Cara Riggs is an Omaha Public Schools transplant to San Diego California, after spending her whole personal and professional life there. A 30-year career in the Omaha Public Schools allowed Cara a great range of experience as a committed public school educator. She has experience as a high school English teacher and then enjoyed 8 years as their AP and Athletic Director. Following a 9 year role as principal of Beveridge Magnet Middle School, Cara’s last 6 years in OPS were spent as the principal of Omaha South High Magnet School where she and her team transformed it into a school of hope, great academic and graduation rate improvement, huge enrollment increases and a college-going institution with the highest freshman enrollment at the U-NE- Omaha. She is the author of HOPE in the Urban Schools: Love Stories.

Today, Cara proudly works as an Executive Coach for the National Center of Urban School Transformation. Her work with NCUST allows her to team with schools and leaders around the country as they focus on transforming their own schools into places where ALL kids are receiving equitable and excellent outcomes.

In 2013, principal Alexa Sorden reopened Concourse Village Elementary School in the Bronx in New York City after it was shut down for poor performance and disrepair by her predecessor. Concourse Village has a combination of high expectations for students and a flat reporting structure that places a premium on teacher empowerment and an innovative literacy-first approach in all subjects. In 2018 on the state assessments, eighty-eight percent of students passed English and math state tests, more than 40 points higher than the citywide average. That same year the school was awarded a Blue Ribbon for Excellence from the U.S. Department of Education.

Dr. Thiel is one of the executive coaches for NCUST working with school districts and their leaders to improve the educational outcomes for all students. Having served as a classroom teacher, elementary school principal, and district peer coach for several years, he eventually became the Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources for the largest elementary school district in the state of California. Dr. Thiel was instrumental in ensuring “A” players were hired to teach the students. To promote success for all students, Dr. Thiel knows the importance of students having access to the greatest resource of all – a highly qualified classroom teacher. Learn what Dr. Thiel has done to make great schools great on this episode of the NCUST Review.

Dr. Codrington has a track record for advancing and improving educational outcomes for all students. Most notably she opened the newest school in the Chula Vista Elementary School District and in its inaugural year realized tremendous academic achievement results with 81% of the students meeting or exceeding standards for English Language Arts and 72% meeting or exceeding standards for mathematics. Listen to this episode to learn more about how Dr. Codrington leads schools to achieve greatness on this episode of the NCUST Review: What Great Schools Do.

Dr. Matthews has served as superintendent of the Oakland Unified School District, the San Jose Unified School District, the Inglewood Unified School District, and most recently the San Francisco Unified School District. Prior to serving in Inglewood, Dr. Matthews was credited with raising academic achievement in the San Jose Unified School District, narrowing the achievement gap between Latino and white students, and passing landmark agreements with the San Jose teacher’s union. Listen to this episode of the NCUST Review to learn more about what Dr. Matthews believes it takes to make urban schools and districts great.

Principal Pantelidis is a two-time NCUST America’s Best Schools Award winner. Even though 87% of the students were Latino or Black, met low-income criteria, and none were admitted through selective processes, Patrick Henry School, in New York City’s East Harlem, continues to be one of the highest-performing schools in the state of New York. Find out in this episode of the NCUST Review what makes the difference and what great schools do.

In this episode of the NCUST Review, we will hear from Dr. Francisco Escobedo, the Executive Director of NCUST. Dr. Escobedo has served as principal, and superintendent, and is currently a member of the California State Board of Education. He has earned numerous awards and led his previous school district to achieve the “positive outlier” status from the Learning Policy Institute in 2019. Prior to becoming the Executive Director of NCUST, Dr. Escobedo received the 2020 NCUST Ronald Edmund Award for his outstanding leadership in Urban Education. Find out what great schools and school districts do from the Executive Director of NCUST himself Dr. Francisco Escobedo!

Dr. Helen Griffith is the inaugural executive director and now superintendent of the Preuss School UCSD. She has won numerous awards for her leadership in education, particularly around equity advancement and diversity. She has had the privilege of opening three new schools in the county of San Diego, leaving a legacy of educational excellence. Discover the practices and procedures that Dr. Griffith has successfully implemented to support particularly disadvantaged youth on this episode of the NCUST Review: What Great Schools Do!