Superintendent William E. Bragg of the Cupertino Union School District Monday announced his retirement, effective at the end of this school year. He has worked 37 years as an educator, his final nine in the district as its superintendent.
“For the past nine years, I’ve had the privilege of working with an outstanding and professional staff, a supportive community and some of the finest students I have ever seen,” said Bragg in a public announcement.
The school board will begin an immediate search for a successor with a target of a naming a new schools chief by July.
A seasoned administrator, Bragg held the position of deputy superintendent at Oceanside Unified School District and assistant superintendent at the New Haven Unified School District before moving to Cupertino in 1997. He began his teaching career as an elementary school teacher in the Ojai Unified School District in 1960.
During his first year as superintendent, Bragg supervised the Middle School Planning Committee, which was charged with making recommendations for a junior high school program to incorporate the sixth, seventh and eighth grades.
During subsequent years, Bragg oversaw the realization of the committee’s plans to provide a structured transition for adolescents as they approached high school.
Bragg’s legacy in Cupertino includes the establishment of one of the first Mandarin Immersion programs in the country, as well as the successful English Language Development program.
In addition, the district instituted a class-size reduction for primary grades, prioritized school music and art programs and made efforts to avoid staff layoffs while keeping budget reductions away from classrooms.
“Dr. Bragg’s knowledge
regarding education, organizations, finance legislation and leadership has served the
district well,” said Board
President Josephine Lucey.
“The entire district and the
Board of Education wish him all the best in his well-deserved
retirement.”
The 16,500-student Cupertino District stretches from Montclaire School in Los Altos to Santa Clara. It includes 20 elementary schools and five middle schools. District officials claim 46 different languages are spoken among students.
