Published in ConnectED Newsletter - Volume 7 - Issue 2 - December 2023
Jesus Garcia completed three programs at the City College School of Education. He holds a B.A. in English and secondary English education, an M.S.Ed. in special education 7-12, and an M.S.Ed. in educational leadership.
Mr. Garcia is the High School Campus Director (Principal) at The American Dream School. The primary focal points of his work include a combination of instructional leadership that is rooted in data analysis and curriculum alignment, operational leadership encompassing test sophistication and testing coordination, and the fostering of a school culture with high academic expectations for students and staff. “I provide teachers with timely and consistent feedback on their unit plans, lesson plans, instructional materials, and their lesson delivery while simultaneously building the leadership capacity of my primary and secondary leadership team,” he explains. “Engaging various teams in student-centered discourse that is anchored in data is also a major area of my multi-faceted role, along with ensuring that families and the community remain actively involved in the lives of our students,” he adds. According to Mr. Garcia, conferring with as many of his students and staff on a daily basis is also a priority of his, as the discussions yield feedback that inform his next steps.
The CCNY School of Education, as Mr. Garcia says, was truly a place where he got the opportunity to flourish as a pedagogue and education leader. “As I studied English literature during my undergraduate studies, I received consistent guidance from my academic advisors, Yana Joseph and Melissa Oden, on maintaining a balanced course load that included education courses and English literature courses. Because of their collaborative efforts, I was able to learn the methods of teaching English while enriching my knowledge of English literature in a substantial manner.” Mr. Garcia also attributes his success as an English Language Arts teacher to the education that he received from Prof. Shira Epstein and Prof. Andrew Ratner. “Because of their support, I graduated from CCNY feeling well-equipped to begin my career as an educator and the profound learning experiences that I had inspired me to continue my graduate studies in the School of Education at The City College of New York,” he adds.
The CCNY Special Education graduate program led to the substantial growth of Mr. Garcia’s pedagogical practices and, as a result, his students yielded improved learning outcomes. “It became my mission to ensure that all of my students had multiple entry points to engage in learning,” he points out. He also describes how program faculty provided him with innovative learning experiences that led him to learn how to better reach the special education population. “The research-based methodology that I acquired allowed me to create an inclusive learning environment where all students, regardless of ability, felt safe and valued. Moreover, my students' academic data demonstrated increased proficiency/mastery of various learning standards they once experienced difficulty with.” He also says that meeting the needs of diverse learning populations that he taught using effective practices that he learned in my coursework further fueled his passion for continuous learning at CCNY.
Mr. Garcia’s career trajectory in educational leadership has been significantly molded by the exceptional mentorship he received and the rigorous coursework he completed at CCNY. “Professor Terri N. Watson facilitated courses that promoted growing leaders to use both a research-based and visionary approach to design transformative learning programs for student populations that we sought to serve,” he explains. According to him, what resonated with him most was the emphasis on equity and inclusion that Prof. Watson kept rooted in all aspects of her course design. He claims that it was the first time that he had ever had the opportunity to explore with such depth the impact that identity plays in one's academic success. Additionally, he explains that Prof. Hazel Carter and Prof. Robert Lubetsky designed coursework that promoted real-life application of theoretical concepts that he learned in their respective courses. “They each shared their extensive experiences that led to their successes as education leaders and they both uniquely taught me the importance of being a reflective practitioner to ensure my own success in school leadership. This lesson has truly proved to be invaluable.”
Mr. Garcia aspires to earn his doctorate in educational leadership. He also intends on earning his School District Leader (SDL) certification, so that, “if the opportunity ever presents itself, I can impact the learning of students on a grander scale.” Another future goal of his is to become a professor at CCNY, “so that I can facilitate learning in innovative ways and share my professional experiences with students who attend the School of Education at my beloved alma mater.”
Last Updated: 12/21/2023 09:12