Appendix A Letters of Support from Charter Leaders A Long Beach Public High School James J. McGrath, Founding Director [email protected] Date: 9/20/19 LETTER OF SUPPORT FOR CLOVIS GLOBAL ACADEMY It is my great pleasure to provide a letter of support for Clovis Global Academy’s (Clovis) charter petition. I have read the petition and base my support on the shared educational model and the success of this model at our schools serving a similar population as the students served as in Clovis’ petition. The Intellectual Virtues Academy is both a middle school and high school in the City of Long Beach. The middle school is going into its 7th year, and the high school is going into its 4th year. By standard measures of test scores and growth (among many other metrics), both schools have been remarkably successful using a similar educational model to the one proposed in Clovis’ petition and with similarly situated students. The middle school, for example, continuously scores among the highest of the 16 middle schools in Long Beach on the CAASPP. Both schools have employed the constructivist approaches outlined under the “Transformative Teaching” principle in the Clovis petition. We have found great success with these approaches closing the achievement gap especially for our SED, EL, SPED populations. At our high school, we serve over 30% SPED population, 87% students of color, and 18% EL students. 80% of our students qualify under some federal Title program. Despite serving students from traditionally underserved populations, our students’ proficiency scores have risen above national average every year since we have been open on every test given and for each grade on our sites CCSS-aligned suite of interim assessments, the NWEA Measures of Academic Progress, computer-adaptive, nationally normed assessments. The schools’ success with historically underserved students has also translated into extraordinary gains on the CAASPP: e.g., our most recent class of eleventh graders had a CASSPP percentage meeting or exceeding standard of 53% when the same cohort three years prior had a percentage meeting or exceeding standard of just 31%, showing a statistically significant increase in student achievement as students stayed in our schools. To help us measure our program’s efficacy in developing critical thinking in our students, we use the California Critical Thinking Skills Test (CCTST), which shows our students outperforming their national peers by even wider margins. Please feel free to contact me for any further information, James J. McGrath Founding Director The Academy 1637 Long Beach Blvd. • Long Beach, CA 90813 academylongbeach.org Appendix B Founders' Resumes Curriculum Vitae Josefa Bustos Pelayo Profile I am a highly dedicated educator, results focused, creative and innovative, I have been teaching for the past 20 years. I am a lifelong learner who exhibits a high degree of professionalism, focused on improving my craft; I possess the ability to motivate and direct others in a supportive, cooperative team environment. I am always in search of improving student engagement, English and Spanish language development achievement, and overall student success inside and outside the classroom, especially via exceptional literature. Teaching Experience California State University, Fresno Fall 2016-Present • Lecturer, Department of Literacy, Early, Bilingual, and Special Education (LEBSE) Hanford Elementary School District 1999-Present • Jefferson Charter Academy first grade dual immersion is my most current position • Joe Simas Elementary second grade and first grade Dual immersion educator • Roosevelt Elementary: Kindergarten three years working with a multilingual, multicultural, group of children • Lincoln Elementary: Kindergarten and fourth grade teacher working with a diverse population • Migrant Summer School, worked with first graders, Summer of 2013 and 2014 • Kindergarten Teacher Leader for Hanford Elementary- I lead trainings for new kindergarten teachers in the district and helped them be successful in their first year. Los Angeles Unified School District 1998-1999 • Kindergarten teacher at Ascot Avenue Elementary School in South Central LA, bilingual education teacher half the year and English Only teacher the other half. Appointed Award Book Selection Committees • 2020 Jane Addams Children’s Book Award Selection • 2019 Pura Belpre selection committee as a REFORMA member • 2018-Present California Reads selection committee for California Teachers Association Professional Development/ Parent Workshops I have Lead • California Association of Bilingual Educators (CABE) March 2016, I presented a workshop to 30+ educators, called Tide pools to Treetop: Adaptable interdisciplinary units that students will love. Also Co-presented an