Van Meter Principal Retiring

Published on 02-07-2013 09:20 AM

21 Comments

The following announcement was sent out by LGUSD Superintendent Abbati Wednesday afternoon:

February 6, 2013

Dear Los Gatos Union School District Families, Teachers and Staff:

It is with heartfelt words that I write this letter to inform you that our Principal, Rosanne Adona, will be retiring from Louise Van Meter Elementary School at the end of June 2013. Over the past 18 years, LGUSD students, teachers, and staff have greatly benefited from Ms. Adona’s leadership, vision, guidance and aspirations. The Board of Trustees will be accepting Ms. Adona’s retirement letter at the February 12th Board meeting.

While this news came unexpectedly, the District Administrative Team is taking the necessary steps to ensure a smooth transition for the 2013-14 school year. It is our intent to build on our strong momentum and continue in our current positive direction. We are so very fortunate to have the administrative talents and experience of our Principals, teachers and staff to guide our future and ground Van Meter Elementary through this transition.

On behalf of the students, families and staff, both past and present, I offer our sincere appreciation for her tireless efforts in contributing to the Los Gatos community. Please join me in wishing our beloved, Ms. Adona, and her family the very best in their new endeavors.

Sincerely,

Dr. Diana Abbati
Superintendent

This is the second LGUSD principal to resign or retire in the last two years. Lexington Elementary Principal David Freed left the district (and the country if memory serves) at the end of the 2011 school year. As you know, he was replaced by former Daves Avenue Principal Susan vonFelten, who now serves as the Director of Curriculum and Lexington Principal.

Do we have a teacher ready to make the jump to principal? Or will there be another new administrator brought in from a nearby district? Or another round of musical Principal chairs?

21 Comments

Unregistered - 02-07-2013, 10:06 AM

We shouldn't be surprised when we get the same email about the departure of the remaining principals.
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Unregistered - 02-07-2013, 10:11 AM

This is a tragedy for Van Meter and Los Gatos. Mrs. Adona has earned her retirement if it's truly what she wants, but it will difficult if not impossible to find a principal who can successfully manage an overcrowded campus, and win the approval of teachers and staff. I don't have confidence in our superintendent to hire the right person for this position. I'm sorry, but the district feels like a sinking ship.
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Unregistered - 02-10-2013, 08:46 PM

Friends from Woodside wished me "good luck" when they heard we had hired Abbati as our new superintendent. Apparently she was pushed out of there because she was so toxic. I'm very worried she's causing the same problems here but on a bigger scale.
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Unregistered - 02-11-2013, 08:12 AM

To my knowledge, there has been no serious discussion in Los Gatos of the fraud charges against Ms. Abbati's staff in Woodside. Was she involved? Was she pushed out of Woodside? Did she break laws or ethics along the way?

Our Board of Trustees should think very carefully about that and move to make sure that our District does the appropriate audits
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Unregistered - 02-11-2013, 10:08 AM

I wonder what the teaching staff in Woodside thought of Abbati. That would have been a good way for the trustees to judge her leadership skills. It was a very small environment (one K-8 school the size of Van Meter), so the staff should have known her well. She always talks about how much school funding she generated in the parent community there, but she never touts any accomplishments working with the teachers or students. Makes you wonder where her focus is.
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Unregistered - 02-11-2013, 11:51 AM

It is evident from every meeting I have attended since her supreme self came to our community that she doesn't care about the kids. She cares about resume building. She cares about telling Los Gatos how it doesn't give as much as Woodside. She cares about herself which is why she speaks about herself in the third person.
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Unregistered - 02-11-2013, 10:16 PM

The staff in Woodside knew her well, and they wanted her gone after the first year. I'm told the staff was nearly unanimous in their assessment of her lack of ability to lead. It took the board a couple of years to catch up. As for the fraud (the former assistant superintendent is in jail for fraud), it strains credibility to think she did not know. Her previous career was in accounting--if she wasn't asking the right questions, should should have been. And it's hardly surprising that Woodside families donate more than LG families--isn't Woodside one of the wealthiest communities in the entire country?
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Unregistered - 02-11-2013, 10:47 PM

Hmmm ... let's connect the dots to resume building: 1. Facilities contruction at Lexington, 2. Parcel tax passage (especially when she planned to get it doubled), 3. A PR person/firm to improve the image of LGUSD, 4. The 150 year celebration that no one but herself wants to undertake, and 5. The capital campaign to build the Fisher gym as a community resource. Approximate time to build this resume: 1.5-2 years. Does it mean we have the good doctor until then?
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checking facts - 02-12-2013, 01:35 PM

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Hmmm ... let's connect the dots to resume building: 1. Facilities contruction at Lexington, 2. Parcel tax passage (especially when she planned to get it doubled), 3. A PR person/firm to improve the image of LGUSD, 4. The 150 year celebration that no one but herself wants to undertake, and 5. The capital campaign to build the Fisher gym as a community resource. Approximate time to build this resume: 1.5-2 years. Does it mean we have the good doctor until then?

