Keyes Union School District superintendent Karen Poppen will retire on June 30, 2012, and current principal of Keyes Elementary, Cynthia Schaefer, will take her place.
Schaefer joined KUSD as curriculum/categorical director in September 2007, and she became principal of Keyes Elementary School on Jan. 1, 2008. Prior to joining KUSD, she served as an elementary and middle school teacher, a site reading coach, and the Language Arts/Reading First coordinator for Fresno Unified School District. She also taught in Kerman Unified School District and Caruthers Unified School District.
Since taking the helm at Keyes Elementary School, the school has exited Title I Program Improvement and achieved 73 points of API growth. Keyes Elementary has implemented the "I'm Going to College" program, and each classroom has adopted a college or university to study and represent. Each year, students who have scored Proficient or Advanced on the California Standards Test have received medals and/or pins to acknowledge their achievements.
Schaefer has aggressively addressed the needs of low-achieving students, stated the district. She has instituted effective interventions and hired a full-time intervention specialist to coordinate the many interventions that take place during and after the school day. She restructured the After-School Education and Safety Program to assure that students who needed extra help can get it every day after school.
In addition, Schaefer has participated in the Superintendent's Cabinet, negotiated with employee associations, and been a member the district's Budget Advisory Committee.