August 19, 2022 Dear Catholic School Families, Welcome to the 2022-2023 school year! My name is Leticia Oseguera and it is my absolute honor to serve as your new Superintendent of Schools for the Diocese of San Diego. I am truly blessed and humbled by the opportunity to serve all of our schools - our principals, our teachers and ultimately, our students. While some of you may already be familiar with me, I know that I am new to a lot of you, so allow me to briefly introduce myself. I am blessed to be able to start my 20th year in education in this role. Over the last nineteen years, I have served in a variety of public and private schools, in TK-12 education, both as a teacher and administrator. I have spent the last twelve years serving in various capacities within our diocese, both at the high school level and the elementary (TK-8) level. Most recently I was the principal at Mater Dei Juan Diego Academy, where we built a successful dual-language program. I have also served as a Leadership Coach for Boston College through the Roche Center for Catholic Education supporting principals across the nation, and was recently awarded the NCEA Lead. Learn. Proclaim Award. I hold a BA in Spanish Literature from UCSD, an MA in Education from Claremont Graduate University, and an MEd in Educational Leadership and Administration from St. Thomas University. Education has been both my calling and my passion. As the first one in my family to graduate both from high school and college, I deeply value education and all that it has to offer. Furthermore, I firmly believe in the power of a Catholic education and the difference we can make in the lives of so many students in our school communities and beyond. I know that by working together we will be able to fulfill our mission of being Christ Centered, Student Focused and Forward Thinking. Over the next few months, I will be visiting all of our Catholic schools. My goal is to connect with each school community, start to become familiar with their programs, celebrate their successes and identify ways we, at the Office for Schools, can best support each school. I also hope to meet a lot of families and students on my visits, for it is this connection to students that will continue to inspire me on this journey. As we begin a new school year, we look to the past while setting our gaze towards the future. We look to the past and recognize everything we, in Catholic education, were able to accomplish over the last two and a half years of the pandemic. Our educators have been nothing short of amazing. Despite the challenges, our students continued to thrive as Catholic schools became beacons of hope for our school communities. Therefore, I humbly ask that we continue to show our teachers and principals grace and gratitude. Let’s continue to keep them in our prayers and show them our support. CHRIST-CENTERED
STUDENT-FOCUSED
FORWARD-THINKING
While recognizing the past, we also look towards the future with excitement and a renewed sense of purpose and hope. We assert our commitment to both the health and safety of our students as well as their academic and spiritual growth. First, we reiterate our commitment to academic excellence throughout our diocese. Providing a high-quality education in a faith-filled environment, inspiring and empowering our students to be change makers and ensuring all of our students feel seen, known and loved is something deeply personal to me. Second, please know that the health and safety of our students continues to be of the utmost importance. We will continue to follow all state and county guidelines. While we are aware that the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) updated some guidelines, as of now, there are no major changes to the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) guidelines for the 2022-2023 school year. Should there be any developments in this regard, we will communicate them to our administrators, and if necessary, to our families directly. I sincerely thank you for your commitment to Catholic education. You are an integral part of what makes Catholic schools so special. It is through your partnership and continued support that we can all work together to continue to move our schools forward. It is precisely by working together, that we will succeed. Mother Teresa very wisely said, “together we can do great things”. This iconic phrase will be our theme at the Office for Schools for this school year. Not only is Saint Teresa of Calcutta one of the most inspirational figures, she was also an educator. Despite all the darkness in the world, she dedicated her life to bringing light and love and kindness to the world. She reminds us to be compassionate, and she inspires us to make a difference in our communities, together. I have no doubt that through collaboration and partnership, Together We Can Do Great Things! I wish you all a wonderful start to this new school year! Blessings,
Leticia Oseguera Superintendent of Schools Diocese of San Diego
CHRIST-CENTERED
STUDENT-FOCUSED
FORWARD-THINKING