Don't forget that a big part of her resume in Woodside was building a community gym... Guess she is using the same play book.
I spoke to several parents I know who attend the Woodside school she was principal/superintendent at for a few years. They told me that the Board was about to fire her when she got the job in los gatos.
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Unregistered - 02-12-2013, 07:34 PM

Did you quit your job at Fisher so you could come back on here and continue your smear campaign and not get your beloved Ms Fraser in any hot water ? Why haven't you found someone at the high school to try and take down since your kids no longer attend the schools in this district.
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Unregistered - 02-12-2013, 10:20 PM

I also heard from friends in Woodside that she was being pushed out. She was the principal at Ross for a couple of years, at Woodside for 3. My guess is that she needs a slightly longer tenure at LGUSD to avoid a reputation of a job hopper, but the Board could always encourage an earlier departure. Are they happy with her?

I think the Woodside community gym was in progress when she arrived. Oddd that she would take credit for that. And funny enough, when I searched for news on Ross District, what did they build while she was there? . . . Yep, a new gym!
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Unregistered - 02-12-2013, 10:47 PM

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Did you quit your job at Fisher so you could come back on here and continue your smear campaign and not get your beloved Ms Fraser in any hot water ? Why haven't you found someone at the high school to try and take down since your kids no longer attend the schools in this district.

Nice try, but I have never worked at the schools. I am a parent in the district who happens to care more than whoever you are trying to "smear" someone who did more than you for our kids.
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Unregistered - 02-13-2013, 12:42 PM

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Nice try, but I have never worked at the schools. I am a parent in the district who happens to care more than whoever you are trying to "smear" someone who did more than you for our kids.

You know exactly what and who I am talking about. "Smear" no. Fact, oh you betcha.
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Unregistered - 02-13-2013, 11:08 PM

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Did you quit your job at Fisher so you could come back on here and continue your smear campaign and not get your beloved Ms Fraser in any hot water ? Why haven't you found someone at the high school to try and take down since your kids no longer attend the schools in this district.

Who gave you the right to harrass someone on this blog? There are obviously many people who blog here with many and varied opinions. Your voice has a noticeable tone that I have read before. I have a pretty good idea who you are referring to with this post and I suspect that you are either an employee, or dare I say it, member of the board, of the district. I assume I am not the only one to see through your deliberate attempt to control another person's behavior by intimidation and harrassment. How LGUSD is that?
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Unregistered - 02-14-2013, 09:46 AM

I agree. Let's keep the discussion about ideas and not personalities, shall we? I am beginning to understand why Rosanne is leaving. I wish her every happiness after leaving all this sordid mess behind and I want to sincerely thank her for her tireless efforts on behalf of the children and teachers at Van Meter. She will be missed.
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Unregistered - 02-16-2013, 06:12 PM

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Friends from Woodside wished me "good luck" when they heard we had hired Abbati as our new superintendent. Apparently she was pushed out of there because she was so toxic. I'm very worried she's causing the same problems here but on a bigger scale.

Hello? Your slanderous comment is incorrect about Woodside and Dr. Abbati. I know from friends there that they asked her to STAY (yes, I checked).

As to Ms. Adona, in her Wednesday bulletin (did you not see it?) she said that she's retiring after 39 years -- including 25 years as a principal. You don't think she's entitled to retire?? I applaud her years of dedication and service (and her stamina for a job for which few people thank you), and I think she's earned her retirement.
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Unregistered - 02-16-2013, 07:09 PM

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Who gave you the right to harrass someone on this blog? There are obviously many people who blog here with many and varied opinions. Your voice has a noticeable tone that I have read before. I have a pretty good idea who you are referring to with this post and I suspect that you are either an employee, or dare I say it, member of the board, of the district. I assume I am not the only one to see through your deliberate attempt to control another person's behavior by intimidation and harrassment. How LGUSD is that?

U are way off !
Harass someone on this blog, read this entire thread, it turned into an Abbati bashing.
This thread should have been an opportunity for you folks to congratulate Ms Adona on her retirement, thank her for her years of service and wish her well.
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Unregistered - 02-16-2013, 07:17 PM

I wish Mrs. Adona well in her retirement, and hope Van Meter gets a fabulous new principal to lead our students and teachers.

PS to Hello? above, slander is spoken. Anything else is libel, in case you're interested.
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Unregistered - 02-16-2013, 07:24 PM

Please refrain from using this as a personal slander of our superintendent. Roseanne will be missed and it is not a surprise. This year she injured her foot and our once energetic principal seemed to fade a little. Maybe she realized what I saw, our growing campus is changing and even more vibrant than before. Roseanne was very much involved and she made appoint of knowing each and every kid and family. Thanks Roseanne for the wonderful years. You will be missed but never forgotten. You made a difference in my child's life.
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Unregistered - 02-18-2013, 01:10 PM

Please do not worry about me. I am not intimidated by posts on this site, nor am I distracted from what is really important for our kids. I actually find it kind of interesting, because I am also NOT the author of the posts in this thread. I guess they are going to have to find someone else to be the scapegoat.

- Former Employee
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