|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
Longtime San Ramon resident Susanna Ordway has earned another term on the San Ramon Valley school board after being unchallenged for the Trustee Area 4 seat this fall.
A former paraeducator and parent volunteer who was first appointed to the San Ramon Valley Unified School District Board of Education more than eight years ago, Ordway looks ahead to her third full term in office with a continued focus on “making decisions that put students first and help every child reach their potential”.
“I understand that students come to our schools with different backgrounds, needs, strengths, and aspirations,” Ordway said in a news release last week. “That perspective has reinforced my belief that our district must continue working to support all students — not only academically, but holistically.”
“SRVUSD is a high-performing school district, and our graduates go on to do remarkable things,” she added. “Families choose to live in our community because they value our schools, our dedicated staff, and our quality teachers. I am committed to protecting and building on that foundation so every student can grow, thrive, and prepare for the path ahead.”
Without an opponent, Ordway will retain her seat without an election for Area 4, which covers northwest San Ramon neighborhoods, as well as part of central San Ramon.
An immigrant from Hong Kong to the U.S. at elementary school age, Ordway spent those early years in Phoenix as a new English learner. She would go on to earn a bachelor’s degree from Pomona College in Southern California and later a Master of Business Administration from the Thunderbird School of Global Management, affiliated with Arizona State University.
Ordway and her husband have lived in San Ramon for more than 32 years and they raised their two children through SRVUSD schools. After working for a dozen years in corporate financial marketing, Ordway said she realized her true professional calling was education and found her way back into classrooms as an instructor and parent volunteer.
She was employed as a paraeducator and instructional assistant for SRVUSD for more than seven years and was actively involved in the parent-teacher associations for nearly 18 years at the school site, council and district levels. Ordway has worked as a college planning adviser for the past decade.
“My work with students and families offers a valuable view of the opportunities and challenges students encounter after graduation,” Ordway said. “It helps inform how our schools can support students today, so they are better positioned to succeed in college, career, and whatever future they choose.”
She applied for the SRVUSD Board of Education when there was a midterm opening in 2018, earning the temporary appointment that June. Months later, she won a full four-year term at-large unopposed.
After the district converted to by-trustee-area elections, Ordway claimed a full term representing Area 4 starting in late fall 2022 – again unchallenged.
Calling her eight-plus years in office “an extraordinary privilege”, Ordway cited some of the district’s accomplishments that she takes particular pride in: appointing its first student board member, hiring elementary school counselors, investing in teachers on special assignment to help implement Multi-Tiered Systems of Support and developing SRVUSD’s strategic directions.
She also reflected on lessons learned during difficult budget deliberations the past two years.
“Those decisions were not easy, and they carried real weight,” Ordway said. “I spent many sleepless nights considering whether we were making the best choices. In every decision, however, my focus remained on students and on achieving outcomes that would benefit them.”
Castro Valley man arrested in Danville for allegedly dropping lewd photographs in front of youthSeptember 20, 2026 8:04 am
Plea deal closes federal investigation into 2022 fentanyl overdose death in DublinSeptember 20, 2026 4:01 pm
