DAVID W. SABA APPOINTED ABCTE PRESIDENT

Experienced executive chosen to lead American Board in new phase of program development and implementation

Washington, DC (December 1, 2005) -- The Board of Directors of the American Board for Certification of Teacher Excellence (ABCTE) has appointed David W. Saba as the organization’s new president, Board Chairman Tony Colón announced today. Saba currently serves as ABCTE’s Chief Operating Officer, and has worked as acting president since October 2005.

Previously, Saba served as the organization’s Vice President of Development and Evaluation. At ABCTE, Saba has overseen several major initiatives, including the launch of the organization’s first comprehensive candidate recruitment and marketing campaigns. The efforts generated a 300 percent increase in certification enrollments. In addition, Saba directed the development of an entire suite of teacher preparation materials, and he is spearheading the development and launch of the national Master Teacher program, which will recognize teachers of distinction and proven effectiveness.

Upon making the announcement, Colón said: “David Saba is an experienced executive who will lead the American Board to great success. Dave is responsible for many of the American Board’s recent achievements and advancements. We are truly grateful that he will serve as our new President, and we have the utmost confidence in his judgment and abilities.”

Saba said: “With a focus on ensuring that every child receives a high quality education from a truly effective teacher, ABCTE’s founding leaders developed a premier national teacher certification program. I am honored to lead the organization in its next phase- the implementation of that program throughout the country and the development of new initiatives that will make a difference for students and schools across America.”

As the new ABCTE president, Saba’s top priorities will be expanding the impact of ABCTE programs to new states and school districts, working with national education leaders to continue the development of the Master Teacher program, and ensuring top quality teacher candidate recruitment and candidate services operations.

Before joining the American Board, Saba earned recognition as an executive at Kaplan, Inc, where he directed the organization’s mid-Atlantic test preparation centers. A successful entrepreneur and project manager, Saba also served as a Navy lieutenant commander and helicopter pilot.

In addition to his executive experience, Saba is uniquely aware of the challenges facing public education. He is a father of two high-school aged girls who attend public school in Northern Virginia.

“All children in America deserve highly effective teachers to ensure their academic success, future career growth and overall happiness. Great teachers matter so much to the lives of families across the U.S., and as a father, I am honored to lead ABCTE and its phenomenal staff as we recruit and certify highly qualified teachers for all kids,” Saba said.

Biography

David W. Saba

President

American Board for Certification of Teacher Excellence

David W. Saba serves as President of the American Board for Certification of Teacher Excellence (ABCTE) at a critical time for education in America.

Under Saba’s leadership, the American Board is expanding its program offerings and outreach efforts for Passport to Teaching, a premier national alternative route to the teaching profession. Saba also leads the organization’s development of Master Teacher, a national advanced certification for teachers of distinction and proven effectiveness.

Previously, Saba served as vice president of development and evaluation, and was responsible for candidate recruitment, certification development, program evaluation, new program development and candidate resource development.  Saba’s initiatives lead to a dramatic, 300 percent increase in program enrollments for Passport to Teaching, the development of several new certification offerings, and the development of comprehensive, computer-based preparation courses for prospective teachers.

Before joining the American Board, Mr. Saba served as the Mid Atlantic regional director for the test preparation division of Kaplan, Inc.  In this role, Saba significantly improved the performance of the company’s mid-Atlantic operations through aggressive teacher recruitment and training, site expansion, strategic planning and marketing. 

In previous management roles, Mr. Saba oversaw the expansion of a health care company and increased quality and team-building for two manufacturing companies.  He has served on the Garrett County Memorial Hospital Board of Governors and on a government committee responsible for purchase and restoration of historic buildings.  Mr. Saba has also been successful in two start-up ventures.

Mr. Saba is a Naval Academy graduate who served as a helicopter pilot in the Navy for 8 years and was awarded both the Battle E and Navy Achievement Medals.  He completed his master’s degree in engineering management from the University of South Florida. 

Mr. Saba lives in Northern Virginia with his wife and two high-school aged daughters.

ABCTE WELCOMES FIVE RENOWNED EDUCATION LEADERS TO BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Washington, DC (December 1, 2005) – The American Board for Certification of Teacher Excellence (ABCTE) has welcomed five new members to its board of directors, Board Chairman Tony Colón announced today.

The members are:

“The American Board is honored to have these distinguished leaders join its governing body,” Colón said. “As the American Board grows and moves into a new phase of development and implementation for its teacher certification programs, it is necessary to diversify our board and benefit from the expertise of these remarkable individuals. Superintendent McCollough, Dr. Sun, Mr. Espinoza, Dr. Ladner and Mr. Fuentes bring significant experience, passion and vision to our organization.”

