Multicultural Statement for Dr. Isabelina Rodriguez
As a minority candidate who has completed the application process and investigated your District, let me congratulate you and tell you that you are well on your way to becoming a Multicultural School District! I say this because I felt welcomed and I believed that as a District, my application would be valued because you valued multiculturism. Placing the priority of multiculturism on the District and not on the individual is the first step to changing the culture in an organization. I believe as a District, you have taken those steps and are well on your way to changing this culture. Why do I know this? Because since I have taken the role of Superintendent in Northampton, my priority has been to work to create a paradigm shift in the organizational culture ofthe Northampton Public Schools in how we educate all of our children. To ensure that each student has equal access to a quality education, in a safe, healthy and secure environment is my personal mission and it is now the Northampton Public Schools primary goal.
Recognizing that professional development is a crucial component in creating change, I hired two consultants, Rhonda Gordan and Phyllis Labonowski, to assist me in providing in-depth training, consultation and coaching to bring about systemic, organizational and cultural change. I also created an administrators' evaluation process that tied the District and school goals into the evaluation, to ensure follow through toward this primary goal. Additionally, I increased the analysis and use of data to drive our decision making process and to improve our instructional practices. It was through this analysis that I was able to show an achievement gap, which was the basis of our District's first thorough District Improvement Plan, designed through a cooperative effort from ajoint School Committee and Administrators' retreat. Further, each Principal then aligned their School Improvement Plans with the District Plans. These efforts have proven successful for student achievement, which is supported with data that suggests that the gap has begun to close in ELA and Math at all grade levels.
Community involvement is a critical component in a successful program. In my experience, I have held parent forums, not only in the schools, but also in homes and at the housing developments. In fact, at one housing development, all the participants were Spanish speaking, so I held the meeting in Spanish! I have regular meetings with the local media and try to go on air at the local radio station monthly to keep the community informed. However, I believe the most successful intervention we could have done was the creation of a bilingual/itinerant social worker whose responsibility is also to be the truant officer. She works K-12 and has worked so much more appropriately with our families than a straight truant officer. Rather than bringing families to court for truancy, she is now helping families and connecting families with needed services.
Professionally, I believe I bring additional experiences to Amherst-Pelham that would be beneficial as your Superintendent. Since the fall of 2007, I have been involved with the Collaborative Alliance Network (CAN) through Brown University in Rhode Island. This past year, CAN presented a series of four conversations with guest speakers Dr. Charles Willie, Dr. Pedro Noguera, Dr. Sonia Nieto and Dr. Mica Pollock on the topic of Increasing Diversity Within the Education Profession. Our goal for the upcoming year is to focus on Developing Cultural Competence Among Educators. This year I have been invited to sit as a member of their Executive Board and with that will come benefits to the District I represent. I have also been a member of the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education's Bias Review committee to review the Mass Teachers' Assessments to review potential bias material. Lastly, I have presented at M.A.B.E. and have guest lectured at local colleges on issues such as teaching the bilingual child, understanding cultural differences, and teaching limited English proficient students.
Finally, personally, I believe as a bilingual, bicultural woman I offer Amherst-Pelham my personal first hand experience. I offer you my personal history, my knowledge and my commitment to ensuring that every child is educated equally, and to assisting the Amherst-Pelham District in becoming a multicultural District.
In closing, As I began this essay, I stated that the key to creating change is to look not at the individual child, but to look at the system and what can be done to change it. I have the experience, the vision, and the drive to do this. Amherst-Pelham Regional School District is already on the track. I would LOVE to be given the opportunity to be their driver!