6 EDCAL June 11, 2018
Eight FFA members named as Presidential Scholars
Eight FFA members were recently
named U.S. Presidential Scholars – one of
the nation’s highest honors for high school
students – for their accomplishments in
academics, the arts, and career and techni-
cal education. Each year, up to 161 students
receive this honor. Established in 1964 by executive order of President Lyndon John-
son, the U.S. Presidential Scholars program
was created with the intent to recognize
the nation’s most distinguished high school
graduating seniors. In 2015, the program
was expanded to recognize students who
demonstrate ability and accomplishment in career and technical education.
The 2018 U.S. Presidential Scholars are
comprised of two students from each state,
the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico
and from U.S., families living abroad, as
well as 15 chosen at-large. There are also 20
U.S. Presidential Scholars in the Arts and 20 U.S. Presidential Scholars in Career and
Technical Education.
Honorees are invited to attend a recog-
nition program to be held on June 24 in
Washington, D.C.
Learn more about the National FFA at
www.ffa.org.
GLOBAL CA authorized in world language classes more
than doubles from 2017 to 2030.
Torlakson kicked off the Global Califor-
nia 2030 initiative at Cahuenga Elementary
School in Los Angeles, which has a dual
Korean/English immersion program and
three separate programs to help English
learners, especially students with Spanish as
their first language.
The initiative builds on views voters
expressed clearly in 2016. By voting over-
whelmingly to approve Prop. 58 to elimi-
nate barriers to dual language immersion
programs, voters sent a clear message they
want more immersion programs and the
expanded teaching of languages.
Global California 2030 enhances the di-
versity that is already California’s strength.
California residents speak the majority of
languages heard on the planet, and its 6.2
million public school students speak more
than 72 languages ranging from Spanish,
Mandarin, and Vietnamese to less fre-
quently heard languages such as Mixteco,
Pashto and Tongan.
About one in five or 1.3 million stu- dents are English learners. An estimated
1.2 million additional students are pro-
ficient in English yet also have another
language in their background. This means
that more than 40 percent of California’s
K–12 students already come to school with
knowledge and experience in at least two
languages.
“As the world comes closer together, flu-
ency in another language opens up oppor-
tunities for people to succeed economically
and to take part in diverse cultural activi-
ties,” Torlakson said.
Torlakson called on educators, parents,
legislators, community members, and
business leaders to help create a multilin- gual California. Widespread support will be
needed to expand access to world language
classes, programs, and experiences; train
more bilingual teachers; and improve the
quality and availability of advanced lan-
guage classes.
“Our ambitions for Global California
2030 are high, but so is our ability to work
together with our partners toward common
goals,” he said. “Together, we have the skills,
creativity, and vision to give all students the
opportunity to learn another language.”
For more information, go to the CDE
Global California 2030 webpage at www.
cde.ca.gov/eo/in/.
Continued from page 1
of Alzheimer’s and dementia.
Global California 2030 is a call to ac-
tion. Here are some goals:
• By 2030, half of all K–12 students
participate in programs leading to profi-
ciency in two or more languages, either
through a class, a program, or an experi-
ence.
• The number of students who receive
the State Seal of Biliteracy, which is na-
tionally recognized for college admissions
and career opportunities, more than triples
from 46,952 in 2017 to more than 150,000
in 2030. By 2040, three out of four gradu-
ating seniors earn the Seal of Biliteracy. The
Seal is earned by demonstrating proficiency
in a language in addition to English.
• The number of dual immersion pro-
grams that teach languages besides English
quadruples from about 400 in 2017 to
1,600 in 2030.
• The number of new bilingual teachers
LEADERSHIP
Continued from page 1
Magazine is June 25. Submissions can be
sent to ACSA Senior Director of Commu-
nications Naj Alikhan at nalikhan@acsa.
org. Upcoming issues will be looking for
submissions on student engagement, the
teacher shortage, media literacy and women
in leadership. Themes, deadlines and spec-
ifications for submissions can be found at
www.acsa.org/leadershipmagazine.
Paid Advertisement
Fresno USD Director of Classified Professional Learning Tamara Neely, left, enjoys helping others to grow.
NEELY
Continued from page 1
strives to help make a connection between
the work each person does and its impact
on student achievement. She worked with
the district HVAC team to recognize that
adequate temperature control in classrooms
has a direct impact on the students’ ability
to learn.
“Tamara possesses a broad knowledge of
state and federal education regulations, cus-
tomer services learning, as well as how all
district departments operate,” said Teresa
Plascencia, executive director, Constitu-
ents Services Office. “She has successfully
created and established relationships within
Fresno Unified and beyond in order to
best achieve efficient results for the adult
learners she serves.”
“I am inspired most by helping others to
learn and grow,” Neely said. “I will always
have a place in my heart for teaching
children, but working with our classified
employees has become my passion. I am
inspired by the dedication and pride that
our employees show in their crafts. My
goal is to create a system that supports our
employees to excel in their work.”
Neely’s commitment extends beyond
the scope of her position. She is a founding
member of the local African American
Networking group, established in 2014 with
the main focus areas of closing the achieve-
ment gap for African American students
and increasing opportunities for African
American leaders. Through this group and
her work at Fresno Unified, Neely acts as a
leader and a liaison for African American
parents in the Fresno community, providing
trainings to parent groups and holding the
first American Family Conference in 2017.
Neely places a high value on ensuring
that everyone has a voice.
“I am proud of building a culture of trust
and respect while working with our classi-
fied employees,” she said. “It is unfortunate
that many employees didn’t feel that they
have a voice or that their work was not as
important, and I have seen a cultural shift
where all employees are beginning to see
that every adult in Fresno Unified School
District is valued and they contribute to
student success.
“My goal for the future is to continue
to strengthen this belief by building the
highest quality professional development
department in California.”
As an ACSA and CAAASA member,
Neely appreciates the opportunities for
learning and networking that membership
offers.
“ACSA has been a great resource for
information and networking,” she said. “I
have attended symposiums and confer-
ences that ACSA sponsors and used the
information as a part of my professional
development. I also have connected with
many presenters that I would like to bring
to Fresno.”
The theme of the 2018 Leadership
Summit is “Empowering Innovative
Leadership.” For Neely, this idea is rooted
in creative and dynamic approaches to
problem-solving and growth.
“One of the most innovative leaders in
our district is our Executive Director of
Purchasing, Paul Rosencrans,” she said. “I
am sure that I have never told him that
he inspires me to think differently about
professional development and support-
ing employees… [and] about value added
innovation. Our district is designing a
professional development system for our
classified employees but there aren’t a lot
of models to emulate, therefore this is the
perfect opportunity to try new ideas and
think outside of the box. I know that I can
bounce ideas off of him and his team to
make our district greater.”
Plascencia believes the same is true
about Neely herself.
“Her insight and advice have directly
contributed to helping our district through
reform and change,” she said. “She is an all-
around example of exemplary professional-
ism and utmost leadership.”