On Saturday, August 5, Region 6 Board of Directors gathered at the Double Tree Hotel in Pleasanton for its annual retreat, reimagined as a “Planning & Progressing” conference.

President Raul Zamora opened the conference by setting the context of the day’s work. He had rebranded the name of this annual event from “retreat” and explained this is not the time in our business to “retreat.” Reflecting on his own upbringing, he questioned, “Whatever happened to ... just caring and loving the moment with each other.” Table groups engaged in a compassion share of members’ artifact/story of their leadership from the heart. Zamora also shared an article that provided some context of his leadership vision of “Leading with Our Heart.”

ACSA President Parvin Ahmadi and Senior Director of Equity, Diversity, & Inclusion Tracie Noriega joined the meeting to share updates about ACSA activities guided by an updated Strategic Plan and a continued laser focus on the mission of meeting the diverse needs of all California students. ACSA Vice President Daryl Camp was also in attendance. Using the ACSA Strategic Plan Framework, Region 6 Survey Results and evaluations of last year’s goals, board members shared their thoughts and prioritized ideas using the ThoughtExchange platform. Many ideas were generated that will help inform the work of the region this year.

The day ended with a panel of five students from high schools in the region sharing their school experiences. These articulate, authentic, bright and insightful students provided much inspiration to the roomful of school and district leaders.