Bernal could be next D21 Superintendent

Carolyn Bernal

By Tom Peterson

The North Wasco County School District 21 could enter into contract negotiations next week to hire Carolyn Bernal of Oxnard, California to be the next Superintendent of The District.

“She is flying in and will be in The Dalles on Jan. 31,” said D21 Board Chair John Nelson this afternoon. “Theresa Peters will part of the group that will be giving her a tour of our facilities.”

Bernal and Peters were the top two candidates for the job going into the final stages of the hiring discussion amongst the board, Nelson said. Jeff Dillon, of Wilder, Idaho, did not make it out of last week’s discussions.

The board is scheduled to meet in executive session on Monday, Feb. 1. A decision on the official hiring of a superintendent would then have to be completed in an open public meeting that would require a motion, second, and a vote by the Board following the executive session.

“The Board will have to make a decision on whether to proceed with contract negotiations,” Nelson said.

If selected, Bernal would start on July 1, 2021.

Peters, current Interim Superintendent, withdrew her application on Monday, Jan. 25.

The news came after the Board met on Friday, Jan. 22, in an executive session to discuss the merits of Bernal, Dillon and Peters. After the session, the board decided to delay the hiring decision until a second interview could be completed with Bernal and Peters.

“They were both so well qualified,” Nelson said, noting the board struggled but could not come to a decision on which candidate to offer the job on Friday.

“Theresa wants to be a part of making her (Bernal) feel comfortable,” Nelson said. “She will help answer questions and offer to work with her in coming years if selected for the job.” 

Speaking on his own behalf, Nelson said he felt “really comfortable” with Bernal. “She is a good fit and there is a lot of positive qualities she brings to the district. That is my opinion.”

In Peters’ letter of withdrawal to the board she stated:

“The Board’s decision to continue the vetting process for the finalists has given me the opportunity to further reflect on whether the permanent superintendent position is what I want to do next in my career. As I’ve mentioned before, I’ve learned a lot over the past six months. I’ve learned more about our district, about leadership, and about myself. I’m truly grateful for the Board’s trust in me to not only lead North Wasco, but to serve the students, board, staff, and community as the interim superintendent. I remain committed to North Wasco County School District and the work ahead of us this school year and beyond. I look forward to working closely with the new superintendent, not only through the transition but next year in my role as a building principal and leader.”

Here is CCCNews Meet The Candidates Profile of Bernal:

Carolyn Bernal

Bernal at her graduation in 2019, receiving her Doctorate in Educational Leadership.

Years in Education:     24
Languages:                 2 - English & Spanish - bilingual, biliterate 
Highest degree:          Doctorate in Educational Leadership from California State University

Click here for Resume

Bernal is the current Assistant Superintendent and is in charge of System Improvement at El Rio Schools in Oxnard, Calif. The district is 61 miles north of Los Angeles and falls on both sides of Highway 101, taking in students from the more Rural El Rio neighborhood as well as from the more developed Oxnard, a major manufacturing center. The Oxnard Plain is the country’s second-largest producer of strawberries with some 8,000 acres planted and an annual Strawberry Festival. Many of the children attending El Rio Schools come from families that work in agriculture. 86% of the school’s students are Hispanic. The district serves more than 5,050 students through five elementary schools, two K-8 schools, and two middle schools. El Rio is also pretty special linguistically, according to neighborhoodscout.com  “Significantly, 68.7% of its residents five years old and above primarily speak Spanish at home.”

Question: The D21 School board recently set the following priorities:
- Developing a school bond to improve facilities.
- Creating equity for all students
- Renaming Col. Wright Elementary

You will be tasked with these goals. What do you bring to the table to accomplish them?

Bond

I currently serve the district that has a high percentage of underserved children, and we had not been able to pass a bond in my first seven years. 

But with the superintendent and the executive team, we passed two bonds, one for $38.5 million in 2015 and one for $59.5 million in 2018. I attribute that success to being able to develop a common vision and communicate it with the public and why it is important to have good facilities to learn in. The environment where kids learn is extremely important. When children come to school and see a building falling apart or a lack of facilities -  Kids are perceptive and it demonstrates to them their social and emotional well-being is not a priority. It is harder for them to learn. It is important to work closely with the community so they understand the benefit of an improved facility, and how it impacts their lives socially, emotionally and educationally.

I have been through the process twice now. Ventura County serves students in Oxnard and unincorporated areas. It is quite a large agricultural rural side to the district… Demographic wise we have a socially-economic disadvantaged student population of 82 percent. English language learners are 45 percent - there is quite a population of underserved children.

On the PR side of it, there is a lot that goes into the bond and its transparency. You have to make sure it is a thorough process, and you are clear about what is going to happen and how every dollar will be used with all the stakeholders. It takes a lot of work, phone banking and knocking on doors and community meetings. But transparency is key. Taxpayers want to know, ‘If I agree to this, where is my dollar going to go - that is completely legitimate.  

