and
Tucson Hispanic Coalition
¡Una familia unida!
Present
July 27, 2008
Press advisory
Sofia Ramos
President HPAC
Sandra Otero
President Elect
HPAC
444-8596
Hispanic Professional Action Committee (HPAC) will host a social event to celebrate the beginning of the new school year with Dr. Elizabeth Celania-Fagen, Tucson Unified School District (TUSD) Superintendent and Dr. Manuel L. Isquierdo, Superintendent, Sunnyside Unified School District. The superintendents will provide presentations regarding their visions for the upcoming school year for their districts.
The event will be held at the Community Campus of Pima Community College, 401 N. Bonita located one block west of I-10 between St. Mary's Rd. and Congress St. This celebration to be held on Friday, August 8, 2008 will begin with refreshments and socializing at 5:30 p.m. followed by presentations at 6 p.m. The public is invited and encouraged to attend this opportunity to hear from the superintendents of our community’s two largest school districts. RSVP at http://hpactucson.org; for more information, please contact Sandra Otero at 444-8596 or seotero@msn.com. Cost with RSVP is $10, without reservations the cost is $15 at the door.
HPAC is a non-profit, non-partisan, Tucson, Arizona-based organization whose purpose is to effect change by monitoring issues that impact Hispanics. HPAC is proactive in maintaining and developing opportunities in education, employment and leadership for Hispanics.
Tucson Unified School District is the largest public school district in Southern Arizona with approximately 58,000 students. The district has 73 elementary schools, 21 middle schools, 11 high schools, and 13 alternative high schools and programs.
Dr. Elizabeth Celania-Fagen, superintendent of TUSD, has spent her educational career implementing change, forging relationships and collaborating with teachers, administrators, parents and community members to build stronger schools and better prepare students for their futures.
Fagen comes to TUSD from the Des Moines (Iowa) Independent School District where she served as an associate superintendent since July 2007. Dr. Fagen, 34, earned her doctorate and master’s degrees in educational leadership from Drake University in Des Moines. Her research focus was implementation of education polices. Her bachelor’s degree is in science education from William Penn University in Oskaloosa, Iowa; she has teaching endorsements in biology, chemistry, physical science and general science.
Dr. Fagen has served in a number of key posts leading to her appointment as TUSD superintendent including executive director of high school programs and academic achievement; associate principal at Valley High School in West Des Moines; principal at PCM High School (Prairie City and Monroe) in Monroe, Iowa; junior and senior high school administrator at Mormon Trail Junior/Senior High School in Humeston, Iowa; and substitute administrator at Centerville High School in Centerville, Iowa.
Manuel L. Isquierdo, Ed.D. has served as superintendent of Sunnyside Unified School District since July 1, 2007. Dr. Isquierdo has a vision and expectation of improving student achievement. He challenges educators and everyone who works with children to believe that we cannot accept failure as an option for any child attending a Sunnyside District school. Dr. Isquierdo believes that high expectations and an attitude that every child is important and every child counts are the keys to increasing their success. He challenges faculty and staff to focus on student achievement and stresses that we must believe and commit to success in reading at grade level, success in staying in school, success in graduating and success in meeting or exceeding achievement on state tests.
Dr. Isquierdo comes to Sunnyside from Great Schools Workshop, Inc., where, as superintendent- in-residence, he used his expertise in school leadership and improvement to help schools with strategic planning and developing action plans to improve student achievement, lower dropout rates and improve school environments.
Dr. Isquierdo has served as an administrator in both urban and suburban school districts for the past 20 years - two years as an area superintendent in the Dallas Independent School District and most recently two years as deputy superintendent of Stockton Unified School District in Stockton, California.
He has a record of school improvement with an emphasis on improving test scores, decreasing dropout rates, and increasing graduation rates. As an urban school administrator in districts such as Kansas City, Chicago, Dallas, and most recently northern California, Dr. Isquierdo designed and implemented successful comprehensive school reform initiatives that are being used as models at the state and national levels.
Dr. Isquierdo served as principal at J. Sterling Morton East High School in Cicero, Illinois, and helped to significantly reduce the dropout rate. In 2001 and 2002 the school was voted "Most Improved Hispanic High School" by the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC). He was asked to speak at the White House Strategy Session on Educational Excellence for Hispanic Americans with President Clinton.
Dr. Isquierdo was instrumental in organizing two national summits on the "Hispanic Dropout Crisis"—one in the greater Chicago metropolitan area and the other in Dallas. He continues to be active at the national level on Latino dropout issues and increasing student achievement with an emphasis on redesigning schools.
Dr. Isquierdo earned a doctorate from National-Louis University in March 2004. His dissertation was titled "Latino/a Voices: A Case Study in School Reform of an Urban Hispanic High School." He earned his master's degree from Michigan State University and bachelor's degree from Saginaw Valley State in Michigan.
Friday, August 8, 2008
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Automatic Slide Show
L-R Raúl Ochoa and Art Menchaca
Dr. Frank Felix
Counter clockwise: Dr. Hank Oyama and Dr. Elizabeth Celania-Fagen
Ms. Sofía Ramos, HPAC President addressing the audience
Sofía Ramos, HPAC President introducing the VIP's attending the reception
Dr. Raúl Ramirez, introducing TUSD Superintendent, Dr. Elizabeth Celania-Fagen
Dr. Elizabeth Celania-Fagen addressing the audience
Mr. Benton introducing SUSD Supertintenden, Dr. Manuel Isquierdo
Dr. Manuel L. Isquierdo, SUSD Superintendent addressing the audience
