Zirana.com brings you an exclusive interview with Sunnyvale School District Superintendent Dr. Joseph W. Rudnicki, along with an inside look at the workings of the School District, its achievements, problems and requirements.

Q & A:

Question: As of Oct 2006, you had around 6003 students managed by approximately 320 teachers, 240 staff, and 22 administrators across all 10 schools. Are you satisfied with this ratio, or do you feel it needs some tweaking?

Joe Rudnicki: California has the largest class sizes, except for Utah , within the country.  Within the constraints of our budget and the parameters of California these ratios offer the best education for the resources available.

Question: Hispanic children represent the largest ethnic group 44%, Caucasian 20%, Asian 22%, Filipino 9%, African American 3%, Pacific Islander 1%, and American Indian 0.4%. Sixty-two percent of the students come from homes in which the first language is not English. Is there any recent change in these figures, and if so, how does it affect the School District , and the individual schools, in terms of teaching requirements, performance issues, etc.?

Joe Rudnicki: The figures are accurate.  We teach all students within the school system.  There are over 50 different languages represented among our students.  All of our teachers have special professional training in teaching methods that best reach students for whom English isn’t the first language.

Question: About your funding requirements, I understand you have a budget of about  $35,000,000. Are you happy with the current funding levels, or do you need additional funding for some specific projects?

Joe Rudnicki: California funding, as reflected by the large class sizes, is not sufficient to employ the number of teachers necessary to offer a very high quality education.  Support staff in California is also very limited.  As is typical in California we do not have any certificated librarians.  We have one nurse for our 6,000 students and very limited counseling.  These minimal levels of staffing are typical only to California where education is poorly funded.

Question: Any areas of concern which Sunnyvale residents and the City need to be doing more about? And what are the most urgent priorities needing action in front of the School District  today?

Joe Rudnicki: Sunnyvale students have demonstrated academic and physical success as shown from the State tests.  The staff is focused on improvements in all areas of education.  Our teachers are well trained and they continue learning through a high commitment to professional development.  We want all our students to enjoy learning and to succeed at their highest performance level within their individual capacity.

Question: How long have you been on this job, and your feelings about your work.

Joe Rudnicki: I have been a superintendent for 13 years. I served three years in Coalinga and 10 years in Sunnyvale. I began teaching in 1974. When I first entered the classroom as a student teacher in 1973 I knew I had choosen the right profession. I have never looked back or held any regrets. This is the perfect profession for me.

That was Joseph W. Rudnicki, Ed.D., Superintendent, Sunnyvale School District

Editor's Note: Zirana.com contacted Dr. Rudnicki to get a feel of the way Sunnyvale Schools are managed and run. We will be following up on this with comments from City Council members and California Education regulatory bodies to understand and highlight why the school district's problems, such as the fact that Sunnyvale has one nurse for 6000 students, is not being given priority. We welcome your comments on this.

Read more Sunnyvale news - Contribute News