The biographies of new ABCTE board members can be found online at http://www.abcte.org/about/board

Shawn Arévalo McCollough

Superintendent of Schools

Maricopa County Regional School District, Phoenix, AZ

In July 2005, Shawn Arévalo McCollough proudly assumed the Superintendent post for the Maricopa County Regional School District in Phoenix AZ, an inner-city district that may very well be the last chance for many kids who are homeless, high school dropouts, and immigrants. Moving across the country from Atlanta GA for MCRSD was an easy decision for Shawn, as he has committed his entire career to helping our most needy kids and families. Leading with a “No Excuses!” philosophy, Shawn has proven to be a perfect match for the NCLB era; balancing a passion for the social welfare of students with a rigorous focus on academic performance and accountability for results. In fact, Shawn was recently recognized in Washington, DC by US Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings as she called him a “Warrior for our kids”.

During his acceptance speech at the 2004 Republican National Convention, President George W. Bush singled out Shawn’s leadership of Gainesville Elementary School in GA by saying, “The principal expresses the philosophy of his school this way: ‘We don't focus on what we can't do at this school; we focus on what we can do; and we do whatever it takes to get kids across the finish line.’ This principal is challenging the soft bigotry of low expectations, and that is the spirit of our education reform, and the commitment of our country: No dejaremos a ningún niño atrás. We will leave no child behind.”

Shawn opened GES with the belief that all children will rise to your level of expectations. For example, while 93% of students live in poverty, 93% are minorities, and 70% are recent Hispanic immigrants facing the difficult challenge of learning English – 90% of students passed the English only annual state testing in both 2004 and 2005. Armed with the power of hope and undeniable test results, this 90-90-90 school stands defiantly against the dangerous stereotypes that often cripple our minority children. How did it happen? Shawn will tell you that it is a simple recipe of high expectations, accountability, and love.

Nationally, Shawn’s leadership has been featured by New York Times, Associated Press, ABC World News Tonight, CNN en Español, PBS, American School Board Journal, Atlanta Journal Constitution, and Arizona Republic. In October 2005, Shawn was one of only five recipients in the entire country honored with the National HEROES Award from the DC based Hispanic Council for Reform and Educational Options. In September 2004, Shawn was recognized on CSPAN at the National Press Club by former US Secretary of Education Rod Paige. A trailblazer, Shawn was the first ever Hispanic school principal in Northeast GA and has received a number of awards including the 2004 Outstanding Georgia Citizen Award from GA Secretary of State Cathy Cox, the 2004 GA Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Annual Special Recognition Award, and the 2004 National Society of Hispanic MBAs Special Recognition Award for Education. Further, Shawn holds various state level leadership appointments in GA including the Governor’s Latino Education Committee, the University of Georgia Latino Advisory Council, and the Hispanic College Network of Georgia Board of Directors.

Powerful, passionate, and credible; Shawn is a highly sought keynote speaker who has inspired thousands of educators at dozens of national conferences across the country. Working as a consultant to school districts in eleven states, Shawn has helped leaders transform failing urban schools by focusing on accountability, standards driven curriculum, and data disaggregation. Having made his way up through the ranks of seven school districts in both secondary and elementary at-risk schools as a teacher, assistant principal, principal, and now superintendent, Shawn’s front line experience is extremely relevant and timely. And with less than 1 % of the nation’s superintendents being Hispanic, he continues to break barriers. Dr. Maria Hernandez Ferrier, former US Deputy-Under Secretary of Education describes Shawn as an “uncompromising leader who fights for every single child and won’t accept anything less than excellence”. Moreover, at only 34 Shawn is easily one of the youngest and most dynamic superintendents in the country.

Dr. Ting L. Sun

Vice President of Leadership and Quality

California Charter Schools Association

Ting Sun, the vice president of leadership and quality for the California Charter Schools Association, brings a wealth of experience to assisting new leaders in establishing charter schools. Ting has been actively involved in the charter movement for more than a decade as a teacher, administrator, and school developer.

As co-founder of the Sacramento-based Natomas Charter School, Ting understands firsthand the challenges that new school leaders face. At Natomas, Ting directed curriculum, instruction, staff development, and professional growth, while helping manage system-wide operations. Additionally, Ting coordinated program accountability reviews, crafted grant projects, and designed and managed annual program assessments.

Ting also knows how to navigate bureaucratic systems. While working with the California Department of Education’s charter schools unit, Ting provided strategic guidance on funding and legal issues. She participated in the development of charter school administrative policies and regulations, as well as the administration of federal public charter schools grants. Drawing on her teaching ability, Ting also conducted workshops and peer reviews for charter school proposal selection.

