Cotsen Alumni Take on New Leadership Roles and Advance Their Learning 

Cotsen Alumni Take on New Leadership Roles and Advance Their Learning 

 

We would like to take this time to welcome Angela Bae to the Cotsen Foundation for the ART of TEACHING as our new Senior Program Officer. Angela comes to us from Growing Educators and was previously an ART of TEACHING fellow from the Lawndale Elementary School District from 2007 to 2009. As we welcome Angela to the Foundation, please join us in recognizing the following alumni who will be taking on new leadership roles as of the 2015-2016 academic year and/or have received advanced degrees in 2015.

Atoosa Abascal and Christie Uhe (alumni mentors ’15). Recently named Math Instructional Coaches at their school sites in the Culver City Unified School District, Atoosa and Christie will be working with staff to implement CGI and will also be participating in district wide CGI trainings.

Heidi Akin (alumna mentor ’13 and ’15). After 15 years at Roosevelt Elementary in the Long Beach Unified School District, Heidi has received a new position as an Intervention Specialist at Cleveland Elementary, also in the Long Beach Unified School District, where she will be supporting 2nd through 5th grade students in the morning and co-teaching in the afternoon.

Kathy Anderson (alumna fellow ’13). Kathy will be working with two schools, Wallen Andrews and Mill School Technology Academy in the Whittier City School District as an Instructional Coach and Transitional Kindergarten Coordinator. She will also get to support the work of five Transitional Kindergarten Classes.

Cindy Bak (alumna fellow ’09 and ’13). Formerly a fellow from the Rowland Unified School District, Cindy Bak is the new Assistant Principal at Beechwood School in the Fullerton School District. In May 2015, Cindy graduated with a doctoral degree in K-12 Leadership from USC. Her dissertation was about the impact of technology on teaching and learning.

Rick Biscocho (alumnus mentor ’15). Rick will support school sites in the Long Beach Unified School District as a MyPD coach for the Office of Curriculum, Instruction and Professional Development (OCIPD) where he will train school sites with the implementation of a new website.

Trisha Callella (alumna mentor ’07). Formerly a Cotsen mentor and a demonstration teacher at Weaver Elementary in Los Alamitos Unified School District, Trisha is now the district’s Director of Educational Technology. She recently received a Doctorate from USC in Educational Leadership and Educational Psychology. Her dissertation focused on STEM and Design Thinking at the K-5 Level.

Dawn Deines (alumna mentor ’13). Dawn is a new Connect Coach at the Tustin Unified School District, coaching 11 fellows at two schools, Estock and Guin Foss. She will be supporting teachers in Balanced Literacy and CGI, and will also be supporting technology integration across the curriculum.

Nancy Delgadillo (alumna fellow ’09). As a new Teacher on Special Assignment (TOSA) for the Rowland Unified School District, Nancy will be supporting teachers in a variety of subject areas. This year, Nancy will also be presenting at the SGVCUE 2015 Tech Fair where she will be encouraging teachers to dive into more classroom experiences involving technology.

Kathi Denny (alumna fellow ’12). As a new Connect Coach at the Tustin Unified School District, Kathi will be coaching 10 fellows at two schools, Loma Vista Elementary and Redhill Elementary. She will be supporting teachers in Balanced Literacy, CGI practices, and technology integration.

Tracy Do (alumna fellow ’13). Tracy has been selected as a Teacher on Special Assignment (TOSA) for the Rowland Unified School District. In her new role, which begins this school year, she will be supporting teachers in all subject areas.

Joyce Garcia (alumna mentor ’09). As of the new school year, Joyce will be the new principal at Rorimer Elementary School, where she previously served as an Assistant Principal and a Program Specialist/Literacy Coach. This is Joyce’s first principalship.

Linda Grilli (alumna mentor ’15). Now a Literacy Coach at Edenvale Elementary in the Oak Grove School District, Linda will be supporting teachers in math, reading, and writing. She will also be coaching upper grade teachers (grades 4-6) on PBL.

Kevin Koga (alumnus fellow ’08). As a new Language Arts Specialist assigned to Anderson Elementary in the Lawndale Elementary School District, Kevin will be supporting 32 teachers in delivering quality First instruction in literacy, RtI support, analyzing/interpreting data, support in district/state assessments, and direct intervention with struggling readers.

Jennifer Kolb (current mentor ’16). In February 2015, Jennifer successfully defended her dissertation on “The Value of Lesson Study in Implementing the Common Core Mathematical Practices” and graduated in May 2015 with a doctorate in Education Leadership. It should be noted that Jennifer is not an alumna yet as she is in her second year as a mentor, but we did not want to miss this opportunity to recognize all her hard work.

Carlen Le Hessinger (alumna mentor ’15). Carlen will be returning to the classroom at the start of this school year in two new positions. She will be an 8th grade ELA/History Teacher at Telesis Academy in Rowland and an Adjunct Faculty for the Reading Department at Santa Ana College.

Patty Leano (alumni mentor ’14). Patty will be a Math Instructional Specialist at the Whittier City School District and will also be teaching two Accelerated Math courses in 7th and 8th grade at Andrews School.

Rosanne Mann (alumna fellow ’15). This summer, Rosanne accepted a Connect Coach position at the Tustin Unified School District. In her new position, she will be working at Tustin’s Nelson Elementary, where she will support and coach teachers in Balanced Literacy. 

Cathy Nguyen (alumna mentor ’05, ’07, and ’10). As a new Teacher on Special Assignment at the Lawndale Elementary School District, Cathy will be supporting mathematics instruction.

If you know of a Cotsen participant who has recently been named to a new position at their schools or districts, please email us at info@cotsen.org and we will be sure to recognize him/her on this post. Thank you!

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