Shehz
Ali, School Innovation Partner, SJUSD
Shehz Ali joined PartnersSI in July 2008 excited to continue
his work in raising standards in schools and working with underserved
students. Shehz began his career teaching in alternative, traditional,
elementary and high schools in Canada for nine years where he
also developed curriculum and related training for schools.
He moved to the United States and began conducting quality reviews
in schools and working with school leaders on school improvement.
Shehz lives locally in San Jose and has volunteered at KIPP
Heartwood Academy teaching Saturday electives for two years.
Through his various experiences, Shehz brings knowledge of program
evaluation, leadership development, and a passion for creating
change to his role as School Innovation Partner. Shehz earned
his B.A. in History from University of Ottawa, his B.Ed. from
Brock University, and M.Ed. from the University of Ottawa.
Bela
Bhasin, School Innovation Partner, OUSD
Bela joined PartnersSI in 2006. With 19 years of teaching experience,
Bela brings depth of knowledge, leadership and passion to her
role as School Innovation Partner. She has presented workshops
on teaching English Learners at the California Association for
Bilingual Educators and facilitated teacher discussions on issues
in multicultural education. Bela received a BA from St. Xavier's
College in Mumbai, India, and an MS in Early Childhood Education
from Wheelock College.
Viviana
Cabrales, School Innovation Partner, SJUSD
Prior to joining PartnersSI in 2008, Viviana taught at Christopher
Elementary (a former PartnersSI school) within Oak Grove School
District. As a grade level leader, Viviana worked with PartnersSI
to implement the ROCI Approach within her classroom. She brings
knowledge of what effective teacher leadership and grade level
teams look and sound like within a school- knowing the importance
of building capacity amongst teachers and staff as a way of
sustaining and continuing positive change. She believes in high
quality, standards-based balanced literacy as a means of transforming
schools into equitable educational places for children. Viviana
received her B.A. in Sociology and Education at the University
of California, Los Angeles. She also received her M.A. in Education
and Multiple Subject Teaching Credential at the University of
California, Berkeley.
Michelle
Campbell, School Innovation Partner, SJUSD
Prior to joining PartnersSI in 2008, Michelle taught in Campbell
Union School District for seven years. Her experiences teaching
Kindergarten, first and second grades helped to hone her focus
on early childhood literacy. Michelle received her degree in
Human Development and Psychology from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo,
her multi-subject teaching credential from San Jose State and
most recently her MA in Educational Policy, Organization and
Leadership from Stanford. She brings to PartnersSI a commitment
to high quality literacy instruction, especially in the early
grades. She values a balanced literacy approach to teaching
and the importance of recognizing how each student's unique
cultural background and experiences interplay with his or her
learning.
Nick
Carson, School Innovation Partner, SFUSD
Nick joined PartnersSI in 2008. He started his career in education
teaching fifth grade in Washington DC. After moving to San Francisco,
he became a founding teacher at KIPP San Francisco Bay Academy
teaching English and mathematics. During the past three years
he has served as the Assistant Principal and most recently the
Acting Principal where he was instrumental in moving the school
forward. KIPP San Francisco Bay Academy is now the highest performing
middle school in SFUSD as well as a California Distinguished
School. Nick completed the Fischer School Leadership Program
through the Center for Executive Development at the Haas School
of Business, University of California Berkeley. He has a BA
from Loyola College in Maryland.
Jennifer
Cheatham, District Partnership Director, SFUSD
Jennifer joined PartnersSI in 2008. She was most recently Executive
Director of Curriculum and Instruction at San Diego Unified
where she led the alignment of standards-based curriculum, assessment,
intervention, and professional development. Prior to that she
worked for Springboard Schools where she coached and consulted
teacher leaders, principals, and district-office leaders in
the Bay Area and Central Valley on the implementation of core
curricula, the design of effective professional development,
the establishment of monitoring systems, and the application
of strategies for intervention. Jen has additional experience
as a reform coordinator and middle school teacher. She received
her Ed.D and Ed.M. from Harvard University and her MA in Education
from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.
Stephanie
Ervin, School Innovation Partner, SFUSD
Stephanie joined PartnersSI in 2006. She has 5 years of teaching
and grade level team leadership experience. A former first grade
teacher at Fairmount Elementary School in San Francisco, Stephanie
draws on her classroom experience, passion and focus on student
achievement to impact an even greater number of students in
her role as a School Innovation Partner. Stephanie has a BA
and a Multiple Studies Credential from San Francisco State University.
