Student Success Means Everything to New VVSD Assistant Superintendent

Editor's Note: The following article is a release from the Valley View School District.

Venus Smith refuses to compromise when it comes to the needs of children.

“I am a woman of strong conviction and ethics,” said Valley View School District’s new Assistant Superintendent for curriculum for grades Pre K through 5. “I strive to do what is fair and what is right, especially when it comes to children. You cannot compromise when it comes to a child’s needs. You have to do what’s best for each child.”

Smith, who taught 4th and 5th grade in south suburban schools for nine years and was an assistant principal and principal for five years, believes fate brought her to VVSD.

“I really enjoyed being in the classroom,” she said. “But I always had that nagging feeling there was more I should be doing…that I needed to be in a role where I could help a larger group of students.”

Valley View, she says, is a school district with “a proud, open group” of faculty, staff and administrative personnel who “are aware that the potential for growth is there. It seems like everyone has an open mind and they’re asking ‘what do we do next?’ They’re interested in doing whatever is necessary to make that next step.”

Smith hopes to be able to blend some of the “great” things already happening in VVSD with a mixture of new ideas brought to the district by Superintendent James Mitchem and his newly formed team.

“History is good and you need people who have a history with the district,” she said. “But you also need people who can come in with their ideas and a different perspective to look at things from another angle. We have a good mixture of the two.”  

The Governors State University graduate, who says she “loves” the laughter” of elementary school children and “the fact that you are catching them at an early enough stage to help form their beliefs systems and values,” is spending a lot of time with her team gathering information and setting up meetings to plan for future steps.

“I know the ultimate result will be student achievement,” she said. “In everything that we are going to do, there is a purpose, and thinking about the end result of all of that really excites me because I know I’m making a difference on more of a global scale.”

As for what she most wants parents to know about her: “Student success cannot happen without you. My team and I are going to establish a genuine partnership with you. We want to get a two-way conversation going with you at the building level as well as the district level so we can truly have an impact on your child’s success. The results will be amazing.”