Susan Vickrey
Susan Vickrey is a Retired Superintendent with a distinguished career in education spanning teaching, school leadership, and district administration. I began my career as an elementary school teacher and took time off to raise two children before returning to education. A principal I worked for encouraged me to pursue administration after I filled in for him during his health problems for most of a school year. I earned my Master’s degree and became a K–6 principal in Kaysville, Utah. When my husband moved to California, I followed and became principal at John Gill Elementary in Redwood City. Although California initially didn’t accept my credentials, I passed the National exam and earned a Tier 2 certificate from St. Mary’s College in Moraga.
During my tenure in Redwood City, I designed and opened North Star Academy, a school for high-achieving students that continues to operate under my original program design. I also started a Spanish immersion class between 1992 and 1995, which evolved into the Adelante School, still thriving today. After a year teaching at the University of Utah, I returned to California to work for Pacifica School District for 12 years, serving as curriculum director, assistant superintendent, and ultimately superintendent. Under my leadership, seven schools were elevated from low-performing to meeting state standards, and I coached five staff members into becoming principals.
I concluded my career as assistant superintendent at Sequoia Union High School District for over two years, managing personnel and contract negotiations. Throughout my 20 years negotiating union contracts during California’s budget challenges, I never experienced a strike, walkout, or major conflict. I was honored in Who’s Who Among American Teachers after a former student nominated me. I retired in 2012, leaving a legacy of educational innovation, strong instructional programs, and effective district leadership that continues to benefit students and educators today.
• National Teaching Exam
• Tier 2 Administrative Credential
• University of Utah - BS, Elementary Education
• University of Utah - MEd, Educational Administration
• Who's Who Among American Teachers
• Distinguished School Award from the State of California
• Cave Creek Library Board
• Reading Halloween Stories at Carefree Pumpkin Festival
What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
One of the major problems with teachers is that they have a tendency to teach the way they were taught, no matter what you do with professional development. I would say that education, if it isn't, it should be changing. What was the educational world that I went into in the 60s and 70s does not exist anymore, and if it does exist, it shouldn't, because the kids today are different, the program needs to be different, the instruction needs to be different. If you're going to teach, you need to be ready to adapt to changes in the instructional program and deal with the technology and all of the things that are now available that weren't before. You also need to understand that a lot of people go into education because they think it's a part-time job. It shouldn't be, and I think in today's world, it is evolving more and more so it is not. You don't go into education because it's a part-time job. You go into education because that's what you believe you want to do, that you have an appreciation for children and an ability to work with them and point out the wonders of the world they want to learn about.
What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
In my work life, I think children's literacy was the major push, and then actually employee relations, both between individuals and between the contracted unions. The unions in California are huge major players in what goes on in education, and you don't change anything without them approving and agreeing that it's going to happen. I think I had a very pleased relationship with my ability to work with the unions and make changes in the curriculum. We took seven schools from being low-performing to being high-performing schools in a short period of time, and it was through the cooperation of the teachers who agreed, when they didn't have to, to change the program and to change the way they were teaching and to adapt and do those things. That was a major accomplishment I feel good about.