Kiran
Gaind, School Innovation Partner, SJUSD
Kiran Gaind began her career as a school change agent when she
was a teacher team leader and Governance Body member at Mission
High School in San Francisco, during its Gates-funded school
redesign process. Kiran had the good fortune of working side
by side with the most dedicated Principal a school could hope
for, with a superstar staff who worked tirelessly in collaborative
teams to build relationships with their students, innovate ahead
of the national school reform curve and remain passionate about
outstanding, culturally-responsive instruction as the main lever
of school change. She then served as a teacher leader at Unity
High School, a charter in East Oakland, and as a Project Manager
for English Language Learners and Professional Learning Communities
in the Office of High School Redesign in Austin, Texas' AISD.
Kiran received her BA in Political Theory and Women's Studies
from Cornell University, her Teaching Credential from San Francisco
State and intensive professional development from the Stanford
Redesign Network, Parthenon Consulting Group and Aida Walqui's
Quality Teaching for English Learners program housed at WestEd.
Leroy
Gaines, School Innovation Partner, OUSD
Leroy Gaines joined PartnersSI in August 2006. As a Teach For
America corps member he began his career as an educator teaching
5th grade at T.P. Ryan Elementary School in San Jose, firmly
committing himself to the advancement of urban youth and educational
equity. His experience in public schools extends beyond the
classroom, assuming administrative responsibilities, developing
after school programs, mentoring students, and coaching middle
school basketball. Leroy holds an AB in Africana Studies from
Bowdoin College and a MA in Educational Leadership from Teachers
College at Columbia University.
Nefertiti
Hardaway, School Innovation Partner, SJUSD
Prior to joining PartnersSI in 2008, Nefertiti worked as a consultant
managing a community technology project where she helped develop
two computer learning centers for youth and adults. She began
her career in education teaching pre-K, first and second grade,
serving two consecutive years as a grade level chairperson,
presenting trainings, and providing support and coaching. After
four years of teaching, she pursued opportunities that offered
the possibility to have a greater impact on education. Included
among these were recruiting high quality teachers for the district
in which she taught, and serving as a Board Member to develop
a high performing charter school in Memphis. Nefertiti received
her BA in Sociology and MA and teaching credential in Early
Childhood Education from the University of Memphis.
Kirstin
Hernandez, School Innovation Partner, OUSD
Kirstin joined PartnersSI in 2007 eager to continue her work
toward educational equity for underserved youth. She began her
career teaching high school math in Hayward Unified where she
also served as a department chair and teacher leader on the
school's reform committee. While pursuing her Master's degree
in School Leadership, she worked in a small reform high school
in South Boston. She then spent three years working in urban
charter schools as a middle school teacher and school leader.
Kirstin brings experience in data-driven decision making, student
assessment and teacher professional development to her work
at PartnersSI. She received her BA from UC Berkeley and her
MA from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.
Jesse
Hinueber, School Innovation Partner, OUSD
Jesse joined PartnersSI in 2006. Jesse taught 6th grade for
two years in San Jose as a Teach for America Corps member. Jesse
has also worked as a marketing assistant at the Hopkins Center
for the Performing Arts and was a climate and policy intern
at the Environmental and Energy Study Institute in Washington
D.C. He has a B.A. in Environmental Studies from Dartmouth College
and received his teaching credential from San Jose State University.
Marie
Huxley, District Partnership Director, OUSD
Prior to joining PartnersSI in 2008, Marie was Director of Secondary
Instructional Support in the Vallejo City Unified School District
where she established several district-wide reform initiatives.
She began her career in education as a high school social studies,
Spanish, and ESL teacher and later took on the roles of high
school assistant principal and co-principal. Working in diverse
districts (Los Angeles Unified School District, Tamalpais Union
High School District, and Vallejo City Unified School District)
and coaching for the Bay Area School Reform Collaborative gave
her a comprehensive and balanced approach to systemic school
and district improvement. Marie received a BA in Political Science
with an emphasis on international relations from UCSB and holds
a Masters Degree in Education from UCLA and a Masters Degree
in Educational Administration from San Francisco State University.
Jaime
Kidd, Director of Professional Development
After graduating from the University of Michigan with a degree
in psychology, Jaime moved to the Bay Area to serve as a PartnersSI
AmeriCorps partner. While supporting improvement initiatives
at schools in both Redwood City and San Francisco, Jaime learned
about school change processes and issues of inequity in schools.
