Helping Students Succeed: A Resource Directory for Area 4 Families
Veva Islas with Duncan Polytechnical alumna Anna Hun. In 2023, Hun was accepted to Stanford, Harvard, Dartmouth, and the University of Pennsylvania, leaving her with the tough decision of where to attend.
When a student is struggling, the hardest part for a family is often figuring out who to call. Veva Islas wants that part to be easy.
Her new Resource Directory is on its way to families across the McLane region. It puts 18 Fresno Unified departments and programs on a single page, each with a name, a phone number, and an email. Keep it on the fridge. Just in case yours hasn’t arrived, the full directory is at the bottom of the page, and you can download a printable copy by clicking the link below.
Students don’t leave their lives at the door
Veva came to the school board from a career in public health. She earned a degree in Health Science from Fresno State and a Master’s in Public Health from Loma Linda University. She worked as a health educator in community clinics and health departments, then founded Cultiva La Salud to serve disadvantaged families in Fresno County.
That background shapes how she sees a classroom. Poverty, housing instability, trauma, and food insecurity all follow a student to school, and all of them affect how well that student can learn. So the directory opens with a note from Veva that sets out her approach:
“Supporting the whole child and expecting academic success are not competing ideas. We need to do both!”
High expectations stay. What changes is that students get the counselors, social workers, mental health professionals, and prevention programs they need to meet them.
A directory backed by a record
The services in this directory exist because the board funded them. Since her election in 2018, Veva has voted for and championed many of the supports listed here:
- Counselors and social workers. She invested in additional social workers, school counselors, and academic counselors. Those are the people behind Social Emotional and Mental Health Services and Student Support Services.
- Technology at home. She expanded access to laptops and hotspots and helped establish the Family Learning and Technology Support (FLATS) program.
- Tutoring and enrichment. She increased investment in after-school tutoring and expanded summer and extended learning.
- Students who need the most. She increased funding for English Learners, African American students, unhoused students, and foster youth.
- Good food. She established a policy that puts locally grown produce first in school meals.
- Families who speak another language. She led the creation of a district department for interpretation and translation, so every parent can take part.
- Career pathways. She has pushed to keep growing Career Technical Education, from the Medical Education and Research Academy at McLane to the programs at Duncan Polytechnical.
The full list is on Veva’s Priorities & Accomplishments page.
The Resource Directory
Start with the question you have, then call or email the contact listed.
My student needs help with school, or with what comes after
DEPARTMENT | WHAT THEY DO | CONTACT | ||
Courses, programs, and training in the technical and academic skills that lead to high-skill careers | Kristen Brooski | 559-248-7465 | kristen.brooski@fresnounified.org | |
High-quality early education that respects each family’s language, culture, and needs | Maria Ceballos Tapia | 559-457-3416 | EarlyLearning@fresnounified.org | |
Instructional support and guidance so English Learners succeed academically | Erica Piedra | 559-457-3916 | erica.piedra@fresnounified.org | |
Services and programs for differently-abled students who qualify for SPED | Patrick Morrison | 559-457-3220 | ||
On-demand, one-on-one tutoring for students | 559-457-3495 | |||
My student needs support beyond the classroom
DEPARTMENT | WHAT THEY DO | CONTACT | ||
Whole-child health and wellness in the school setting | Michelle Parker | 559-457-3301 | michelle.parker@fresnounified.org | |
Trained staff across the district for behavioral, mental health, and family help | Jodi Marr and Felicia Garza | 559-457-3941 | jodi.marr@fresnounified.org | |
Social-emotional support that removes barriers to academic success | Abigail Arii | 559-457-6088 | abigail.arii@fresnounified.org | |
Services for students experiencing homelessness and students in foster care | Krystal Noriega | 559-457-3359 | krystal.noriega@fresnounified.org | |
Meals at every school site | Amanda Harvey | 559-457-6250 | amanda.harvey@fresnounified.org | |
Food distribution at McLane on the first Saturday of every month | Heather Arciniega | 559-351-9210 | heather.arciniega@fresnounified.org | |
I want to get more involved, or I need help with technology
DEPARTMENT | WHAT THEY DO | CONTACT | ||
Workshops, resources, and leadership programs for families | Maiyer Vang | 559-457-3390 | maiyer.vang@fresnounified.org | |
Help with devices, the ATLAS Portal, and other technology, on campus or at home | 559-457-3939 | flats@fresnounified.org | ||
Trainings, workshops, and programs that build a more inclusive district | Armen Karamanian | 559-457-3957 | armen.karamanian@fresnounified.org | |
I have a concern, or I don’t know where to start
DEPARTMENT | WHAT THEY DO | CONTACT | ||
Resolves concerns and responds to formal complaints from families, community members, and staff | Teresa Plascencia | 559-457-3736 | Constituent.Services@fresnounified.org | |
General help from the district office | Front Desk | 559-457-3727 | ||
The district’s central hub for information and messaging | Adela Duncan | 559-457-3733 | Communications@fresnounified.org | |
Direct contact with your school board trustee on any school board issue | Veva Islas | 559-231-2862 | veva.islas@fresnounified.org | |
Veva is one call away
Veva’s own number is in the directory too. If your student attends a school in the McLane region and you are not getting an answer, call her at 559-231-2862 or email veva.islas@fresnounified.org.
She is the daughter of Mexican immigrants who worked the fields of this valley, and the first in her family to go to college. She and her husband, Keith, raised six children who all came up through our public schools. She credits her own K-12 teachers with setting her sights on college, and she wants every student in Area 4 to have that same chance.
Area 4 includes Addicott, Birney, Centennial, Ericson, Heaton, Manchester GATE, Mayfair, Norseman, and Pyle elementary schools; Scandinavian and Yosemite middle schools; and McLane, Duncan Polytechnical, and Patiño School of Entrepreneurship. Not sure if that’s you? Check the Trustee Area 4 map.
Veva has represented Area 4 since 2018 and now serves as Board President. She is asking for your vote to keep that work going. Vote on or before November 3, 2026, and confirm your voter registration today.
Veva Islas. Still fighting. Still showing up. Still putting our kids first.
