Woodburn Independent Online

Bautista meets with public

• By: Lindsay Keefer  
• Published: 3/5/2010 4:52:52 PM

Photo By: Lindsay KeeferDavid Bautista
New Woodburn Superintendent David Bautista talks with students at an open house March 4 at Woodburn High School. Bautista will begin his new job July 1.

WOODBURN — More than 150 people showed up to welcome future Superintendent David Bautista to the Woodburn School District at an open house in his honor Thursday at Woodburn High School.
 
Bautista, who was constantly surrounded by congratulatory community and staff members, spoke to the group briefly.
 
“It is a pleasure for me to be back here in Woodburn,” he said.
 
“The opportunity that I had to work (in the Salem-Keizer School District) gave me the chance to say, ‘Yes I can come here as a leader and work with everyone.’”
 
He said he is only one person and cannot achieve all he wants without the help of the staff.
 
“It is said it takes a village to raise a child, it takes a whole district to raise every single student,” he said. “It’s an economic advantage to have a graduate that has two languages, that has participated in International Baccalaureate. Together, we’re going to make students shine at the national level — that’s my quest. If we’re not at the national level … my work is in vain.”
 
Bautista has a two-year contract with a starting salary of $120,000. Current Superintendent Walt Blomberg, who will retire June 30, has a salary of $121,289.

Bautista’s passion for a bilingual community is what attracted the school board to him for the job, said Chairman Jack Reeves.
 
“We wanted to focus on academic improvement and the centerpiece for that is the language development and instruction … and he’s the expert,” Reeves said. “His expertise in language development and his attitude about student achievement, which is why all of us are here, was the main driver. None of the other superintendents that we interviewed had that fine kind of quality in their background. Those high expectations and academic achievements stand out.”
 
He said the board isn’t worried about Bautista not having been a superintendent before because he has other administrative experience, most recently as the director of bilingual services in Salem-Keizer.
 
“We’ve never indicated in any advertisements of the job that experience was required or necessary,” Reeves said. “When we hired Blomberg, he didn’t have (much) experience as a superintendent. What we judged Walt on was the quality of answers we got in the interview.”
 
While the school board was originally scheduled to announce the new superintendent at its March 18 meeting, Reeves said he doesn’t think the decision was rushed.
 
“There’s nothing for us to gain by hurrying,” he said. “I don’t think that any one of the board members would say we rushed it. In fact, I thought they were rather restrained and casual. It’s the first time for most of them.”
 
Chuck Ransom, the principal of Academy of International Studies, worked closely with Bautista when he worked for the district from 2001-07.
 
“I am very excited,” he said. “In AIS, we’re really committed to what he believes, we’re really committed to bilingual education, we’re really committed to the International Baccalaureate program. I think I share his enthusiasm in the belief that kids can be really high-achieving, confident, national-caliber learners in two languages.”
 
Even Jennifer Dixon, the principal of Woodburn Arts and Communications Academy, is excited to see Bautista’s return even though she didn’t work much with him.
 
“I think Woodburn is an incredibly unique district, at least in Oregon, so having someone who understands where we’ve been and how we’ve grown … it’s incredibly valuable for us,” she said. “Someone who has their kids in the district is really valuable too because he understands the work we’ve been doing.”
 
Bautista’s two children, Amanda, 17, and David, 15, both attend AIS, as do two of Estanislado Quinones’ children.
 
“The demographics of Woodburn have changed so drastically and now you have someone who is sensitive to the culture and can understand what the culture is about,” said Quinones. “I think we’re heading in the right direction but, at the same time, we have to maintain standards.”
 
Other community members also came to welcome Bautista, who will replace Blomberg on July 1.
 
“I think that the board’s decision to hire David is a very important one for the whole community and in particular for the Latino community,” said Larry Kleinman, a longtime resident of Woodburn.
 
“I think he brings a very deep knowledge of this community and of the students that this school district serves. But he also represents something to many of those students, as an example of being bilingual and as an example of someone who achieves things that many students think that Latinos in particular can’t achieve. I’ve lived and worked in this community for 32 years and this is a truly historic day.”

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