April 30, 2025

Brenda Smith has spent much of her life connected to the Hughson Unified School District – first as a student, then later as a teacher and principal, and for the past seven years as superintendent. At Tuesday night’s Board of Trustees meeting, she took on the role of cheerleader, proudly recounting the past year’s accomplishments of students and staff in her annual State of the District speech at the Ella Webb Theater.

Rather than focus on test scores and enrollment – important topics that have been discussed at previous board meetings – Smith chose to focus on the many achievements that have occurred in the 2024-25 school year.

“We decided to just do a celebration/awards program this year,” she explained.

Smith began with attendance, which has taken a slight dip statewide in the past few years since the COVID pandemic.

Last year, Hughson had an average daily attendance of 94.6%. This year, the goal was 95% -- a mark reached by three of Hughson’s four campuses: Fox Road Elementary, Ross Middle School and Hughson High School.

“We know that students do better when they are in class learning from the teacher with their peers,” said Smith, who then began recounting a long list of student-related highlights.

Samantha Parker of Hughson High was recognized for being the district’s nominee in the countywide Every Student Succeeding competition, which honors teens who have overcome significant obstacles.

“She is an amazing young lady who does well in school and has a bright future ahead of her,” Smith said of Parker, who plans to attend Modesto Junior College after graduation and major in animal science.

Smith also congratulated the 21 high school students who earned the Seal of Biliteracy on their diplomas by becoming proficient in two languages.

“These students have worked very hard for this distinction, and we are incredibly proud of them,” she said.

On another language-related note, Smith recognized the students – seven at HES, 11 at Fox Road, 21 at Ross and nine at HHS – who have passed the required tests to be reclassified from English learners to proficient in English.

The superintendent also highlighted students involved in drama, music and art, adding that “for such a small district, we have a very robust visual and performing arts program at RMS and HHS.” She also mentioned courses offered in photography and choir.

She congratulated Ross band members Noah Garcia, Ileen Mendoza, Abrielle Martinez, Kayle Sanchez and Ethan Taylor for performing with the SCMEA Junior High Honor Band. Garcia and Sanchez earned music camp scholarships based on their abilities.

The Hughson High band also had a typically busy year, Smith said, including an appearance at the Hughson Fruit & Nut Festival last weekend. Flutist Noeli Gomez-Orozco also was chosen for the 2025 Stanislaus County Honor Band.

High school drama students staged two productions this year – “Frozen” and “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.” Students from the latter musical performed a song from the show live for board members Tuesday night.

In the 2025-26 school year, Smith said an elementary music teacher will be added whose focus will be exclusively on TK students to fifth-graders.

Athletically, it was another outstanding year for Hughson teams and individuals. Smith singled out the high school football team, which won Trans-Valley League and Sac-Joaquin Section titles again, as well as the first-ever girls flag football team, which captured TVL and Section championships.

The boys cross country team also won a TVL title, finished second in the Section Division 4 meet and was the highest-scoring Division 4 team at the state championships. The squad returns six of its top seven runners next year, Smith said.

The boys soccer team also won the TVL championship, while the baseball and softball teams are contending for titles this spring. Madden Nobles became the first Hughson girls golfer ever to qualify for the Masters tournament while Landon Mason was a TVL wrestling champion and just missed qualifying for the State meet.

Smith also recognized the top scholar-athletes at Hughson High – Morgan Bleakley (4.0 GPA, played flag football and basketball) and Carlos Guizar (4.2 GPA, played football and baseball).

The superintendent also congratulated high school senior Bobby Nieto for qualifying as a "commended" scholar, just missing out on becoming a national merit scholar. He is in the top 5% of high school students academically.

At Ross, the volleyball, and boys and girls basketball teams all won Eastern Valley League titles, with the eighth-grade boys going undefeated for a third straight year. Ross also competed in its first dual wrestling meet in 35 years. The wrestling team included girls for the first time.

