Interview with Ted Alejandre, Superintendent, San Bernardino County Superintendent of Schools

This month's focus will be an interview with Ted Alejandre, Superintendent of San Bernardino County Superintendent of Schools. 

Transcript

 Don  00:06

Hello, my name is Don English Director of Children Deserve Success and Executive Director of the San Bernardino County Wide Gangs and Drugs Task Force. And I want to welcome you to our Children Deserve Success Podcast. Monthly we will be sending out these recordings regarding all things related to child welfare and attendance, School Attendance Review Board, foster youth services, McKinney Vento Homeless Programs in our county and the San Bernardino County Wide Gangs and Drugs Task Force. This month's focus will be an interview with Ted Alejandre, Superintendent with San Bernardino County Office of Education that we know as the San Bernardino County Superintendent of Schools. Ted it is so fantastic to have you here today. I want to thank you for your time.

Ted  00:54

Thank you so much, Don. It's great to be here today.

Don  00:57

All right. So, Ted, if you could we'll jump right into it. Tell us a little bit about your background.

Ted  01:04

Sure, I'd be happy to you know, I've been very fortunate because I've been in education here in San Bernardino County for about 34 years, actually started in Rialto Unified School District and in the business office as an Account Clerk and a fiscal analyst started there. And when I completed an active duty toward Norton Air Force Base here in San Bernardino when it was an active Air Force Base. And then as I worked in Rialto, I started to meet a lot of educators. And they were very encouraging and told me, Hey, you should consider going into teaching. And so I decided that that's something I wanted to do. And so it was very fortunate, I became a fourth and fifth grade teacher in San Bernardino City Unified School District, and was there for almost 14 years as a teacher as a vice principal, seven years as a elementary principal, two years in middle school principal, and then back as a director in business services, working with other principals on how to really utilize resources to support student achievement. And I really enjoyed my time there. Then an opportunity came up and Yucaipa calla Mesa, to lead their business department. I live in Yucaipa. So I did accept a position Yucaipa is assistant superintendent. And one of the things that Chief Business Officials in our county do regularly is interact with the county, because the county has the information coming directly from the state. And as a district chief business official, you want to make sure you're clued in to all the things that are happening at the state level so that you can make sure you make the right decisions that give your board the right information. So it was really important for me to be connected to the county and I attended all the county meetings, and really became close to a number of individuals at the county, including, at that time, the deputy superintendent, which was Dr. Gary Thomas, he became the county superintendent after the retirement of Dr. Fisher. And I applied and selected for his job as assistant superintendent in the county. And truly enjoy that role. I'll tell you, when you work at the county office, you become connected to all of our 33 school districts, the over 400,000 students that are supported by our school districts. And you really get to understand the passion that every one of our districts have towards supporting every student in their district and their communities. And I really enjoyed doing that work, really had built a really built a lot of relationships with the Chief Business Officials of superintendents, and even school board members because of the interaction we have with school board members across our county. And so when Dr. Gary Thomas retired as superintendent, a number of individuals encouraged me to try to be elected to become the next superintendent. And I wasn't sure in the beginning, I love my job. But the encouragement was also something that I really appreciated. And so in 2013, I decided to run for county superintendent the next year in 2014. And I was successful. And in 2018, I was reelected and I was just reelected again, in 2022. So I'm going to start my fourth term. I see my third term in January. And I'm really looking forward to it because being part of this organization has been a true highlight in my career, especially knowing that the people we have in this organization are truly dedicated, supporting our districts across San Bernardino County.

Don  04:08

Wow. Ted, if you could explain to the audience how you view your role in the county. And what inspired you you kind of touched on it earlier about how you got into the race for super for the superintendency. But what also inspires you as our county's leader in education.

Ted  04:28

You know, tell you and I feel our role in the county is to support all of our school districts to ensure that students receive wonderful educational programs that are designed to meet their individual needs. Having said that, though, I really respect a local control of all school districts, I mean, every school board are elected by the constituents in that area and responsible for the decision they make and so they know their districts better than anybody. But when we work with their superintendent and their teams, we ask them what can we as a county do to support your efforts? And how can we be helpful to you, and they share with us the ways that they feel the county can help them whether it's through professional development, for example, in mathematics, English language arts, or whether it's supporting, maybe attendance issues to our child welfare and attendance teamed on that I know you work so closely with whether whether it's supporting English learners or special education students, we have professionals in those areas. And so we are always willing to do what districts would like us to do, either providing direct support through the expertise we have here in the county, or by brokering that support with where those resources are. And so it's important for us to build relationships, not just in education, but across all agencies, including our counties, departments, Department of Public Health, Department of Behavioral Health, our Sheriff's Department, and other school districts and other county offices throughout the state. So I think our role is critical in supporting all of our 33 districts in San Bernardino County. And for me, you know, inspiring to become the county's leader kind of mentioned it, but I go back to the relationships with districts. You know, our smallest district has about 100 students, Mount Baldy, our biggest district 56,000 plus students,  San Bernardino City Unified. And what I noticed in every single one of our districts is they have unique priorities. So what may be a priority and in Needles, or in Big Bear, or in Trona, or Morongo, or in Chino, or in Chaf fey, they all have unique priorities, because they want to do whatever they can to support students. So it's different in that regard. But what every district has, in terms of being the same is the passion and commitment for students and communities. And I just really am inspired to be part of that to help them support their students and communities and make a difference across his county. And the fact that we're so aligned with county government and the leadership of the board of supervisors really inspires me to be part of that because in our county,  San Bernardino County, we have a county wide vision. And that's to make our county the best place to live, work and play. And education is such a key element of that. So by working together, we can make that happen for every resident in  San Bernardino County.

