Welcome Message
Dear VUSD Community,
Along with our Board of Education, I am pleased to welcome you to the 2026–2027 school year. Thank you for being part of the Visalia Unified School District community and for the important role you play in helping us realize our mission of Every Student Learning Every Day.
There is something special about the beginning of a new school year. Our campuses come alive as students reconnect with friends, teachers prepare meaningful learning experiences, and families celebrate a first—or perhaps a last—first day of school. It is a time to celebrate how far we have come, while looking ahead to the opportunities in front of us.
This year also marks an important step forward in our work through Visalia Unified Forward 2030: A Community-Driven Blueprint for the Future. During Year 0 (2024-2025), we established the foundation for this long-term plan and saw encouraging progress across many of our Priority Student Outcomes. These locally developed measures, established by our Board of Education, help us stay focused on what matters most to Visalians – college and career ready students.
As we begin to gather and review our Year 1 (2025-26) data, we are seeing promising signs of progress. I look forward to sharing more of that story with you this December and, more importantly, continuing the work together to turn our goals into meaningful experiences and outcomes for students.
We heard clearly from our families and community that along with academics, program options were also a priority. In response, we have committed $70 million toward high school improvements that will provide students with modern learning environments while expanding opportunities for advanced academics and career-connected learning.
This year, we will continue building on that momentum. We will look for ways to create more opportunities for students to explore their interests and passions during the school day, while continuing to modernize our facilities so that every student, no matter which school they attend, has access to high-quality learning environments and meaningful educational opportunities.
I am grateful for the opportunity to serve nearly 30,000 students and the families, educators, staff and community members who make Visalia Unified such a special place to learn and grow.
Kirk Shrum
Superintendent
Visalia Unified School District