State Superintendent Tony Thurmond Delivers Supplies and Support on School Visit to Wildfire-Affected Lassen County

SACRAMENTO—State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond visited Johnstonville Elementary School in wildfire-affected Lassen County today to meet with students and staff. Superintendent Thurmond joined Assemblymember Megan Dahle (R-Bieber), Lassen County Superintendent of Education Patricia Gunderson, Johnstonville Elementary Superintendent/Principal Dr. Scott Smith, and local education leaders and community officials to greet students, including some displaced Greenville Elementary School students who have been relocated to attend classes at Johnstonville Elementary due to devastation caused by the Dixie Fire.

Superintendent Thurmond delivered 6,000 face masks and donations of gift cards to be used for gas, hotels, and other needs for wildfire-affected families, as provided by the Californians Dedicated to Education Foundation’s (CDEF) Emergency Response Fund. At this school visit, Thurmond joined students and teachers for a tour of two classrooms and a school community garden and spent time visiting with kindergarten, first-, and second-grade students during their lunch time.

“These students and the surrounding community have already been through so much, but their resilience during such difficult times is inspiring to us all,” said Thurmond. “Today I witnessed how personal ties in such a close-knit community make so much of a difference in supporting students who have faced great challenges. We stand with these communities and will continue to be tireless in our work to secure needed resources for recovery and to ensure the safety and well-being of educators, students, and families.”

Superintendent Thurmond is visiting schools across the state to uplift the incredible work and resilience of educators, students, families, and community partners as schools struggle with reopening for in-person learning and the threat of wildfires. Donations to CDEF disaster relief can be made to the CDEF GoFundMe page .

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Tony Thurmond — State Superintendent of Public Instruction
Communications Division, Room 5602, 916-319-0818, Fax 916-319-0100