Incumbent · Sunnyside
Valerie
Davis
Fresno Unified School Board · Area 3 (Sunnyside)
Valerie Davis is a Fresno native, a Fresno State–trained educator, and Sunnyside's Area 3 school board trustee. She now serves as national Board Chair of the Council of the Great City Schools, bringing Fresno's voice to the country's largest school districts.
National Board Chair, Council of the Great City Schools
Hear it from Valerie.
A few minutes with Valerie.
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More with Valerie
The work isn't finished.
Neither is Valerie.
Serving Sunnyside on the Fresno Unified board has taught me one thing: progress comes from steady, accountable leadership, not politics. Our students are climbing, and we can't stop now.
Public schools work best when families are partners. Your voice belongs in every board decision, at kitchen tables, ball fields, and school sites across Sunnyside.
Reading & Math First
Strong foundations in the early grades, with tutoring where students need it most.
Safe, Modern Campuses
Every child learns better in a school that is safe, welcoming, and well-maintained.
Career-Ready Graduates
Real pathways to jobs, trades, and college, built with Fresno employers.
Results for students. Service to Fresno.
What Valerie has helped deliver for Fresno Unified students, and the service Fresno has recognized along the way.
Results for students
- Smaller class sizes: reduced classroom sizes by hiring hundreds of additional teachers.
- Parent involvement: engaged 47,000 parents in our schools' decision making.
- Business innovation: opened the nation's first business entrepreneurship high school.
- College courses: started Fresno City College evening courses at Sunnyside.
- More school supplies: increased teacher classroom supply budgets.
- School safety: added more police officers, safety staff, HD cameras and LED lighting.
- Music and arts: expanded music and arts programs to all schools.
- Academic success: achieved record high school and college going rates.
- Vocational education: invested millions to expand technical and vocational programs.
Recognition
- Filipino Woman of the Year
- City of Fresno District 5 Woman of the Year
- Top Ten Women, Marjorie Mason Center
- City of Fresno Martin Luther King Educational Award
- Association of Mexican-American Educators Award, 2009
- Volunteer of the Year Award from USAR Gen. Baratz, US Pentagon
- Master's in Governance, California School Boards Association
Service and leadership
- Former classroom teacher: 10 years teaching in Fresno Unified schools
- Elected Board President of Fresno Unified by her colleagues
- National Board Chair, Council of the Great City Schools
- Veterans Day Parade Board Member
- East Fresno Kiwanis Board Member
- Storyland with Mother Goose Volunteer
- Parent Teacher Association (PTA) and School Site Member
- 4,614Industry Certifications, Sunnyside High
- 99.3%Graduation Rate, CTE Pathway Completers
- 2,158Internships Completed, 2024 to 2025
- 47,000Parents Engaged in School Decisions
Career and technical education figures are Fresno Unified, 2024 to 2025. Sunnyside High figures as reported by the campaign.
A neighbor first.
A trustee second.
Born and raised in Fresno, Valerie Davis earned her B.A. and teaching credential at Fresno State and represents Sunnyside on the Fresno Unified school board, where her colleagues have elected her Board President.
In July 2026 she became national Board Chair of the Council of the Great City Schools, which represents 82 of America's largest urban districts and 7.1 million students. She has completed governance training through the California School Boards Association, the Broad Institute, and Harvard Business School. She is the mother of three daughters, all of them FUSD professionals, and has grandchildren in Fresno schools today, so every classroom decision she votes on is one she lives with.