Dear Virginia R. Boris Parents and Students,

It is an honor and privilege to begin my fourth year as the principal of Virginia R. Boris Elementary School.  I have tremendously enjoyed getting to know our ever-growing community over the past few years, as we began the 2023-2024 school year with 915 students.  This year has started with a lot of change for our school as many of our student community and former Boris teachers/staff have “Charged into the Heat” at our new sister school, Hirayama.  As we wish them the best during their new journey, I am so very happy for what this year will bring for our current Boris Elementary students and staff.  We ARE Building on the Legacy of being Brave, BOLD, and Charging into the Future.

I want to take this time to officially welcome you and your child and to formally introduce myself.  I was born in New Orleans, Louisiana and grew up in Oakland, as well as Fresno.  I am the oldest of three children in my family and the only daughter of my parents who recently celebrated their 55^th wedding anniversary.  I graduated from San Joaquin Memorial High School and continued my college education at California State University, Fresno where I graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Health Science and Master’s Degree in Curriculum and Instruction, as well as, in Administration in Education.  My husband and I met in high school and were blessed to celebrate our 34^th wedding anniversary this past June.  We have also been blessed to have four children, two boys and two girls.  Three of my children are products of Clovis Unified and I still have one child who will begin high school (11^th grade year) at Clovis High School. I have worked in the educational system for over 30 years.  I have had a multitude of experiences as a parent of four children who have and continue to benefit from a well-rounded education deeply rooted in a strong foundation of academic excellence, caring, and fairness for ALL students.

Since serving in this principal role at Boris Elementary, I learned a lot about the community our school serves, and I completely fell in love with the warm and welcoming atmosphere on our campus, and especially the teamwork and collaboration I have witnessed between the Boris staff, students and the community as a whole.  What a great LEGACY!  Everyone believes in the standards of excellence that Clovis Unified Schools offer to students.  Through these collaborative efforts, we have demonstrated that the PBIS and Positivity Project character education programs within our school helps to ensure that no child is left behind and that all our students understand what it means to be BOLD (Believe in good character, Organized and Prepared, Leading the Way, and Determined to do our best).  Our staff and students have been exemplary role models of this as they have established high expectations of themselves and held each other accountable.

No matter what our community has had to endure over the past few years, Boris Elementary has continued to show outstanding performance and achievement in academics, co-curricular participation, as well as parent and community support and involvement.  We have won softball, football, wrestling, and track and field area and district championships.  Our EL students’ SBAC test scores increased in both ELA and Math for the 2023-2024 school year, and our staff was honored with many District and Fresno County awards. Boris Elementary continues to be acknowledged as a designated Digital Citizenship School and with Platinum PBIS recognition. These accolades support the vision of Boris Elementary being a 21^st Century Learning School, where our students are supported in an environment that is interconnected in the 6 C’s:   Critical Thinking, Communication, Creativity, Collaboration, Character, and Citizenship.  It takes a village for all of these accomplishments to occur, and I want to celebrate the hard work of our students, the dedication of a phenomenal staff, and the continued support of our wonderful parents and community.   Together, we will continue to embrace the “Boris Way”, set goals, and challenge each other to do our very best and to be the very best role models for others.  

I look forward to watching our students, staff, and school community continue to excel during this 2024-2025 academic school year.

Sincerely,

Demetra Vincent-Walker (Mrs. Walker)