At the end of her term of service, she entered a doctoral program
in educational psychology at UC Berkeley, where her graduate
work focused on early reading instruction, especially as related
to teacher development and learning.
Jeana
Kim, Organizational Learning & Effectiveness
Jeana joined PartnersSI in 2006. She has taught in a Korean-English
bilingual classroom, worked in a second grade classroom and
served as an after-school program coordinator in a community
in Southeast D.C., where she gained a deeper understanding of
urban public education. Jeana draws on her diverse experience
in business consulting, education, urban community development,
research and social justice to foster equity and gap-closing,
system-level change for children. She received her BA and teacher
certification from Wellesley College.
Belinda
Liu, Organizational Learning & Effectiveness
Belinda joined PartnersSI in 2005. After years of valuable leadership
in national and international schools and programs and teaching
in an urban school in Washington DC, she has cultivated skills
in working with individuals from diverse academic, social and
ethnic backgrounds. Prior to joining PartnersSI, she served
as the Ecuador Program Assistant for WorldTeach in Cambridge,
Massachusetts. Belinda received her BA from the University of
North Carolina in International Studies and her MA in International
Education Policy from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.
Julien
Phillips, ED Emeritus
Julien was an early Peace Corps Volunteer and has extensive
experience in institutional innovation, first as a management
consultant and partner at McKinsey & Co. where he led its worldwide
organizational change practice. More recently, he was one of
the leaders in establishing the Commission on National and Community
Service. He is a co-founder and board member of Ashoka, a global
not-for-profit that invests in leading social entrepreneurs
in developing countries and Eastern Europe. He is also a board
member of the Bay Area School Reform Collaborative and of the
Pacific School of Religion. Julien holds a BA and MBA from Stanford
University. He co-founded Partners In School Innovation in 1993.
Laura
Post, Organizational Learning & Effectiveness
Laura joined PartnersSI in 2006. Laura taught graduate and undergraduate
courses and served as Director of the Master's program in Curriculum
Studies and Teacher Education at the Stanford University School
of Education. She received her PhD from Stanford University,
where she focused her research on teacher communities working
on equity-focused school reform. Prior to Stanford, Laura taught
elementary school for five years and facilitated professional
development in literacy and science in a low-income, urban school
district in California.
Jennifer
Hammett Sanchez, English Language Development Program
Director
Jennifer joined PartnersSI in 2006. For the past thirteen years,
Jennifer was with the San Francisco Unified School District
as both a District K-8 Spanish bilingual, ELD and SDAIE resource
teacher, as well as a Spanish bilingual classroom teacher. Jennifer
also taught in the San Jose Unified School District and in South
America. In addition, Jennifer has taught CLAD certification
courses through SFUSD as well as Bilingual Education and ELD
and SDAIE Methodology courses through San Francisco State and
Dominican University. In 2003 Jennifer earned her National Board
certification in English as a New Language. In addition to holding
a BCLAD Spanish Multiple Subjects Teaching Credential, she holds
an MA in International and Multicultural Education.
Emily
Schriber, School Innovation Partner, SJUSD
Emily joined Partners SI in 2008. She became passionate about
working for educational equity during her time as a Teach For
America corps member. She taught first-, third-, and then fourth-grade
students at Ben Painter Elementary in San Jose for three years.
In this time, her students made significant academic gains in
Language Arts and math. At Painter, Emily worked as grade level
chair, leading her grade level to strategically use data and
create standards-based assessments to guide their teaching.
She received her BA from University of New Mexico, where she
led campus organizations working for social justice.
Rachel
Scott, Director of Organizational Learning & Effectiveness
Rachel Scott joined Partners in 2008. Just prior to coming aboard,
she worked as an educational consultant with Fremont Unified
School District, where she helped staff codify and articulate
their Spanish-English dual immersion program. Before that, she
spent six years with Springboard Schools (formerly the Bay Area
School Reform Collaborative), most recently as the Director
of Coaching and Client Services. At Springboard, she led the
development of a district-wide coaching model, created a coaching
rubric, and designed trainings for a cadre of over 70 coaches,
mainly former superintendents and assistant superintendents
from around the state of California. Rachel holds a bachelor's
degree in music from UCLA and a University of Cambridge/Royal
Society of Arts Certificate in English Language Teaching to
Adults. She has taught English in Mexico, the United States
and the Czech Republic. Her travels, her teaching and her work
with schools have convinced her that both personal and organizational
transformation are possible, and have strengthened her commitment
to the creation of a just, equitable, and culturally proficient
system of public education.
