New St. Paul schools chief embraces challenge

Saint Paul, Minn. -- The veteran educator picked to lead Saint Paul's public schools is fully aware tough budget decisions are just around the corner, but she vows to make the process open and inclusive.

"At the end we'll look back and say we did the right thing for the students," Valeria Silva told KARE Wednesday, "We may not agree on everything, but at least people will feel they were heard and their voice was there. And they will understand why we had to make cuts."

The school board picked Silva from a field of 41 candidates to be the district's next superintendent.  She'll assume that role after contract negotiations are completed, but she won't need to bill the district for moving expenses.

Silva, a native of Chile, began her career as a teacher at Adams Spanish Immersion School on Saint Paul's west 20 years ago. She rose through the ranks to principal, and eventually became the district's chief academic officer.

English teacher Jane Davis Berg was among those who worked with Silva at Adams. She recalls Silva going to bat to get new equipment and other resources students needed.

"She was just a high energy person, able to get a lot of things accomplished," Berg told KARE, "She is very creative, incredibly creative and resourceful."

She'll need to tap all of that creativity to shave $28 million, or roughly four percent, of the district's $641 million annual budget heading into the next academic year.  It will help that she knows the  lay of the land already.

"When we get new administrators in our building we kind of have that year they're on a learning curve, so you lose time," Berg said, "But with Valeria I don't think we're going to lose any time. She's going to hit the ground running."

Saint Paul is the second largest district in the state, with 38,459 students and 6,000 staff members.  It's also one of the most diverse, with 75 percent of the students claiming Asian, African American, Latino or American Indian heritage.

That ethnic and economic diversity is what led Silva to send her children to the Saint Paul Public Schools, even though she resides in Woodbury.

"The diversity that my own children, and the kids in Saint Paul have, is something you can't buy any place," Silva remarked.

"It's something that's going to prepare you for the world of the future.  We no longer will live in a society where everybody looks like us, speaks one language, has one culture and celebrate the same holidays."

As many Americans prepared to mark the Thanksgiving holiday, Silva Wednesday was getting ready to grab a flight back to Chile to visit her 85-year-old mother who recently broker her hip.

"I will spend a week sitting right next to her, absorbing all that positive energy from her," Silva said, "My parents made me who I am.  And the Saint Paul schools shaped who I am as a professional, so it's a good combination to go home, get that back, and then continue working here in the system."

The 48-year-old immigrant is not one to pat herself on the back, and yet Silva believes her accomplishment can inspire children in her schools to chase their dreams.

"I hope the kids can see if you come to this country as an immigrant, learn the language, go to school and study one day you can be a superintendent, or whatever you want to accomplish in the world," Silva said.

"You can do anything you want to do if you work hard at it. And that's the America dream."

Check out our KARE family of Web sites:
	takeKARE		Metromix
	Moms Like Me		Minnesota Bound
	Showcase Minnesota