"I’ve said to people over and over that what I think one of the best decisions I’ve made as a board member was to hire Dr. Drati, and I stand by that."
Richard Tahvildaran-Jesswein, school board member for SSMUSD*
Dr. Ben Drati has accepted the position as Superintendent of Bellflower School District beginning in January 2023. Bellflower, California is located southeast of Los Angeles and serves just over 10,000 students in the unit district. Dr. Drati has served as Superintendent of the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District (SMMUSD) for the past six years. “Thank you for giving me the opportunity to serve as steward over the most important job in the U.S., aside from parenting, and that is the education of our children,” stated Drati in a statement addressing his move to Bellflower. *
As Dr. Drati prepares for his departure from SSMUSD many supporters have spoken about the impact he made in the district. “I’ve said to people over and over that what I think one of the best decisions I’ve made as a board member was to hire Dr. Drati, and I stand by that,” said Richard Tahvildaran-Jesswein, school board member for SSMUSD. In his tenure with Santa Monica-Malibu School District, the superintendent has received acknowledgement for modernizing the curriculum and learning environment, and developing a strong home and school partnership, while maintaining a “positive fiscal outlook”. *
HYA would like to thank the Bellflower School Board for their commitment to the search process with associates Valerie Pitts and Micah Ali.
*https://smdp.com/2022/11/18/drati-to-depart-santa-monica-after-six-years-at-the-helm-of-smmusd/
