OCHO
ACSA Region 8 Newsletter March 2026
A word from our President, Lisa Katimbang
Hello Region 8 Leaders!
Let's take a moment to pause, take a breath, and acknowledge the incredible energy you’ve brought to our schools and communities so far this year.
As we cross the midpoint of this academic year, I wanted to take a moment to simply say: I see you. I see the dedication you pour into your staff, the advocacy you provide for your communities and the resilience you show in the face of every new challenge. Being an educational leader isn't just about managing systems; it’s about managing hope. You are doing the "good work," and I want you to know that your efforts are making a profound difference in the Santa Clara County educational landscape.
Continue to keep Inclusivity and Kindness in your work. In a world that can often feel divided, our schools must remain the steady ground where every student and staff member feels they belong. Leading with kindness isn't a "soft" skill—it is the strongest tool we have to build trust and foster environments where innovation can actually happen.
One of the most impactful ways we are putting these values into action is through our upcoming collaboration. I am thrilled to highlight the Bay Area Equity Symposium, hosted by Region 8 in partnership with our colleagues in Region 5 and Region 6. This isn't just another conference; it is a powerful gathering of minds from across the Bay Area focused on dismantling barriers and sharing actionable strategies for equity. Seeing three regions come together like this is a testament to the strength of our collective impact. I hope to see you on March 28, 2026 at Santa Clara University!
Stay Connected! There are still so many ways to lean on your ACSA family through the end of the year:
Networking Mixers: Join us for our upcoming informal socials to vent, laugh, and recharge.
Legislative Advocacy: Help us keep the pressure on for the funding and policies our students deserve.
Celebrating Excellence: Be part of recognizing exemplary educators serving the Region 8 schools.
Thank you for your tireless commitment to excellence. Let’s finish this year strong, staying rooted in our "why" and supportive of one another.
Listen Deeply. Act Intentionally. Lead Boldly.
In Partnership,
Lisa Katimbang
ACSA Region 8 President
Region 8 Executive Director - Michael Gallagher
March is my favorite month of the year. The days are getting longer and warmer, baseball season is beginning, and the emerald hills beneath brilliant blues skies from Milpitas along the East Valley down to South County remind me of how fortunate I am to call this Regio home.
March is also a critical, challenging, and rewarding time of the year for site and district leaders. We’re planning for the coming year while motivating and guiding our teams, and ultimately our students, to finish the school year with energy, focus, and optimism. That’s no small task as we’re also all thinking about Spring Break and summer plans.
Connecting and learning with your leadership peers can help make the final few months of the school year rewarding and successful. I encourage you to participate in your local charter’s activities and to attend coming Region events like the Bay Area Equity Summit (March 28), our membership event at Left Bank, Santana Row (April 3) and/or the Awards Dinner (April 24). All these events provide opportunity to recharge, to reconnect, and to learn.
Finally, in this edition of Ocho we will feature three of Region’s valued partners, Litix, Swing Education, and Think Together. We select partners who we think can provide valuable services to our members, and in turn, our partners generously support our programs and your leadership. If there are companies you work with that could be a good match for our partners program, let me know!
Advance Your Leadership Journey
We had a fantastic turnout for our Advance Your Leadership Journey event on February 26th! It was a wonderful evening at the Juniper Hotel filled with valuable networking and professional growth. Attendees had the chance to sharpen their professional image with headshots and refine their career documents during our small-group resume activities.
The highlight of the evening was undoubtedly the insightful panel discussion. We want to extend our deepest gratitude to our distinguished leaders for sharing their expertise and advice with ACSA Region 8:
Michael Gallagher, Retired Superintendent
Cheryl Jordan, Superintendent of Milpitas Unified SD
Dr. Shelly Viramontez, Superintendent of Campbell Union SD
Their stories and guidance provided a meaningful roadmap for everyone navigating their own career paths. Thank you to all who joined us and contributed to the success of this event!
Dr. Rochelle Renae Espitia Earns National Recognition
ACSA Region 8 is proud to celebrate one of our own, Dr. Rochelle Renae Espitia, Principal of George Shirakawa Sr. Elementary School in the Franklin-McKinley School District, on receiving the prestigious 2026 AASA Educational Administrative Scholarship, a national honor recognizing outstanding leadership and promise in educational administration awarded by the School Superintendents Association.
