With the start of the New Year, we welcomed Harold Sullins to the role of Chief Financial Officer.

Mr. Sullins has served in public education for nearly a decade. He joins TUSD from San Bernardino City Unified School District (SBCUSD), where he served as Assistant Superintendent of Business, Facilities and Operations. Within his role with SBCUSD, Mr. Sullins oversaw a $1 billion budget, serving over 46,500 students across more than 80 campuses.

"I am grateful for the opportunity to join Tustin USD and to be part of the District’s tradition of excellence," explained Mr. Sullins. "In a short time, it is readily apparent that TUSD has a strong culture and a dedicated team of professionals focused on the success of our students. I look forward to making lasting contributions towards the ongoing success and wellbeing of our students, staff, and community.”

Mr. Sullins brings with him a track record of success, having led several key initiatives to ensure schools and departments are well equipped to meet the individual and collective needs of students, while upholding district fiscal integrity. He has been lauded for developing strong community partnerships in support of district initiatives, in addition to instituting a customer service-focused culture, emphasizing responsiveness, problem solving and support.

“We are excited to have Mr. Sullins join the TUSD Family,” said Superintendent Dr. Mark Johnson. “His focus on collaboration, fiscal solvency, facilities, customer service, modernization, nutrition services, and student-centered decision making is a tremendous asset to our district.”

Congratulations to our 44 adult graduates celebrated this week at Tustin Adult School's Fall 2022 Graduation for completion of their high school diploma or high school equivalency certificate during the Fall 2022 semester. Superintendent Dr. Johnson was joined by Board Vice President Allyson Damikolas and Board Clerk Jonathan Stone, along with Derrick Burton, Chief Ministry Officer for the Orange County Rescue Mission Village of Hope at the ceremony held at Beckman High School. Congratulations to: Adriana Alvarez, Sonia Arredondo, Carlos Castro, Teiza Cervantes, Hector Cuellar, Destiny Rijos Doyle, Martha Espinoza Gonzalez, Clay Flores, Brian Flynn, Anita Gomez, Catarina Gonzalez, Perla Goulding, Cristhian Hipolito Covarrubias, Maryam Ismael, Jeong Uiheon, Vanessa Jipris, Samantha Juarez, Stacy Lancaster, Lyudmila Li, Thania Lopez, Trysten Lora, Nadia Martinez, Elaine Monastrial, Dalia Moreno, Junko Nagashima, Kevin Palencia, Poonam Panwar, Sullivan Partridge, Gabriel Pena, Maria Perez Cortez, Hue Co Quach, Melanie Ramirez Silva, Rosario Rodriguez Alvarez, Carolina Rodriguez, Jennifer Stream-Salas, Jonathan Torres, Alberto Valencia, Linda Valencia, Robert Valencia, Genny Vallejo, Francisco Villanueva, Julian Villanueva, Joseph Watson and Elizabeth Zuniga.

At their regular meeting on January 17, the Board of Education welcomed Honorable Kimberley Menninger, Orange County Superior Court Judge who administered the Oath of Office for recently re-elected Board Members Jonathan Abelove and Lynn Davis.

In addition, the Board celebrated Beckman's Antonio Moon for his recognition by the Orange County Music and Arts Administrators as Secondary Theatre Teacher of the Year. Mr. Moon was honored for his commitment to excellence and positive impact on students through arts education.

Student Board Members Erin Song (Beckman), Nyah Kinsey (Foothill), Samara Delgado (Hillview), Jocelyn Vu (Legacy) and Valerie Ontiveras (Tustin) shared recent events from their campuses. Malaika Fortes (Foothill) shared an overview of happenings across the district at our elementary and middle schools.

Moreover, the Board of Education honored each of TUSD's 2023 California Distinguished Schools. President Laird welcomed the principal and staff from Heritage, Hicks Canyon, Myford, Red Hill, Tustin Memorial Academy and Orchard Hills as they were honored for their innovation, talent and success in supporting students.

For additional Board highlights, please visit our website.

The Transfer Window Priority Period is now open through January 27 at 3:00 p.m.

Transfer requests received during the priority period are not on a first come, first served basis. Transfers are granted to qualified students based on space availability. If there are more qualified students than spaces, a lottery will be held.

Offering choice has always been a hallmark of Tustin Unified, as nearly one third of our students attend a school other than their home school. The online transfer process allows students the freedom of choice and movement throughout TUSD. To learn more about the transfer process and to complete an application, click on the transfers link on our district website. We have included videos on our elementary, middle and  high schools, as well as our Kindergarten  Readiness Program.

We are excited for the launch of our newly redesigned district and school websites, coming January 30. Our forthcoming online experience includes improved search features, more intuitive navigation, mobile-friendly webpages and so much more. Moreover, we have overhauled the way we organize content based on user feedback to ensure that you can find the information you need with ease. We look forward to sharing these new websites with our community on January 30.