Education California | The official newspaper of the Association of California School Administrators
Volume 49 | Number 32 | June 24, 2019
Henry sets a high bar for achievement
Award: Middle Grades Principal of the
Year
Name: Shana Henry
Title: Principal, Martin Luther King, Jr.
Technology Academy
District: Twin Rivers Unified School
District
Region: Region 3
ACSA highlights: Member since
2003; ACSA North Charter President,
2018-present; ACSA Region 3 Vice
President of Communications and Social
Media, 2018-present; ACSA Region 3
Vice President of Membership; ACSA
Capitol Charter President, 2006-2008;
ACSA Capitol Charter Membership
Chair, 2005-2006; ACSA Region 3 Equity
and Diversity Chair, 2008-2009; ACSA
Region 3 Silver Star, 2007; ACSA Region
3 Principal of the Year, 2008.
•••
As the Principal of Martin Luther King,
Jr. Technology Academy, Shana Henry’s
leadership has been described as nothing
less than visionary. Utilizing classroom
walkthroughs and highly visible goal-set-
ting processes, establishing parent progress
report nights and instituting instructional
leadership training to department chairs
are just some of the ways she has helped
set a high bar for student achievement.
Known as a leader who “walks the talk,”
Henry never asks anything of staff that
she wouldn’t do herself. She is a passionate
advocate for students and for equity, and
has worked tirelessly to build a trusting
and safe school community using social
media and outreach techniques. Her work
in implementing restorative practices,
developing small learning communities and
creating an intervention system has helped
to cultivate a nurturing system that puts
students first.
“Dr. Henry was eager and motivated
to accept the challenge of leading the
Pathways to Equity Summit.
Martin Luther King, Jr. Technology Academy Principal Shana Henry’s accomplishments include taking the low-
est performing school in her district and turning it into one of the highest performing schools.
Editor’s note: EdCal is featuring
ACSA’s Administrators of the Year
in a series of Q&A interviews with
the winners, who will be honored at
Leadership Summit State Awards
Banquet Nov. 8 in San Francisco.
lowest-performing middle school in the
district when hired in 2015,” said Twin
Rivers Superintendent Steve Martinez.
“She immediately began establishing sys-
tems and structures to support teachers
and students. She focused on shifting an
ingrained culture of low expectations to
a student-focused positive climate … Dr.
Henry has made a noticeable impact on
See HENRY, page 7
Ross goes from
teacher to
creator
Award: Secondary
Co-administrator of the
Year
Name: Jason Ross
Title: Assistant
Principal, Edison High
School
District: Huntington
Ross
Beach Union High
School
Region: 17
ACSA Highlights: Member since 2008;
Five-year member of ACSA Leadership
Assembly; Legislative Policy Chair for
See ROSS, page 7
LGBTQ teen finds safe space at Rio Americano
Jelan Gentry ran away from home after coming out to
his family at age 15.
Periodicals
Dated Material
Jelan Gentry knew the odds were
stacked against him.
“I knew that I didn’t want to be anoth-
er statistic,” he said. “I didn’t want to be
another one of those kids that just fell off.”
When he was 15 years old, Jelan told
his mother he was gay. The family strug-
gled to accept him for who he was, so
Jelan made the tough decision to leave the
house.
“I was kind of feeling like no one was
really having my back,” he said. “I started
to rebel and I started to run away. Once
I ran away, I was bouncing around from
house to house pretty much. I was sleeping
on couches, and was missing a lot of school
from that.”
Jelan went through a slew of foster
homes, but he remained hopeful.
“I knew that there was a family out
there that was going to be able to talk
things through with me,” he said. “There
was going to be a family out there that was
going to be able to handle my sexuality.”
Jelan finally found a stable foster
home, but he found his true family at Rio
Americano High School.
Join ACSA and LACOE for Education-
al Excellence: Pathways to Equity
Summit, which will be on Sept. 24
in Alhambra. This day of workshops,
discussions and learning moments
is designed specifically for teams of
principals and teachers, parent lead-
ers, and central office administrators
to deepen their explorations of how
these pathways can lead us closer
to our goals in pursuit of education-
al equity. Participants will engage
directly with experts to build on the
existing work already happening
throughout the county and hear from
the leaders of Bright Spots in the field
who are successfully making change.
The keynote speaker is John B. King
Jr., former U.S. Secretary of Educa-
tion and President and CEO of The
Education Trust, a national nonprofit
organization that seeks to identify and
close opportunity and achievement
gaps from preschool through college.
Registration is $165. For more infor-
mation and to register, visit www.
acsa.org/pathwaystoequity.
ELPAC/CAASPP webinar. The
California Department of Education is
holding a webinar training series for
LEA CAASPP or LEA ELPAC coordi-
nators who have been in that role for
less than 12 months. Webinars will
cover LEA coordinator tasks during
the school year and include a Q&A
session. Registration is now open for
part one, which will take place at 2
p.m. July 16. To register for the July
webinar, visit the Sacramento County
Office of Education 2019-20 New
Coordinator Training July Webinar web
page at http://bit.ly/2ZlOulz. The we-
binar will be archived on the CAASPP
Portal for anyone not able to attend.
Registration for the remaining parts
of the series will open as each nears
and will address the LEA coordina-
tor’s tasks that are carried out during
that time in the school year. They are
scheduled as follows: Part two, Sept.
17, 2019; Part three, Oct. 22, 2019;
Part four, Feb. 18, 2020; Part five,
April 21, 2020.
See ESS, page 6
Assembly commission on ECE
calls for expanding access
A commission on Early Childhood
Education has released its findings, empha-
sizing the need to expand access to quality
preschool.
The California Assembly Blue Ribbon
Commission on Early Childhood
Education presented its findings in an
April report that connected preschool
access to future success in TK-12 educa-
tion, as well as the success of the entire
family.
“Early childhood education underpins
so much of what we need to accomplish
as a society. Early education is how you
turn around cycles of poverty, it’s how you
give children a strong foundation for edu-
cation, and it’s how you lift up families,”
said Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon,
D-Lakewood, who initiated the creation of
the commission. “We can’t get started too
soon on the ideas we have produced.”
Those ideas include:
• Focus on expanding access to children
and families most in need, while working
toward the goal of universal access to early
See RIBBON, page 6