This honor builds upon Dr. Espitia's earlier USC Rossier Dean's Superintendents Advisory Group (DSAG) Award and reflects her sustained commitment to equity, innovation, and transformative leadership.
Congratulations, Dr. Espitia, you make Region 8 proud!
Sunnyvale Charter Officially Established!
We are thrilled to announce that after a year of dedicated planning and collaboration, the Sunnyvale School District has officially been established as a new charter within ACSA Region 8!
This milestone marks the culmination of a year-long journey to formalize our group and strengthen our connection to the Association of California School Administrators. We look forward to the opportunities this charter will provide for our local leaders to collaborate, advocate for our students, and engage more deeply with the incredible work being done across Region 8.
Thank you to everyone who supported this effort over the past year. We are excited to hit the ground running!
Dr. Christina Lee Ballantyne, Charter President
LITIX Insights - Region 8 Diamond Level Partner
Empowering Your District with Data-Driven Negotiations
For years, school leaders have entered labor negotiations at a disadvantage, often relying on outdated salary surveys and manual research. When settlement forecasting is based on "educated guesses," districts are left scrambling mid-negotiation to adjust positions. LITIX Insights was built by former practitioners to end this cycle, providing a purpose-built data analytics platform that transforms how K-12 districts approach collective bargaining and compensation planning.
California leaders are already calling the platform a "game-changer." As one district leader recently shared, “LITIX allowed us to clearly and visually demonstrate exactly where we stand competitively... it has been critical in helping us communicate with our community, showing them with transparency and accuracy how well our teachers are compensated.” Join over 50 California partners, including El Dorado, Acalanes, and Roseville Joint Union High, who use LITIX to take the emotion out of the room and replace it with defensible, actionable data.
Platform Highlights for California Districts:
1) Total Budget Projections - Preview: Total Budget Consolidation
· Seamlessly combine MYPs for all units to generate a total budget breakdown.
2) Staffing & Pupil Trends - Preview: Staffing & Pupil Metrics
· Monitor historical data for ADA, Staffing, and Unduplicated Pupil counts.
3) Total Compensation Modeling - Preview: Total Compensation Calculator
· Model salary and benefit changes and watch total compensation move across peer rankings in real time.
Ready to stop negotiating in the dark? Book a live demo with Samantha Ricci (samantha@litix.ai) here to see how LITIX can support your next negotiation cycle.
Swing Education - A Region 8 Diamond Level Partner
Hello to the passionate education leaders of ACSA Region 8!
Swing Education partners with school and district leaders to keep classrooms staffed and learning on track through reliable, high-quality substitute coverage. With rigorous vetting, structured training, and real-time placement technology, Swing helps districts achieve strong results - including a 96% fill rate and 99% substitute quality score across Northern California.
Region 8 districts can also join the ACSA Region 8 Substitute Teacher Consortium, which allows districts to save 20% or more, access a shared pool of 1,700+ vetted substitutes, and strengthen substitute quality across Santa Clara County.
To learn more, contact Akash Pandey at akash@swingeducation.com or visit www.swingeducation.com.
Think Together - A Region 8 Diamond Level Partner
Think Together, a division of Think Education, provides dynamic, expanded learning programs for TK-12 grade California students that ensure every child is graduating with expansive knowledge across multiple disciplines that lead towards a path of achievement.
In ASCA’s Region 8, Think Together supports Milpitas Unified School District, Alum Rock Union Elementary School District, Oak Grove Union School District, Sunnyvale School District and San Jose Unified School District with early learning, afterschool and expanded learning programs, serving nearly 4,500 students across 36 school sites.
At Alum Rock Union Elementary School District, Think Together also delivers before school programs, early education and even a specialized Vietnamese immersion program in addition to its flagship expanded learning program. Through partnership, Think Together cultivates enriching spaces for students to learn and grow into the best version of themselves.
The organization’s talent acquisition division, Think TalentEd, works closely with districts across the state to address staffing shortages and ensure quality talent is supporting students. This unique offering allows Think Education and its growing suite of service divisions to work in partnership with school leaders to ensure that every student in California can thrive.
Learn more about Think Education partnerships and impact, at Thinktogether.org , or by contacting your local representative, Christina St. Clair, Director of District Partnerships, christina.stclair@thinktogether.org.
