Resume

RESUME

FERNANDO R. ELIZONDO Ed.D.

ees.inc@gmail.com

19635 Redding Drive

Salinas, Ca. 93908

831-455-8532

Major Areas of Expertise

Educational consulting, including the following areas:

• District wide strategic planning and goal setting;
• Networking strategies for entering the Latino market;
• Mentoring and coaching administrative personnel;
• Serving in central office interim administrative positions;
• Ability to facilitate school board sessions focusing on goal setting, board–superintendent relations and roles and responsibilities.

PROFESSIONAL PROFILE

Top-level education executive with 38 years of experience working with language minority students as a classroom teacher, principal, central officer administrator, and 14 years as a California superintendent of schools.

Experienced in providing interim central office administrative support, including facilitating executive searches for qualified applicants. Experienced workshop facilitator in developing team-building strategies to address budgetary and curricular issues/challenges. Proven ability to facilitate leadership development in district wide strategic planning, goal setting strategies and implementation.

Experienced in providing access and networking activities and operations.

Upon retirement in 2004, was appointed Executive Director of the California Association of Latino Superintendents and Administrators, and served in that position until 2009. Served on the American Association of School Administrators Governing Board and on the Board of Directors for the Association of School Administrators.

RELATED ACCOMPLISHMENTS

Successfully implemented budget strategies in four school districts, thereby eliminating budget deficits ranging from $1.2 million to $3.4 million and resulting in balanced budgets and a state-approved 3% reserve.

Implemented strategic and goal setting models in two districts, resulting in the elimination of overcrowding and budget deficits.

• Passed two school bonds totaling $89 million, which resulted in the construction of one middle school, construction of 58 new classrooms, reconstruction and renovation of five schools, and funds for the purchase of land for an additional two schools.
• Successfully lobbied for an additional $23.5 million from the state-wide school facilities program for the construction of a new middle school and two new 13-classroom high school additions.
• Implemented a curriculum management audit which resulted in a grades 7-12 mathematics and language arts benchmark testing program aligned with the state standard, which resulted in 11-25 point gains in statewide test scores.
• Successfully implemented program-based budgeting, resulting in multiyear district reserves and fiscal accountability.
• Served as one of the founding officers of the California Association for Bilingual Education.

Professional experience

Elizondo Educational Strategies Inc. (EES.Inc)

President and Chief Executive Officer

Established EES. Inc, a multi-faceted education consulting firm, in 2004. EES, Inc. provides individualized client-focused services for a diverse group from the corporate, construction and education sectors. Past consulting opportunities have included:

• Providing corporations with strategic opportunities and networking strategies.
• Delivering comprehensive seminars to school boards and district-level administrators for establishing goal setting and strategic planning models.
• Contracting with district personnel in facilitating strategies that link superintendent evaluation with district and school board goals.
• Serving as interim superintendent, including executive personnel searches.
• Mentoring and coaching of administrative personnel.
• Served as national consultant in the Los Angeles Unified School District for monitoring and facilitating the completion of the Student Plan for Student Achievement at the high school level.
• Served as education monitor for the Department of Justice in the Los Angeles County Office of Education to assist with addressing compliance education issues within the Juvenile Justice system.
• Serving as search consultant for the California School Board Association.

Salinas Union High School District

Superintendent of Schools: retired

Served as superintendent for eight years in a comprehensive 7th through 12th grade union high school district with a $178 million budget. Overall responsibility for budgetary and fiscal operations, teacher recruitment and curriculum and instruction.

• Implemented a curriculum management audit, resulting in a data-driven and benchmark testing system that achieved successive gains in the academic performance index (API) score in all seven schools.
• Implemented a performance-based budgeting system, resulting in the elimination of a budget defecit and the establishment of a 4% district reserve.
• Structured a teacher recruitment and retention program that resulted in a 78% retention rate for classroom teachers.
• Rewrote middle school promotional and mathematics requirements and aligned high school graduation requirements with California State University and University of California entrance requirements.
• Established a multi-district articulation model for meeting with four feeder-district Boards of Education, resulting in a multi-district curriculum task force to align mathematics and language arts standards.

Mendota Unified School District

Superintendent of Schools

Overall responsibility for budget and curriculum serving a population that is 98% Latino and 76% language minority students.

• Addressed serious district-wide fiscal deficits, resulting in a balanced budget.
• Balanced a cafeteria fund deficit of $78 thousand to a positive funding balance of $56 thousand in a two- year period.
• Facilitated the repayment of $1 million in misused categorical funds.
• Implemented a personnel control system to address a serious over-hiring policy.

El Rancho Unified School District

Superintendent of Schools

• Implemented a strategic plan for identifying budgetary priority areas to correct a district-wide budget deficit spending pattern.
• Addressed a two-year deficit pattern, resulting in a balanced budget and a 3% district reserve.
• Reopened a school as a continuation school to address overcrowding at the high school.
• Implemented a wide strategic plan that resulted in identifying priority areas for budgetary priority areas that addressed a district wide budget deficit spending pattern.

Parlier Unified School District

Superintendent of Schools

• Addressed classroom overcrowding through the implementation of year-round education.
• Finalized plans for the purchase of land and the design of a new middle school.
• Implemented a management-by-objectives system, resulting in the creation of a management evaluation instrument.

EXPERIENCE

• Teacher: High School and Middle School – Los Angeles Unified School District
• Administrator: Information and Support Services – Oxnard School District
• Principal – Santa Paula School District
• Curriculum Director – Riverside County Superintendent of Schools

COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT

• Trustee: Ventura Community College District: Served as Board President and on the delegate assembly for the California Community College Association

• Member, Salinas Downtown Rotary
• Past Member, Partners for Peace Board of Directors

PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES

• Served as the Executive Director, California Association of Latino Superintendents and Administrators, which provides mentoring and networking opportunities for both superintendents and other association members.
• Served as a Governing Board Member for the American Association of School Administrators
• Served on Board of Directors for the Association of California School Administrators
• Served on the statewide State Department of Education Commission, which developed the High School Exit Examination.
• Served on ACSA Statewide Superintendents Committee
• Participated on the Curriculum Management Audit team for Oakland Unified School District and Pasadena Unified School District
• Served on the Superintendent’s Select Committee, which met regularly with State Superintendent of Instruction and Governor’s Secretary of Education, and which advised on Latino educational policy

PRESENTATIONS

• District-budget processes and implementation. Presented at the National Institute on newly elected Latino school board members sponsored by the National Association of Latino Elected Officials. (NALEO)
• Program-based Budgeting. Presented at National Conference of the American Association of School Administrators (AASA) and Association of California School Administrators (ACSA) State-Wide Annual Conference.
• Implementing a curriculum management audit and strategic planning. Presented at the California School Boards Association (CSBA) Annual Conference, The National School Board Association (NSBA), and the Annual Conference of the California School Boards Association (CSBA) Hispanic Caucus

EDUCATION

Doctorate University of  Southern California, Los Angeles California

Masters in Science        Baylor University, Waco, Texas

Bachelor of Arts           California State University, Humboldt, Arcata, California

HONORS AND ACADEMIC AWARDS RECEIVED

• Selected:  Administrator of the Year – Superintendent – ACSA Region 10
• Served on ACSA’s Superintendent’s Symposium Planning Committee
• Selected as Superintendent Mentor for first year superintendents
• Recognized by the National Association of Latino Election and Elected and Appointed Officials for services as a Latino Elected Official to the Ventura County Community College Board of Trustees.

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