Superintendent

Dr. Frank Donavan

The Magnolia School District is committed to educating the “whole child” with a focus on rigorous academics as well as the arts, music, and technology for all of our students. We view our parents as partners in education and we offer many opportunities for them to be involved in the education of their children. We are committed to providing a quality education to all students and ensuring that our staff members have the training and resources they need to be successful.

Superintendent's Message

Welcome back to the 2025-26 school year. We are looking forward to another great year. Over the summer our staff have been working hard to get our schools ready for our students and staff. We have completed several important construction projects and renovations. We will begin our comprehensive Professional Development for our staff members on Tuesday, August 19th at several different sites, and our students will return for their first day of school on Monday, August 25th.

We look forward to continuing our free Expanded Learning Programs including our afterschool programs that are developed and taught by our amazing teachers. This year, the California Department of Education will allow us to use some of our after school programs taught by credentialed teachers for Attendance Recovery. This means we can address the problem of student absences and Chronic Absenteeism.

We have a lot to be proud of this year. First and foremost, our student achievement scores continue to surpass the statewide average in nearly all areas, and several of our schools have had the highest student achievement scores ever for some of their grade levels and/or subgroups. Once again, one of our schools has been named to the National Center on Urban School Transformation’s prestigious nationwide list of America’s Best Schools—congratulations to Dr. Peter Marshall on being one of only twelve schools in the Nation to earn this award. Three of our schools have earned America’s Healthiest Schools Awards, including Marshall and Disney in the area of Increasing Family and Community Engagement, and Walter in the area of Cultivating Staff Well-Being.

As we continue our legacy of high expectations, rigorous academics, comprehensive support, social-emotional learning, music and the Arts, Science, Technology, Engineering and Math, nutritious meals, safe and clean facilities, free child care, and a continued focus on the Whole Child, we have a lot to be proud of. Welcome to the 131st year of educating children in the Magnolia School District, and thank you all for your continued focus to Inspire ALL Students to Extraordinary Achievement Every Day.

Sincerely,
Frank Donavan, Ed. D.