At the school board meeting, Elaine and Vici were presented with bouquets of flowers by two friends from Desert Mountain SELPA. Pictured, from left, SELPA Program Specialist Danielle Côté, Elaine Nelson-Stanford, Vici Miller, and Program Specialist, Behavior Miya Narvaiz-Ward.
On April 10th, the Lucerne Valley Unified School District’s Board of Trustees unanimously approved Elaine Nelson-Stanford in the Director of Student Educational Services position for Lucerne Valley Unified School District effective June 1, 2025. Ms. Nelson-Stanford will take over from longtime LVUSD staff member Vici Miller, who is retiring after a 30-plus year education career with 19 years as an integral member of the LVUSD staff.
Ms. Nelson-Stanford currently is Special Services Coordinator at the Hesperia Unified School District.
“She has an incredible background,” Superintendent Peter Livingston said. “She’s incredibly respected throughout the High Desert.”
Assistant Superintendent of Business Services Olga Fisher, who worked with Elaine at the Hesperia USD, added, “She’s always pleasant. Whenever you have a problem, she has a solution. You could not get a better person.”
Ms. Miller, who will continue through the end of the summer, began as a special education instructional aide before becoming a special education teacher at Liberty Elementary School in Victorville for 14 years. Afterward, she joined the LVUSD where she served for 19 years.
She is looking forward to relaxing at her Lucerne Valley home, spending more time with family, quilting, gardening (she has lots of purple flowers to tend to), which also includes tending to her trees and planting vegetables. She also is looking forward to remodeling her house.
“I love this community,” she says. “It’s my home.”
Longtime school board member Tom Courtney, thanked Vici for her dedication and steady hand. “Thank you Vici for everything you did for us,” Courtney said. “I know how hard you worked for us and we’ll always be appreciative of that work. It’s going to be a hard thing to see you go.”