I am blessed to be a part of Estancia for the last four years as superintendent of schools. I am proud of my career spanning 42 years as a teacher, principal, and HR Director in California, Colorado, and for the last 26 years in the Land of Enchantment. I have served the educational community in New Mexico as the President of the New Mexico School Personnel Association for two terms, and as an advocate for educators across the state serving on reading, licensure and evaluation design committees. I did my undergraduate work at Fresno State University as a Communicative Disorders major, and received her Master’s degree in Elementary Education and her PhD in Educational Leadership at Colorado State University, Denver. I provide HR and Educational consulting upon request.

MESD is a rural district in central New Mexico. As the Director of Personnel, I am a working administrator that is directly responsible for all human resource tasks and responsibilities for over 600 staff. This includes strategic planning, investigation, corrective action, mentoring, staff evaluation, development and maintenance of position descriptions, and identification of need and design and/or implementation of professional development/training activities. I provide leadership for the staff responsible for managing employee benefits, worker’s compensation, contracting, and licensing. I provide direct supervision to district administrators, monitoring the consistent implementation of work practices and employee relations in compliance with Fair Labor Standards and EEOC/HRD requirements. I manage district staffing FTE in alignment with budget allocations, and am directly responsible for staffing projections based on enrollment trends. I mediate conflict in response to employee concerns, provide hands on coaching for professional growth, and manage the district’s recruitment and retention programs. I am the point of contact with legal counsel for all employee issues, and excel at maintaining the documentation required to prevail in charges against the district regarding employment decisions and employment practices. I am an invaluable member of the Executive Team, and collaborate on a daily basis with the Chief Financial Officer, Superintendent of Schools, and other district administration.

I directed the process of improving student learning, for all subjects K-12, by providing building and classroom level expertise in addressing needed changes in written, taught, and assessed curricula. I was responsible for the alignment of K – 12 LA and Math curricula, the identification and purchase of instructional materials, and the development of training programs to address teacher needs. In addition, I provided direction to building principals with respect to the evaluation of staff and the creation of appropriate professional development opportunities. I managed federal program budgets in compliance with established regulations, and wrote grants and was awarded funding for the district’s first full-day kindergarten program, and Reading First Initiative.

I provided for the day-to-day supervision of 65 staff in a K – 6 school of over 700 students, offering a variety of ESL, general and special education programs. As the principal, I provided instructional leadership, curriculum oversight, fiscal management, policy implementation, student discipline and classroom management programs, and the supervision and evaluation of staff. I facilitated the development of the school’s Educational Plan for Student Success through a collaborative process involving staff, parents, and community stakeholders. I facilitated the creation and implementation of the School Safety Plan through a similar process. I wrote grants and received funding for the development of the school’s wide area network, and recruited and organized volunteers from Intel, Corp to complete the project, making EES the first “networked” school in the district.