. I’ve supported auto shops. I’ve supported the engineering program, so it varies depending on the students and their interests. We want to make sure that we give them the support that they need to gain the knowledge and the expertise they need to be successful.”

Different touchstones in his educational career have helped shape Dr. Wright’s vision for SCUSD. Although he was most recently the superintendent of the Benicia School District, he began his career in special education and later worked in Career Technical Education (CTE) in San Ramon. It’s those experiences that have helped create his “all means all” approach.

But most importantly, it was how he got his start in education that inspired him. When he was just out of college, he worked as a probation officer with adults and also kids in juvenile hall.

“I engaged in conversations with them. ‘What happened?’ ‘Why are you here?’ And anything about inmates or detainees is, they like to tell stories, and they’ll tell you, it always came back to school, and I realized I was on the wrong side of that equation,” said Dr. Wright.

It was those stories that inspired him to pursue a master’s degree.

Hitting the Ground Running

Just a few weeks into the job, Dr. Wright is learning at a breakneck speed, but he’s also cognizant that this isn’t a district that needs to be “fixed,” so to speak. Right now, he’s listening and learning and, when the school year starts, he plans to roll out what he calls his 100 Day Plan.

“We’re going to ask three general questions: What’s working? What are some areas for improvement? And how can I, as a superintendent or our cabinet, support you in your endeavors? So, making sure that everyone has an opportunity to voice their opinion and be heard,” said Dr. Wright.

“This 100 Day Plan is going to give me an opportunity, for the most part, to be a sponge and learn as much as possible … so that we can talk about what’s next,” said Dr. Wright. “I don’t want to be presumptuous and think that I have the answers to determine what our next steps are to make us the best district in the state. Oftentimes, the answers lie with the people that are in the organization. So, I want to make sure that I’m reaching out to them, having conversations.”

Keeping with his “all means all” approach, Dr. Wright is hoping that every member of the SCUSD community will participate in the 100 Day Plan. He hopes that this will help build “trust” and open the lines of communication between the various groups within the SCUSD community.

“I’m here. I’m here for the long haul. I want to immerse myself in the community,” said Dr. Wright. “Your students are very important to me. Their success is very important to me, and I’m going to work as hard as humanly possible to make sure that we provide them the opportunities that they need to be successful. I’m looking forward to developing relationships with you, meeting with you, and immersing myself in Santa Clara.”

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