Don  07:14

Absolutely. And as a brand ambassador, Ted, I totally understand what it means to not only represent  San Bernardino County Superintendent of Schools, but to be that person to broker, you know, relationships and continue to support all of our districts. So, what is your vision for San Bernardino County Superintendent of Schools? And how do you see the organization growing and changing?

Ted  07:39

You know, what I've noticed, especially as COVID hit, one of the things that we all realize is that had a major impact on students, students were no longer in schools, physically, they had to go back into their homes because of the safety protocols. But what we realized is that we still had to connect with students and provide them with distance learning and other supports and systems. And what everybody I feel realized, particularly at the state level, is a county office of the county offices of education were key in that role. You know, we have over 1000 districts across the state, and for the state to really get information and support and supplies and anything that districts need to the districts going through the county offices are so much easier and more effective. And so as we met with state leaders, including individuals from the governor's office, they realized the county superintendents really had a pulse on their counties, and they have relationships with their districts and with their mayors and city officials. And so we became central to the support that districts receive. And I think by having that in place now, it's only going to guide us into the future because what districts need from their county offices, and many times that's kind of spoke to it is support for their academic programs and support for their students. So how can county offices facilitate that support in an effective and efficient manner? And I think every one of the 58 county superintendents has that as a goal and that mindset of customer service because they know they're supporting their communities. And I was president of the California county superintendents organization, and had an opportunity to interact with every single one of the county superintendents. And just like I mentioned with districts, every county has individual priorities. But every county is passionate about supporting their county and their constituents. And so I look forward to our county offices becoming even more involved in a supportive role as we work with school districts to achieve what they want for their students.

Don  09:34

You can tell when you talk about really at the state level and partnering with our Governor and the California Department of Education and the leadership capacity to help as it relates to state level leadership as a visionary in the state of California, what qualities are necessary to increase the capacity of those in leadership?

Ted  09:55

I think it's so important for us to really build that capacity and ident If I individuals and encourage individuals to go into leadership roles, whether that's becoming a principal, whether it's becoming a superintendent, you know, unfortunately at ours in our state, the tenure of a district superintendent is very short. And we have to really work on that to make sure that superintendents stay longer in their positions. You know, and so much of the research shows if, for example, at the principal level, and at the superintendent level, the longer that you're in a position, the longer that you the more that you become aligned and understanding of all the needs at a level that you can then make decisions and use resources to become more effective. For me, I was an elementary principal, and my first two years was, you know, I started to learn to staff, I started learning to community, the programs. And once I got into year four, and five, we were doing some amazing things. Because I knew the school, I knew the parents, I knew the community. And we were able to accelerate in so many different areas. And I think if we can build capacity with superintendents, that's going to be so helpful to the districts that they serve. So working closely with school board members, and really trying to provide those that support system, I think, will make a big difference for districts as we move forward.

Don  11:08

And Ted you talked about encouraging leadership. You know, you have strong leadership here at SBCSS, several in leadership are in governance positions in K 12, and post secondary institutions. Why is that important?

Ted  11:20

I think it's critical to look at the whole student. And one thing that we have as a guiding document that all of our districts have adopted, is our cradle to career roadmap. Because for us to really understand what students need. And what parents need to support their students is to really identify what are the key elements of success for every student we serve, not just k 12, we have to look at our cradle career represents the entire model. So we look at zero to five, we look at K 12. And we look at post secondary, from an academic perspective, but also from a personal readiness perspective. So when you look at those key indicators of success, how can we all contribute to those because everybody has part of the solution. You know, in our school, I meet regularly with school district superintendents in our county. And regularly we share best practices, because we don't need to go to San Diego or LA or Orange County to find the best models. They're here in our county and Riverside. And the key for us is to identify them and replicate them. So in our district superintendent meetings, we brought in the best of the best in a several areas so they can share their strategies. And I'll give one example, Don, and you're familiar with this, you know, we know that students need to pass those A through G courses to go to college and every district is working on that. Our county average used to be in the 20 percentile. Now it's up to 42%, where students are meeting that but Chaffey Joint Unified High School District is a 70%. That's an outlier. And so we brought Superintendent Holton and his team to meet with all the district superintendents and share. Why are you guys doing so well? How are you doing it, and they shared your model and all of our districts benefit from that collaboration, so that we can all work on replicating best practices across our state. But it's going to be key for us moving forward, to bring in all of the players, all of the institutions, and to have a collective impact mindset, so that we can work together to continually provide the best services to our students and feet and families.

