6 EDCAL September 4, 2017
The CAAASA
African American
Leadership
Academy attracts
respected superin-
tendents, as well
as those aspiring
to leadership
positions, includ-
ing (left to right)
Michele Bowers,
superintendent
of Lancaster SD;
Michael Watkins,
Santa Cruz County
Superintendent
of Schools; Janée
Camp, substitute
teacher in Sylvan
USD; and her hus-
band, Daryl Camp,
superintendent of
Riverbank USD.
Tanya Fisher, superintendent of Selma USD (center), happily shares strategies for
increasing leadership positions with headhunters and legal experts at the Aug. 12
African American Leadership Academy at ACSA offices in Sacramento.
CAAASA mission includes upward mobility
“Breaking the Glass Ceiling” was the
title of the most recent African American
Leadership Academy from the California
Association of Afr ican American
Superintendents and Administrators, con-
tinuing its mission to create a more diversi-
fied school workforce.
In the last CAAASA newsletter,
President Ramona Bishop reiterated a focus
on “building the capacity of our superinten-
dents and administrators, proudly acknowl-
edging their daily and ‘special project’ con-
tributions to our shared mission, along the
way.”
Over the last 20 years, the number
of African American superintendents has
more than doubled, but according to a
report from EdSource, the numbers are still
a long way from representing the student
population.
According to CAAASA, there are 27
African American superintendents leading districts and county offices in California.
EdSource points out that’s 2.6 percent of
the total number of superintendents, while
African American students makeup 6 per-
cent of the student population.
The same report points out that, while
there are nearly three times more Latino
superintendents with 73, or 7.7 percent, of
that demographic, Latino students repre-
sent 53 percent of total enrollment. Access
the report at https://goo.gl/yLzjFb.
With equity issues needing resolution
in our schools, more and more attention
is being paid to matching the educa-
tion workforce with the student popula-
tion. Organizations like CAAASA and
the California Association of Latino
Superintendents and Administrators have
built upward mobility for their members
into their missions. ACSA supports these
goals with its own overarching vision to
“serve educational leaders in the pursuit of equity and excellence to meet the diverse
needs of all California students.”
The African American Leadership
Academy brings CAAASA leaders together
with successful superintendents, as well
as job search and educational law firms,
including Fagen, Friedman & Fulfrost, and
Atkinson, Andelson, Loya, Ruud & Romo,
to share strategies for increasing leader-
ship positions for people of color. Practical
information aims to help participants with
achieving desired promotions and being
ready for their next education leadership
career opportunity.
CAAASA holds such events several
times a year. Visit www.caaasa.org to stay
abreast of scheduling. Next up is the Sept. 30
CAAASA Annual Round-up of California
educational organizations in Burbank.
The CAAASA mission statement notes
the association is “committed to identify-
ing and addressing the critical issues in education through public policy relative
to the status and performance of African-
American students in California.”
“CAAASA has worked in partnership
with the ACSA by sponsoring events and
programs that support increased student
achievement and that proved to be suc-
cessful in addressing the needs of African-
American students. Under CAAASA’s
leadership, the organization is working
closely with new and proposed initiatives
that impact the academic achievement of
African American students including a most
successful and recently sponsored statewide
conference in Sacramento, “Education is a
Civil Right.”
JASUAN the border from Burma to Thailand and
Thailand to Malaysia. And we lived in
Malaysia for five years. For about the first
year or so, we lived in the jungle.”
David and his family immigrated to the
United States with the help of the United
Nations Refugee Agency when David was
13 years old. They landed in Modesto,
where they found a pair of guardian angels
in Jeff and Pam Scholl.
“My wife and I, we work with refugees
on the Thai Burma border,” Jeff Scholl said.
“And while we were over there for a length
of time, we got an email from a friend who
said, ‘Guess what? I work with refugees and
there’s new families who have just come
from Burma.’” The Scholls not only provided resources
and support to the Jasuan family. Jeff, a
teacher, offered to take a year off from
school in order to homeschool David.
“I don’t know how I’d be doing if I was
in a big classroom setting the first year that
I got here,” David said. “And he home-
schooled us with two other boys who just
got here too. It really helped us settle in.”
David enrolled at Valley Charter High
as a freshman, where he did not waste any
time. He felt a responsibility to himself and
his family to make the most of his opportu-
nity to receive an education.
“He has great resilience and motivation,”
Pam Scholl said. “And the gratitude for
the freedom to have an education. And so because of that, he’s willing to take every-
thing he can and run with that.”
David graduated from Valley Charter
High in May with a 4.17 GPA and 39 col-
lege credits. But it was his positive outlook
that captured the attention of educators.
David found true joy in recognizing how
far he’s come after a childhood filled with
challenges.
“I always see the bright side,” David said.
“Always see the opportunity. Capitalize
on it. Staying positive. Keeping a positive
attitude. Just be positive. Always look at the
positive side of things.”
and constant uncertainty, she enrolled at
John Swett High in Crockett.
“There’s a lot of consistency for her
here,” John Swett High attendance clerk
Renee Moreno said. “And that’s probably
the only place in her life that she’s felt con- sistency.”
Carnisha quickly found a refuge at her
new school. And more importantly, she
found educators who were willing to lend
a hand.
“She’s just got a sparkle about her, an
inner glow that just comes across when you
speak with her,” John Swett High Principal
Jeff Brauning said. “She’s kind of shy, a little
introverted sometimes. But once you get to
know her, she’ll do anything for you. She’s
got a huge heart.”
The size of the school also worked
in Carnisha’s favor. A small student body
allowed Carnisha to get the attention she so
desperately needed.
“One unique thing about our school at
John Swett is it’s relatively small,” Brauning
said. “We have 570 students. So we get to
know all of our students. We just have this
real nurturing, caring environment for our
students.”
Sitting in the back of Carnisha’s mind
was a constant reminder of the failings of
her olde r siblings. Carnisha was not only
determined to graduate from John Swett
High. She had her sights set on a col-
lege diploma. And she wanted to set that
example for her younger siblings. “I wanted to be the one that’s going to go
to school, graduate high school and gradu-
ate college so they feel like they have to
graduate college,” Carnisha said. “It’s not an
option anymore. You have to do it because
I did it.”
Carnisha graduated from John Swett
High in June. She plans to pursue a career
in law enforcement. But educators will
remember her for the indelible mark she left
on her school.
“So, Carnisha is the definition of why we
became involved in education,” Brauning
said. “To make a difference in students’ lives.
And there’s something truly special about
a student, a young man or a young woman
who wasn’t necessarily born with a golden
spoon in their mouth and doesn’t have
all the opportunities. And they overcome
those obstacles despite not having the role
models at home and despite not having all
the financial advantages. My experience
is, those students, those young men and
women, are really special people.”
Join ACSA in celebrating our Every
Student Succeeding honorees at a special lun-
cheon during the Leadership Summit. More
information is available at www.acsa.org/
leadershipsummit.
Continued from page 1
To understand his motivation, you have
to go back to his childhood. David was
born in Burma, now known as Myanmar.
His father was a Christian missionary who
preached the Gospel. Those teachings
were considered subversive, as Theravada
Buddhism was the religion endorsed by the
government. As a result, David and his fam-
ily were forced to escape the country.
“We took a boat from Burma to Thailand
and from Thailand we were put in a van,”
David recalled. “We were squished together
with another 30 people or so. We crossed
MARTIN
Continued from page 1
And yet, somehow, Carnisha never lost
her drive to succeed. Despite the upheaval
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More information can be accessed at
www.caaasa.org.