Equity

I come from a district with a high percentage of underserved students - equity is what I do - I have a lot of experience in building dual immersion programs from the ground up. I was originally recruited by my district 15 years ago to start a k-8 dual-immersion program. I came in as a coordinator and then became the principal of that school.

I still manage Human Resources. In the last 10 years, I have hired 60 percent of our 265 teachers. These are the people that bring equity to our kids. They have a direct impact on student achievement. We have brought people in that look like the people we teach. I am also bilingual and biliterate, and it has served me well… I get called out to speak with parents.  I can communicate with our parent population directly without a translator and that makes a huge difference in developing relationships with a students’ family.

Renaming of Col. Wright Elementary

I’m happy to hear they are engaging in that process... It may have been good at the time, but given the political climate and history maybe it’s not such a good idea now. I have worked through the naming process when we built the k-8  academy. We included all the kids, and it took a lot of student involvement. They had a lot of input and ideas on naming that school. The board took all that input and narrowed it down to three names, and they ultimately selected what the final name was going to be. It was really about the kids. We want kids to take pride and ownership in that school. 

 Question: What is your perspective on Comprehensive Distance Learning  - is it working? Would you make changes? If so, what would they be?

No, it’s not working. The long-term impact on kids is going to be devastating and detrimental. There are two parts. The education piece-  are kids able to access and learn? And the other side is the socio-emotional and disconnection from peers. Nothing can replace face-to-face learning with each other and the teacher.
So, working as a whole? No. We’re doing the best we can given the circumstances? Yes.
Our district shut down on March 13, and we were unable to return to in-person classes driven by the state metrics.
I have had to head up the whole COVID mitigation plan, on top of everything else. It has been a beast, and I’ve learned more than I wanted to know about COVID. We were able to bring back the special education population four days a week. I can tell you it made a remarkable difference for special ed kids. They’re the most challenging to do distance learning and the most disconnected population.
We worked extremely hard to identify every single child, every family and identify... through data who got to class - who is still missing. Our goal was to get 100 percent of our students online. I.T. did an amazing job on the internet. We have taken school busses out to neighborhoods to operate as stand-alone hotspots. We have 96 percent of kids log in every day. The other 4 percent are our most disconnected kids.

We had a principal drive up to their school, and five kids were sitting on the fence line with computers because it was the only place they could get internet services.  So we said, Ok, you’re in your own cohort - they were all siblings - and we put them in a classroom to connect every day. 

Question: In respect to English Language Learners, what experience do you bring in building a more comprehensive program for those whose native language is not English.

The district where I  currently work and have worked for the past 16 years serves a demographic of 76 percent that is designated socio-economically disadvantaged, and 45 percent are ELL. I have been working on ELL programs as a classroom teacher, principal and my work through human resources. On the hiring side, you want qualified teachers with ELL authorization and training.

I would want to see what the district is doing and how they are serving the ELL population currently. Then you build upon what is working... and elevate that to the next level so students can achieve. You look at classroom instruction, what procedures teachers are utilizing and academic proficiency.  Our dual-immersion program shows that ELL do very well in that program and achieve over par when compared to their peers.

Question: What is your 5-year career plan and do you have aspirations outside of being the North Wasco County District 21 Superintendent?

I don't have aspirations outside of being a superintendent. That is my career goal. I have a 10-year plan. If I come to be a superintendent, I want to be there for at least 10 years - change does not happen overnight. It takes time and a lot of relationship building and trust and working collaboratively and being innovative. If I were to become the superintendent, I would love to be there and end my career there. I don't see the superintendent job as a stepping stone for me. 

The Dalles attracted me. I can see the history and data in the stakeholder report. It is a district that speaks to my heart as an educator and as a leader. In my career, I have chosen to work in districts that have highly underserved populations. That is where my passion and heart lie. 

I have been a classroom teacher, and assistant principal, a dual-immersion coordinator, an interim principal, board member of  University Charter School, director of human resources, and an  - assistant superintendent in the last five years. I have done a lot of shadowing with our classified members to experience a day in their life. I am and have been the chief negotiator with our certified and classified for the past 10 years. 

Question: What is your leadership style? Where has it succeeded for you, and where has it failed you. Please give examples within your career.

I am a servant leader. Part of being one is listening and empathizing with others. I consider myself extremely adept at including the ideas of others. I do not make decisions in isolation. I am not afraid to make tough decisions. In HR, I have had them. The hard conversations. I was in the unique position to make tough decisions in personnel and what is right for kids. I cannot have employees doing crazy things in the presence of children - do I like to do it? No. Necessary? Absolutely - at the end of the day if it is what is best for kids. 

I always strive to thoroughly vet all impacts of aspects of decisions - build school trust with the community. As an outsider coming in, I will seek to build relationships first while simultaneously developing a plan for high levels of equity and achievement. I  never refuse to meet with anybody - listening is my strongest skill - as chief negotiator - I have done a lot - it’s at the core of who I am. 

All children can learn, and I  believe that idea can not be mine alone. It must be everybody’s in the organization - bus drivers, principals, teachers, classified staff must think the same way to achieve high levels. We’re there to serve others.