Don  13:24

Yeah, and I know that, you know, just under your leadership, you encourage leaders in the organization to be involved in state and national, even national level leadership, which I think we're doing. And you talked a little bit about the importance of that. But why do you think that you kind of lend yourself to that, to that endeavor? In other words, why do you think that you're able, as some other leaders aren't to encourage that kind of leadership throughout the state and the nation as it relates to San Bernardino County Superintendent of Schools, employees,

Ted  13:58

Oh, as you know Don throughout my years, I've seen individuals where I think to myself, gosh, this individual has so much talent and so much commitment, it would be great for them to have an impact beyond that individual school beyond that individual district because we can all benefit from that. So when we have our leaders in San Bernardino County, become part of leadership for associations like ACSA, like casbo, like hukou and others, then they gain the experience from so many people across the country that they can then bring in to our county to support our students. And not just that they build relationships with different institutions like the California Department of Education areas in Washington, DC institutions in Washington, DC so that grants that follow come into our county, we've been able to increase the number of grants and the money that comes with that, to support the students that we want to so badly. You know, in our county, we have 70% of our students that are economically disadvantaged, so we need more resources to really make an impact and we have have individuals that start to serve in leadership capacities, they start to tap into those resources across the country that come directly into our county to support students,

Don  15:09

I can tell you Ted as an individual in the organization. I think you've spearheaded my growth in leadership, there's no doubt about it. When you talk about the organization's be at caskwa, be at ACSA be a casbo. As you mentioned, we have leadership in each of those organizations. And I'm proud to serve as president elect of caskwa, and also the director of ACSA academies. But as the superintendent in your third term, what is the legacy you want to leave?

Ted  15:39

You know, Don, what I have felt to be most important for the success of our districts is working together as a team, I mentioned collective impact, I work closely with the Board of Supervisors, the sheriff and other county wide leads. And I find that this is the most collaborative we've ever been. And we all work together and leverage the resources from an intrinsic perspective, we can make a major difference in our students. And so, you know, we rolled out and electronic cradle to career on our website, which if you go to those individual indicators for success for all students, there's resources that are in those areas for everyone to utilize, whether it's teachers, administrators, and parents. And so as we continue to bring in parents and education partners, all of us working together will make the difference that's going to truly benefit students. And so my goal is to continue to strengthen that and continue to build that and continue to have all of us working together as a team to make a difference for our students. I'm excited about the next four years, we were accelerating right before COVID and COVID, hit and, and it put a pause in some areas, because we weren't able to get together like we were before COVID. But now that we're coming back, I'm starting to see that acceleration move faster and faster. And I think as we roll into 2023 and beyond, we're going to have some dynamic success across every region in our county. And it's because of the teamwork that we have the collaboration we have with our superintendents, with their school boards, and with everybody that has an interest in supporting students. And that's what makes our county the best place to live, work and play. And for us, San Bernardino County Superintendent Schools to truly transform lives through education.

Don  17:23

I absolutely see that happening. I'll tell you tell you are a leader that, you know that there was a question asked I'm currently pursuing my EDD at USC and the question that was posed to us was what defines a leader. In your case, I think you exemplify that leaders are people that others want to follow, period. And that's just a simplex way of saying, when leaders are and you provide that kind of leadership, I am proud to be an employee under your leadership. And I want to thank you for all you've done. And I want to finally ask you, is there anything else you'd like to share?

Ted  18:01

No digest appreciate being on here. But I really appreciate the commitment from our leaders across San Bernardino County, again, talking to our superintendents, I just came from the superintendent meeting today. And the conversations we have are so fulfilling, because we all know that the job of a superintendent is challenging. We have many issues we want to address. But when you talk to superintendents, and they mentioned the support they get from their teams, their assistant superintendents, their administrators or teachers, their classified members, the programs that are being instilled to support students, they start to see every level step up and make a difference. And one of the programs as you know that's so important is PBIS. So that everybody on a campus, whether it's a teacher, whether it's a custodian, the Secretary, nutrition services, when a child interacts with everybody from a school that has a positive mindset and gives them that support, that makes a huge difference in their lives. And I'll finally end with saying that, you know, when I came into office, and one of the things I felt was important is student voice. And so we started a Sanrio county student advisory. And we have 400 students that participate. And we asked them to look at our county community vital signs, you know, education, health safety in the economy. And students are very interested in that. And so they mix up so students from one district will get with other districts, and they go into similar areas of interest. And they explore that and they research and they survey, but they develop their recommendations that they give to elected officials at the end of the process. And when you listen to students talk about their ideas and recommendations. We are We are missing the boat if we don't include that in the planning and as we listen to them, we realize they have some great solutions for us to consider to put into policies and many districts have put their recommendations into policies, but the future is about them. And as adults, we need to provide whatever we can to support their future so that we can continue to maintain the presence of that mindset to support every goal we have in our county. And I'm excited about doing that these next four years and putting students continually at the forefront of the decisions that we make.

Don  20:17

Superintendent Alejandra, I want to thank you for being here today. It's my pleasure to have opportunity to speak with you. And I will thank you all for listening. We hope you find this information valuable. If you have any topics or questions that you would like addressed, please email them directly to CWA@sbcss.net. As always, we hope to stay well and continue to transform live through education.