During my first 100 days of the 2025–2026 school year, I focused on one essential responsibility: listening.
I visited every school and district department and spent time with students, families, staff, and community partners across Riverside Unified. By beginning with listening, I sought to understand the strengths, needs, and lived experiences that shape our district every day.
This work was grounded in my commitment to building meaningful relationships within our schools and across our community so that decisions are informed by real voices and aligned with the values we share. While I listened, so many of you generously shared your insights, questions, and hopes for our students and for Riverside Unified.
This report is the result of that collective effort. It shares what we did, what we heard, what it means, and how we are moving forward through a January–May Strategic Planning Process that is public, co-constructed, and measurable. Our goal is to achieve alignment and coherence across the many systems that exist in our large district.
We will remain accountable through ongoing communication and data, and will solicit community input every step of the way.
With gratitude,
Dr. Sonia Llamas
Superintendent, Riverside Unified School District
What We Did
The first 100 days were built around three guiding focus areas; listen, learn and lead. Through every visit, conversation, and meeting, we sought to learn by listening, gain a clear understanding of how our current systems are working, and communicate openly so we could build meaningful connections and transparency across our district. The scope of engagement is below:
What We Heard
The first 100 days did not end with decisions. They ended with clarity about how to move forward. Our people in RUSD are deeply committed, and by strengthening coherence we can amplify the impact of that commitment for students across the district. Across all voices, five themes consistently emerged:
What It Means
The five themes that emerged pointed us toward a single conclusion: the most responsible next step is not a series of isolated decisions, but a thoughtful, districtwide plan built with our community. That clarity led us to launch a five-year Strategic Planning process beginning in January. This process will be collective, transparent, and grounded in what we heard, ensuring that our values, priorities, and daily work are aligned in service of students.
The chart below shows how the themes will help shape the direction of the plan, translating what we heard into the foundation guiding our actions and commitments for the years ahead.
What Happens Next: Strategic Planning
After listening carefully and gaining clarity about where we are, Riverside Unified is now turning that insight into action through a Strategic Planning process that will guide our district into the future.
This plan will be co-constructed. Community input will shape priorities and how the district measures progress. Riverside Unified will summarize these results and share how feedback was incorporated into the plan.
How We Will Deliver
To keep our Strategic Plan focused and transparent, we will track a clear set of measures tied to what our community told us matters most. These indicators help us see how our priorities are showing up in daily experiences across our schools and guide our ongoing work in support of students.
Indicators to measure results will be decided collectively as part of the strategic planning process. Some measurements will be in the following dimensions:
Closing Message
The first 100+ days were about listening and clarity. The next step is alignment so our schools are not managing competing priorities, our staff are supported with coherence, and our families can see how decisions connect to student outcomes.
Riverside Unified School District is committed to listening, sharing progress publicly, and moving forward together in purpose and in alignment.
Updates on engagement opportunities for the co-constructed strategic plan will be shared with the public soon and will also be found here.