After 30 years of climbing the ranks in the Saugus Union School District, Joan Lucid has taken the title of Superintendent for the district following the retirement of the former Superintendent, Judy Fish.

Lucid was officially named Superintendent by the School Board for the SUSD on May 24 and took up the position on July 1. Her career as an educator began as a kindergarten to eighth grade substitute teacher at Our Lady of the Holy Rosary School in Sun Valley, the K-8 school she attended as a child. She has been involved in education ever since, joining the Saugus Union School District in 1980 as a kindergarten/first grade teacher at Skyblue Mesa Elementary School.

Lucid said she has been very happy to offer her skills as an educator to the SUSD as she continues to glean rewarding experiences from her career.

“I’m one of those very fortunate people who decided early on that I wanted to be an educator,” Lucid said. “It’s my love of the service and the love of what I see happen in the eyes of the children. The way that I can help is really the reward for me.”

In regards to her decision to apply for the position she now occupies, Lucid said she believed she could make a difference as Superintendent and used the job opening as an opportunity to do so.

“I put my application in and I went through the process,” Lucid said. “I was fortunate the board saw I had the skills to bring the district up to another level.”

Lucid earned her Masters degree in Education with an emphasis in Reading Improvement from California State University, Northridge in 1983. In 1991 she became the Principal of Cedarcreek Elementary and in 1997 she was promoted to the position of Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction for the Saugus Union School District. She earned her Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership a year later in 1998 from the University of La Verne.

Lucid is currently in her fourth week as the new Superintendent and said she has a number of broad goals in place for the district as a whole.

“We are working on the whole area of student achievement,” Lucid said. “We have a number of incoming English language learners and we have children that have learning disabilities and we want to make sure they are all achieving to the absolute highest degree. We also want to continue to challenge our gifted kids because they really need to break through their ceiling. The goal is to move everyone forward and have them achieve to their highest level.”

Lucid said she is ready to tackle her new assignment and has approached the opportunity to serve the local community with enthusiasm.

“I’m excited to be able to continue in a place where I have put down my roots,” Lucid said. “I live in the community and I am just a believer in all the wonderful things our community does have to offer. I want to be part of ensuring we move forward.”

In addition to her new job as Superintendent, Lucid currently serves on the Santa Clarita Valley Education Foundation and the Santa Clarita Valley K-12 Arts Professional Development Consortium. Lucid lives in Valencia and has been married to her husband Bill for 42 years. She has two sons, William and Donald, and an 11-year old granddaughter, Madison.