Hughson has a long and proud tradition in agriculture and the FFA program kept that legacy alive in the past year, Smith said.

Two FFA members Aiden Alberto and Joseph Avila earned their American Degrees, the highest honor nationally and something only 1% of FFA students achieve. Eight other FFA members Jillian Baptista, Pearl Bunch, Kate Cooper, Grace Curry, Madison McDonald, Allison Moring, Judson Perryman and Adaley Poulson earned their State Degrees, the highest honor in California.

Curry also was recognized by Smith for winning top awards at last year’s Stanislaus County Fair in animal showmanship, finishing second in the state FFA speech contest and for earning the Swine Production Placement Proficiency award from the state FFA.

Smith proudly noted that Hughson continues to produce student leaders in many areas. She congratulated Rowin Riesz for being one of eight students singled out for leadership and academics in the California Junior Scholastic Federation Central Section. Curry and Kate Cooper both were installed as leaders in the FFA Central Region – the first time since 1989 that two Hughson students have served in that role at the same time.

Smith also thanked HHS student body President Hayden Ford for being the student representative on the district’s Board of Trustees.

Ross’ Academic Pentathlon team – which has won five county titles since 2018 – finished fourth this year. Dante Duran and Juan Vasquez won two medals each, while Sofia Mendoza earned a gold medal and the highest score for her speech on “Our Changing Climate.”

At the high school level, Hughson’s Academic Decathlon team was second in the county. Jessica Williams led the way with eight individual medals, including four golds.

In the Occupational Olympics, which focuses on career and technical education, Hughson won the Small Schools Sweepstakes for the 10th time in 12 years.

Smith also took time to recognize and praise district staff. She thanked Fox Road paraprofessional Stacy Galvan, who was nominated from the countywide Employees Making a Difference award, and she applauded the four Hughson nominees for Stanislaus County Teacher of the Year – Lorena Vega (HES), Lilliana Mendoza (Fox Road), Melinda King (Ross) and Joel Bernard (HHS). Smith also congratulated Ross Principal Mary La Rosa for being named Secondary Administrator of the Year in Region 7 by the Association of California School Administrators organization.

The 21 employees who will retire at the end of this school year also were honored and thanked by the superintendent. Each received a clock from Smith. Together, the 15 teachers and six Classified employees worked a total of 460 years in the district.

“Thank you for the time and heart you have given to the students of Hughson,” Smith said to the retirees. “You have established a legacy in Hughson Unified and you will not be forgotten. We wish you many years of happiness and fulfillment in your retirement.”

Smith also highlighted the many fundraisers on behalf of students, programs and facilities on all four campuses. In particular, she recognized Hughson for finishing second nationally in the T-Mobile Friday Night Lights stadium challenge last fall. She singled out Ross teacher Melinda King (who husband Shawn is the varsity football coach) and others for their efforts to create video and other social media content for the contest. The district was awarded $30,000 toward the renovations at Husky Memorial Stadium.

“We found out we were in the top 16 schools in the country for our hometown spirit. We were thrilled,” Smith said. “The community pride, the support of our team, the packed stands at the games … all of it was a really incredible thing to be a part of.”

The superintendent also took time again to thank Hughson voters for passing a $46 million school bond last fall. Over the next five years, the money will be used to update, modernize and add on to Hughson High School. The first phase will begin this summer and is expected to take about 18 months to complete. It includes the modernization of 20 classrooms, new theater seats in the Ella Webb Theater, new roof and HVAC for three buildings, resurfacing of the blacktop and a new paint job for the campus.

“We are incredibly excited for all of these changes and take the responsibility of using these funds to improve Hughson High School very seriously,” said Smith, who promised to keep the community updated about how the bond money is being spent.

The superintendent also thanked community partners for their support, including the City of Hughson, the Lions Club, Taste of Hughson, Legacy Health Endowment, Jessica’s House and Smith Woodworking & Design.