Citing the difficulty in making her decision, Ceres Unified School District Denise Wickham has announced she is retiring at the end of the current school year ending on June 30.
The decision has already been made to place Amy Peterman in charge of the district as Wickham leaves.
Wickham has served as superintendent since 2021 when she replaced Scott Siegel.
“My love for this district and appreciation for our staff, students, families, and community have made this an extremely difficult decision,” Dr. Wickham emailed district staff. “Yet after much reflection, I believe the time is right to embark on a new chapter that prioritizes my loved ones and allows me to spend more time with them.”
Her vision called for the district’s 20 schools to be safe, fun, and encouraging places where students could re-engage with learning, access resources, and reconnect with their peers and supportive adults. She has led a focus on excellence known as, “the Ceres Way,” that promotes high levels of customer service and workplace pride. “That sense of pride generally translates to better performance which, in turn, leads to better outcomes,” said Wickham.
Wickham has been in education for 33 years, nearly 20 in Ceres. She came to CUSD in 2005 as supervisor of Projects & Assessment; served as Director of Curriculum & Instruction from 2006-2008, and led the Personnel division from 2008-2021. During her time in Personnel, she launched the CUSD Leadership Academy to support employees interested in developing their leadership capacity.
In her email, Wickham thanked the CUSD Board of Trustees for allowing her to “lead in my own way,” and CUSD staff for their work to ensure that students can achieve their dreams.
“Serving this district has been and will continue to be a profound honor.”
Earlier this year, the Association of California School Administrators (ACSA) named Wickham its “Exemplary Woman in Education.” She previously was bestowed with other honors, including ACSA “Professor of Education of the Year” (2021), Portuguese Education Foundation of Central California “Educator of the Year” (2019), and the ACSA Bill Ullom Award (2016).
Besides her role in CUSD, Wickham has also served an adjunct professor in the California State University, Stanislaus Master’s in School Administration program since 2006. She is an active member of Soroptimist International of Ceres, a service club working to improve the lives of girls and women.
Peterman was appointed by the board on Oct. 26, which means her current position as CUSD’s Deputy Superintendent of Educational Services will need to be filled.
Peterman is believed to be the first CUSD superintendent who is a product of the Ceres school system. Then named Amy Beaver, she attended Caswell Elementary and Mae Hensley Junior High before going onto Ceres High School where she was involved in volleyball, basketball and swimming and took the school’s first Advanced Placement class, AP Calculus. That class was taught by Scott Siegel, who would become superintendent nearly two decades later. Peterman graduated from Ceres High School in 1991.
“It’s just a little surreal that I’m sitting here on the verge of taking this position,” said Peterman, whose two adult daughters also attended Ceres schools, graduating from Central Valley High School. “I am 100 percent ready to give everything I have to this district that has given so much to my family and me. I feel such a sense of pride in being given this chance to continue the legacy built by so many great leaders before me.”
CUSD’s Patricia Kay Beaver Leadership Magnet is named in honor of her late mother who also taught school in Ceres before her passing in 2001.
Her father, Steve Beaver, who served on the Ceres Community Foundation, died in September. He noted in his family memoir that it was the quality of Ceres schools that first drew them to settle in Ceres in 1983.
“I don’t even know if ‘Committed to Excellence, Responsive to Every Student’ was the motto when I started school here, but it really did feel like the staff went above and beyond to give students everything they needed to succeed,” Peterman said. “That culture has only grown stronger over the past 30 years.”
Board President Lourdes Perez heralded Peterman as a “dynamic, forward-thinking leader who is wholeheartedly committed to Ceres Unified and the Ceres community.”
“We have every confidence in her ability to provide continuity of leadership, maintain our focus on excellence, and foster a shared vision that illuminates a bright path forward for CUSD,” said Perez.
After finishing college, Peterman taught in Escalon and Manteca before she was hired in 2004 as the assistant principal of Ceres High School. She has also served as principal of Sam Vaughn Elementary and Central Valley High School before her districtwide role as Assistant Superintendent of Business Services and Educational Services. In 2021, she was promoted to Deputy Superintendent where she has led the district’s focus on providing equitable opportunities that support positive outcomes for all students.
Peterman, who is an active member of the Soroptimist International of Ceres, lives Ceres with husband Steve.
