Anonymous wrote:Well, there is hope for immersion with the newly appointed Chief Academic Officer!
Francisco Durán Named Chief Academic Officer for Fairfax County Public Schools
Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) Superintendent Karen K. Garza has named Francisco Durán, who currently serves as superintendent of Trenton (New Jersey) Public Schools as the new chief academic officer, effective Oct. 20. Duran replaces Kim Dockery, who retired.
“Francisco Durán is a seasoned educator with 23 years of experience in the classroom and in school leadership. He has a proven track record of success in improving student learning and in the successful implementation of educational programming,” said Garza. “Dr. Durán is considered a strong, collaborative leader who works diligently with stakeholders to build consensus, while valuing varied perspectives. Dr. Durán has studied our strategic plan and our Portrait of a Graduate and he embraces the direction that we have established away from high-stakes testing to more authentic engagement around 21st century skills. We are very pleased to welcome Dr. Durán to FCPS.”
Durán has served as superintendent in Trenton since July 2012, where he was responsible for increasing high school graduation rates, implementation of new teacher and administrator evaluations, establishment of a comprehensive instructional data management system, and implementing Spanish dual immersion programming. He instituted site-based budgeting using a formula based on student needs and his efforts to align and monitor the district’s budget resulted in a budget surplus at the end of his first year. Under his guidance, Trenton developed teacher recruitment policies and procedures to hire earlier and build a pool of qualified pre-screened candidates.
Prior to joining Trenton, Durán served as an assistant superintendent and regional superintendent with the School District of Philadelphia. There, he oversaw a decrease in the achievement gap on state assessment tests over a four-year period. Durán was responsible for implementing a school reform model at six of the most under-performing schools in the School District of Philadelphia.
As principal and assistant principal with the San Francisco Unified School District, Durán instituted a turnaround model, named Dream Schools, to reverse years of negative decline in student achievement and school climate. He also established an academic intervention program with differentiated programs based on students’ academic needs.
Durán has taught Spanish, social studies, language arts, and served as a special education paraprofessional. He has also served as an activities director and athletics director.
Durán earned his doctorate and master’s in education from Teachers College, Columbia University; a master’s in educational administration from San Francisco State University; and a bachelor’s degree in education from the University of New Mexico.
Durán is a past recipient of the Distinguished Educator Award from Phi Delta Kappa International, University of Pennsylvania Chapter, and received a certificate of honor and recognition for educational service from the Board of Supervisors of the City and County of San Francisco.
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Argh.... Trenton NJ schools are a model of crap. I moved here to get away from them. Seriously, where do they find these people....