DON DAVIS, ED.D

Dr. Davis is completing his first term representing the Yosemite Community College District Area 1 which includes Tuolumne County and parts of Calaveras and Stanislaus counties. He serves on the YCCD budget committee overseeing the development of responsible balanced budgets. During his term the enrollments at Columbia College and Modesto Junior College have rebounded surpassing pre-Covid levels. He advocates for relevant real-world educational pathways leading to certificates and degrees that provide students with meaningful advancement in the job market.

Dr. Don Davis is an educator with 40 years of experience.  He retired after being a successful high school principal and serving the 13 years as the Superintendent of the Waterford Unified School District. He is recognized for his work in school turnaround and was awarded the Association of California School Administrators (ACSA) State Secondary School Principal of the Year for closing achievement gaps and sustaining academic growth.  In four years, while principal of a high-poverty Title 1 school, students progressed from the lowest-performing school in the Stanislaus County to the highest performing high school in seven counties (Merced, Stanislaus, San Joaquin, Mariposa, Tuolumne, Calaveras and Amador) and maintained that distinction until the Academic Performance Index was retired.

Dr. Davis has the unique experience of having been a site labor representative, a school board member (Atwater Elementary) and a superintendent. His familiarity with these roles supports his effectiveness as a mentor and a coach, particular in the arenas of Board-Superintendent relations and collective bargaining.  He is known for developing effective relationships with peers and served on numerous councils and boards including the Stanislaus County Special Education Local Plan Area (SELPA) Superintendents’ Council, the Stanislaus Health Foundation, Stanislaus Partners in Education and the ACSA state small school districts superintendent committee advising ACSA’s policy and legislative advocates on the needs of small and rural schools.

Dr. Davis has presented at many conferences on school leadership throughout California, the nation and internationally.  He has taught Master and Doctorate courses and California State University Stanislaus and mentored new administrators through the Stanislaus County Administrative Induction Program.  He promotes higher academic achievement through focused improvement of the instructional core, and advises district and site administrators in developing, implementing and monitoring schoolwide instructional norms.  He oversaw the development of his district’s Local Control and Accountability Plan (LCAP) each year since its inception and authored the final board-approved plans.