On January 19, 2023, the Bellflower Unified School District held a Regular Board Meeting which was called to order in open session at 6:01 pm and adjourned at 7:30 pm. During the duration of this meeting, several topics were reviewed and discussed by the Board of Education that were witnessed by the attending public. A few of the significant topics discussed include introductory words and change oriented talking points from the new Superintendent, Dr. Ben Drati, as well as news updates from multiple board members regarding the schools in our district.
Formerly employed as the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District’s superintendent, Dr. Drati began working for BUSD at the start of January, 2023. Our new Superintendent introduces himself at the start of the meeting by sharing how he values teachers and classified staff members, wants to lead management to be efficient leadership, wants to work with parents in the district, and overall wants to be a great ambassador for the district. This year, Dr. Drati proposed to increase the number of board meetings from one meeting to two meetings per month starting this February. At these meetings, he hopes that the board can begin to have meaningful conversations in front of the public. He stressed the importance of the board’s ability to get work done in a positive environment at these meetings. Additionally, Dr. Drati interjected a notion that the board discuss any student related matter before voting on it in the future. Dr. Drati shares that his goal is to learn about this district and the people in it. By May or June of this year, Dr. Drati wants to have a plan and set priorities for the future. He will embark on a listening tour of the schools of the district before beginning the work of improvement. These minor changes underscore his hopes in bettering the Bellflower Unified School District and the spirit he will bring to its community.
Student Board Member Christopher Mendoza brightened this month's regular board meeting by sharing an update of the Monsoon campus from his point of view. He informed the audience of a recent project taken on by Mayfair’s History Club. This academic club has secured verbal permission from city officials to organize and digitize the historic Carpenter House in Bellflower. As the club continues to finalize legal permissions, news will be updated and volunteers are welcome. Additionally, Mr. Mendoza mentioned a proposed “town hall” in the school. This program will give students an opportunity to voice concerns and suggestions about Mayfair’s campus that will be heard by campus admin in hopes of making change for the better. However, this project is still in the earliest stages of its organizational development.
The high schools in BUSD build futures for their students through hosting exceptional programs. As mentioned by Board Member Mendoza, Mayfair High School’s UNICEF program is currently in partnership with a program called Gravity Water to supply schools around the globe with clean water. Mayfair’s sister school for this program is Den Thang Secondary School in Vietnam. MHS will be collecting donations and fundraising money in order to provide Den Thang with a water filter. Updates will be posted on their Instagram, @mayfair.unicef. Furthermore, at this month’s board meeting, Board Member Stewart shared the great achievements of Bellflower High School's Football team this last season. Along with making CIF finals, these athletes maintained a team GPA average of 3.2 and had zero ineligible athletes during the season. These students worked hard physically and scholastically to prove it is possible to balance successful athletics and academics.
Bellflower Unified Board Meetings live streamed and are available online to the public. The work accomplished at each of these meetings futhers the educational endeavors of all students in BUSD.