Fillmore High School Principal Tom Ito.

[Following is a letter from Tom Ito to Fillmore High School Staff, submitted at his resignation. Mr. Ito is retiring. The Gazette will have a full statement from Mr. Ito in our July 26 edition. He will be greatly missed…]

Flashes,

I am writing this email to thank all of you for your contribution to making Fillmore High School a great place for students and staff to be and also one of the best schools in Ventura County.

All of you in your own way have contributed each day in supporting students and staff at Fillmore High School. The many ways you extend yourself for our students is not only admirable but also noticeable to everyone that has had the opportunity to be part of our great school or comes in contact with any of you as you perform your daily duties. Every year that I have been at FHS, I have seen and heard the most positive comments and praise by parents, community members, visitors, and most of all our students. They marvel at how giving and kind you are to the students. Many have shared that the influence of the staff on their child has helped to motivate, inspire, change and support their growth. Returning students have consistently told me that the school has really changed and they are very happy with their teachers. You all need to know that the students depend on you so much and are so appreciative of any support you show them. With all of this support and effort from all of you, achievement in academics and athletics has reached new highs and will continue to do so as long as the students are first in our thoughts and actions. The data shows it, but as I have repeated through the years, we don’t need data to confirm how special it is to work at Fillmore High School.

On a personal note, I want to thank all of you for making my four years at Fillmore High School the best they could be. You have been the easiest and most willing staff to work with. So many of you welcomed me and made feel at home when I first arrived to FHS. We shared the same mindset in that we believed that every student could achieve and every student is special. There are so many things that we as a staff achieved that it would take me a very long time to go over. Suffice it to say, we moved as a group which allowed our students to achieve as a group. We did not leave any students back and we provided immense enrichment in all areas of the school.

The future of Fillmore High School looks very bright. As the WASC Committee stated, this is a vastly improved school from the one they saw in 2014. When they return in 2020, I know you will once again impress them as a school staff. I hope you are allowed to continue to learn from each other and to have a major say in the direction of the school. You are the experts. I have never said this before, because it was not true until then end of 2017, but you are now the best faculty I have ever worked with during my 34 years in public education. So much has to do with the giving nature of the staff and with the addition of 34 new staff with the same disposition, FHS has undergone a major upgrade.

In 2019, I will attend the Venice High School Class of 1989 30th Year Reunion. I have attended their 1999 and 2009 reunions too. They were a very special group of students that I taught in my early years in education. They were willing, very kind and such a giving bunch of kids. They made my first years as a teacher enjoyable and rewarding. For a first year emergency credentialed teacher learning the ropes they made all the difference in the world to me. I won’t ever forget any of them. I only write about them to illustrate how I feel about you and what you have done for me. To end my career on the same high note that I started it on is a dream come true and you were a big part of it.

Thank you and so long,
Tom