informational session describing California State University Fresno’s Multilingual Multicultural Education Masters. • National Two-Way (ATDLE) June 2015 I presented workshops to 60+ educators, called Tide pools to Treetop: Adaptable interdisciplinary units that students will love. • Plan and implement ELA K-2 Parent Academy for Hanford Elementary Parents of English Language Learners in order to promote bi-literacy English/Spanish, May 2015 • Plan and implement a series of Mathematics Parent academies for Hanford Elementary parents of English Language Learners in Spanish, April 2015 • Co-facilitate professional development for future teachers at the annual Cesar Chavez Conference/Dual language Conference at Fresno State titled Science notebook in a thematic Unit March 15, 2014 • Planned and implemented a series of parent workshops Teaching Literacy through Music to Migrant parents of English Language Learners in Spanish. March/April 2014 • Verso, Perla, Pluma y Flor: In collaboration with Colleagues from California Reading and Literacy Project I co-lead standards based professional development by providing instructional ideas and tools to teach writing that reflect the language, culture and rich literary history of the Hispanic child and his/ her community, Summer 2010. Education California State University Fresno • Master of Arts: Multilingual Multicultural Education December 2015. (GPA 3.95) My project centered around looking at the most current research on Bilingual Education by sociolinguistic experts, and at translanguaging in dual immersion classrooms. • Multiple Subject Credential 1999-2000 (GPA 4.0) University California Santa Cruz • Bachelor of Arts in Literature (Spanish) 1994-1998 I began by taking Spanish for Spanish Speakers for the whole first year as a prerequisite for Spanish Literature. I read and analyzed literature from many parts of the world with a focus on Latin America as well as Spain. I also took classes toward a minor in education, where I began to learn about ancient philosophers of education that influenced critical pedagogy, child centered education and the importance of multicultural education as well as culturally relevant pedagogy. (No grades) Trainings and Conferences I have attended • American Library Association 2018 and 2019 annual and midwinter • NATIONAL TWO-WAY BILINGUAL IMMERSION CONFERENCE IN NEWPORT BEACH, CA 2012 • Training in Spanish-English Biliteracy Transfer: California Reading and Literacy Project biliteracy institute series designed to enable students to make connections between Spanish and English literacy - June 2011 • Human Rights and Equity Conference (combines speakers and workshops to provide all CTA members with a greater understanding of the issues of diversity and equity. Annually in March 2009- 2012 • GLBT conference (addresses issues involving Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, transgender (GLBT) educators, students and community) 2013 • Embracing Diversity: the Question of Bullying Symposium presented by Arne Nixon Center and San Joaquin Valley Writing Project at California State University Fresno January 2013 • Splash Zone Teacher Institute at Monterey Bay Aquarium 1 week in the summer and 3 follow up Saturday sessions spread out through the school year 2012-2013: Experienced inquiry-based activities that support the Common Core State Standards and Next Generation Science Standards. It began as a training and ended with leading an in-service at my school site. Summer 2012- subsequent 3 sessions 2013 • Verso, Perla, Pluma y Flor : Resources for the Teaching and learning of Spanish writing through the study of genres, their characteristics and applications.: A collaboration for staff development between The California Reading and Literature Project and the San Diego County Office of Education. Summer 2009 • CTA Summer Institute UCLA Common Core training in its earliest stages Summer 2012 • Trained in Picturing Writing, 2001: trained to use student’s own watercolor paintings to inspire the writing process in students. • Trained through Hanford Elementary by New York’s Teachers College in Writer’s Workshop and Reader’s Workshop 1999-2006 Professional Affiliations • REFORMA member 2018- present currently o 2019 Pura Belpre selection Committee o Vice President of REFORMA Del Valle Central 2019-2020 • CRLP California Reading and Literacy Project 2009-2018 • CABE California Association Bilingual Education 2015-2018 • Hanford Elementary Teachers Association- Human Rights and Equity chair 2009-2014 2014 Recipient of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Scholarship- California Teachers Association DR. ALFREDO CUELLAR 8865 N. Sierra Vista Ave., Fresno, CA 93720 (559) 940 3565cel [email protected] [email protected] EDUCATION Ph. D. Educational