2020-2021 School Year Message from Superintendent Lee-Sung

NMUSD parents and guardians, It is my honor and privilege to serve as the superintendent of Newport-Mesa Unified School District (NMUSD) and to work each day to provide the highest quality education for your children. As a parent myself I know how important a quality education is for our kids and to provide the skills and opportunities for them to be prepared to succeed in their lives beyond graduation. Within the five and half years with this district I continue to be amazed at the skills, talents and service of our students as well as our comprehensive programs that come to life through our dedicated teachers and support staff. As I begin this new role as superintendent, I would like to share a brief story about the beginning of my career as an educator and why I chose to be a teacher. Almost 35 years ago to the day I walked into my classroom as a high school music teacher after graduating from the same school four years earlier. While still in high school I knew I wanted to be a teacher and went off to college with that objective. But more importantly I wanted to impact the lives of students beyond my subject area. My first goal was to have them love music more than when they first entered my class.This personal goal reminded me I needed to continue to love what I do and to share that love and passion each day. The second part of my mission was beyond the curriculum and lesson plans. Through my subject area I wanted to prepare them for life beyond graduation by building strong character, leadership skills, social skills, and literacy. Yes, literacy. I assigned reading and writing in all of my music classes. Knowing that most students may not continue in my subject as a career I sought to teach them something greater that would carry over for a lifetime no matter what they did after high school. Giving students the opportunities to succeed, build self-confidence, learn resilience from failure, and how to work and care for others was truly my mission and the joy of being a teacher. As I progressed through my career as a department chair, principal and district administrator, I would always keep this higher purpose as my driving force each day no matter what position I served. My commitment and passion to this mission continues to this day. Therefore I am extremely thankful for the opportunity in this new role to lead and support students to love learning, develop strong character such as integrity, kindness and compassion, and to provide them with the skills and opportunities to flourish in their life beyond graduation. I look forward to the opportunity to meet with parents, students and staff to seek feedback and to work together to continually build and improve our systems to best educate and support each student’s unique needs and goals. Though we are proud of what we have and what we have done, this work is never done. As we approach the start of the school year I want to assure you that our leaders and many of our employees and departments have worked throughout the summer to prepare for the start of this new school year, which as you know poses some incredible challenges. We will work each day to provide the highest quality education and support for your child’s success no matter if it is from a distance or in-person. Thank you for supporting your student’s school, teachers and staff and for all you have done at home during these difficult times. As I have stated on many occasions throughout this pandemic, I know we will all rise to this challenge and be better and stronger in the end. Russell Lee Sung Superintendent Newport-Mesa Unified School District
Source: CDM High School New