Active in educational policy and reform, Ting has served on the board of the California Network of Educational Charters and on the advisory committee for the Public Schools Accountability Act.

Ting received her bachelor’s degree in Latin and English from Austin College, a master’s degree in education from Stanford University, and a doctorate of education from the University of California at Davis.

Tommy Espinoza

President & CEO

Raza Development Fund, Inc.

Tommy Espinoza is a prominent architect of Hispanic community and business development policy and programs, with over 30 years of experience that span the breath of the public, private sector, and nonprofit spectrum.  A native of Phoenix, Arizona, Mr. Espinoza has dedicated his career to helping Hispanic families and individuals live in peace and dignity through the combined empowerment forces of educational opportunity and community/business development.

Mr. Espinoza spent his early days organizing youth groups in Phoenix’s low-income neighborhoods, helping young Hispanics escape the self-defeating treadmill of poverty and crime through educational programs.  He went on to work with Hispanic families in their efforts to gain access to affordable housing in the then-fledgling organization Chicanos Por La Causa (CPLC).  Thirteen years later serving as President and CEO, Mr. Espinoza had transformed CPLC from a small but determined grassroots group with an annual budget of $200,000 into one of the country’s most dynamic forces for Hispanic empowerment and economic well being.  By the time Mr. Espinoza left in 1984, Chicanos Por La Causa had an annual operating budget of $10 million and assets of $15 million, and was offering comprehensive community and business development services in Arizona’s four major cities. 

In subsequent years Mr. Espinoza has assumed the leadership of four different Southwestern firms specializing in community/business/real estate development, assets management, affordable housing growth and access, and consultation services to business, public-sector, and nonprofit groups in the US and Mexico.

Mr. Espinoza is currently the President and CEO of the Raza Development Fund, Inc. a Support Corporation to National Council of La Raza; the nation’s foremost constituency-based Hispanic organization.  A long-time activist organization of civil rights, advocacy, public health, education, and community development, NCLR serves over two million Hispanics of every nationality group through a formal network of over 250 affiliate groups.  Community development in all its manifestations is a matter of increasingly high priority at NCLR, and Mr. Espinoza's advent to its leadership has marked the beginning of a new commitment on the organization’s part to embracing the Partnerships of Hope.  POH is a faith base approach to opportunities and challenges of this complex area of community development. Under his leadership and direction the Hope Fund was created, $130 million community development loan fund for affiliate organizations of NCLR.

In all his endeavors he keeps the family and its dignity and well-being- as his focus.  “I believe God graces us with vocations,” says Mr. Espinoza, a dedicated family man himself.  “Mine is through my love and dedication to community development.”

Dr. Matt Ladner

Director of State Projects

Alliance for School Choice

As a director of state projects for the Alliance for School Choice, Dr. Matthew Ladner provides support and resources for state-based school choice efforts. Ladner has authored a number of studies on school choice, charter schools and special education reform, and has written columns about education reform in papers around the nation. 

Ladner is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin and received both a Masters and a Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Houston. Prior to joining the Alliance, Ladner served as director of the Center for Economic Prosperity at the Goldwater Institute and as vice president of policy and communications at Children First America.

Julio A. Fuentes

President & CEO

Florida State Hispanic Chamber of Commerce

Julio A. Fuentes, president & CEO of the Florida State Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, founded the organization in February 2000. Formed in response to the burgeoning growth of Florida’s Hispanic population, today the organization has grown to 28 chapters and more than 30,000 members.

The state Hispanic Chamber serves as an umbrella organization for the local Hispanic Chambers located throughout Florida, and is the only statewide economic development organization that addresses the Hispanic business market exclusively. The Florida State Hispanic Chamber of Commerce offers Hispanic-owned and Hispanic-responsive businesses a voice at a local and state level, as well as a reliable venue for business development, marketing, continuing education and networking.

Under Mr. Fuentes’ leadership, the Chamber has launched the Hispanic Business Alliance, an initiative to foster entrepreneurial business ventures with Hispanic business owners, franchise partners and financial institutions. In addition, the Chamber is currently working on a pilot economic partnership with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce for outreach to Latin American countries.

Mr. Fuentes, of Cuban descent, received his degree in Business Administration from Iona College, located in New Rochelle, New York.  He began his career as an investment associate with Merrill Lynch from 1990-1992. For the next six years, Mr. Fuentes continued his career as an investment banker. Then in 1999, he joined the Jacksonville Chamber of Commerce as a membership specialist focused on the Hispanic market. During this time, Mr. Fuentes recognized the need for an organization exclusively dedicated to the Hispanic business market, and thus, he founded the Florida State Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.

Julio resides in Wellington with his wife Sandra and their son Nicholas.