Poonam
Singh, School Innovation Partner, SJUSD
Poonam Singh joined PartnersSI in 2003. She holds an MA in Administration,
Planning, and Social Policy from the Harvard Graduate School
of Education, where she focused her research on systemic reforms
in high-performing low-income districts, and the relationship
between organizational and leadership practices and instructional
improvement. Prior to that, she founded Aspire for Education,
Inspire for Change, a teacher recruitment and education program
at UC Berkeley. She also founded and ran an after school program
in East Oakland, where she implemented a technology-based reading
program with low-income middle school youth.
Ingrid
Siss, School Innovation Partner, SFUSD
Prior to joining PartnersSI in 2008, Ingrid served as a corps
member with Teach For America in San Jose. For three years she
worked as a kindergarten teacher at Cureton Elementary School
in the Alum Rock Union School District. Her students made significant
academic gains during her time in the classroom. Ingrid also
defined expectations for Teach For America kindergarten teachers.
She led professional development and created a comprehensive
tool kit for all Bay Area kindergarten corps members. During
the summer of 2006, Ingrid worked as a teacher coach in Los
Angeles preparing and training incoming teachers for the 2006-2007
school year. Ingrid received her BA in French from UC Berkeley
and her multiple subjects teaching credential from San Jose
State University.
Sarah
Skinner, School Innovation Partner, SJUSD
Prior to joining PartnersSI in 2008, Sarah Skinner served as
a 2005 Teach For America (TFA) corps member. For three years,
she taught first grade at D.J. Meyer Elementary in San Jose.
In her final year of teaching, each of Sarah's twenty students,
mostly English Language Learners, grew 2-3 years in reading
and the class averaged 98% mastery of the 1st grade math standards.
In 2006, Sarah trained new teachers at TFA Los Angeles Summer
Institute and throughout the year presented a series of workshops
focused on effective backwards planning, powerful literacy instruction
for emergent readers, and teaching English Language Learners.
Sarah's high expectations, as well as her passion for teaching
Second Language Learners and early childhood literacy, drive
her work towards creating equitable educational opportunities
for all students. Sarah attended Princeton University where
she received a BA in History, Spanish, and Latin American Studies.
Gretchen
Spear, School Innovation Partner, SFUSD
Gretchen joined PartnersSI in 2007. Gretchen began her work
for educational equity in 2002, when she joined Teach For America
as a corps member at Ryan Elementary School in San Jose. In
the years following, Gretchen continued working to close the
achievement gap, teaching second, third and fourth grade at
elementary schools in San Francisco and Oakland. Gretchen received
her B.A. in International Relations from Connecticut College
and her teaching credential from San Jose State University.
Meaghen
Spencer, School Innovation Partner, SJUSD
Meaghen joined PartnersSI in 2007. Meaghen began her teaching
career as a Teach for America corps member in Alum Rock School
District in San Jose where she taught for three years. During
that time she served on her school's leadership team as well
as the district technology team. Meaghen helped develop and
implement a Peer Coaching Program at her school which encouraged
teachers to observe and provide feedback to one another. Most
recently, she taught fourth grade in the Houston Independent
School District where her students made significant gains in
writing. Meaghen received her BS from Northwestern University
and her MA in Education Policy, Organization and Leadership
from Stanford University.
Wesley
Watkins, School Innovation Partner, SFUSD
Prior to joining PartnersSI in 2008, Dr. Watkins worked for
educational equity via arts education/integration at the school,
district, and county levels. He was a facilitator with the Arts
Learning Anchor School initiative in the Oakland Unified School
District where he worked with eight school leadership teams
to build teacher capacity in the arts, thereby helping them
create more equitable classrooms. He supported district leaders
in both Emeryville and San Lorenzo as part of the Alameda County
Office of Education's Alliance for Arts Learning Leadership.
Dr. Watkins is also a trained facilitator with the California
Alliance for Arts Education Coaches in Every Corner program,
and is able to develop 3-5 year, budgeted strategic plans with
school districts, schools, and organizations. Prior to beginning
his career as an independent consultant, Dr. Watkins earned
his doctorate in Education from the University of Reading, UK.
