Awakening the innate brilliance in every student . . .
E D U C A T I O N A L A D V I S O R Y B O A R D
Awake Education is grateful to the members of the Advisory Board who have agreed to support and guide Awake in the coming years. The Advisory Board comes from diverse backgrounds but has a wealth of expertise in public education.
Dr. Rebecca Good
Superintendent of Legacy Preparatory Charter District
Dr. Good’s is the Superintendent/CEO of the Legacy Preparatory Charter Academy School District. Previously, she served as an Administrator and Supervisor Team Leader responsible for AYP and AEIS School Improvement and Accountability in Secondary Learning Communities in Dallas. She also has experience as a Dean of Instruction, a Principal, and an Executive Director in Instructional Services Division and the Professional Development Department in the second-largest district in Texas. She began her career in education serving as a bilingual teacher in the Dallas and Plano Independent School Districts.
School district leadership is not Rebecca Good’s only current responsibility. She teaches leadership and curriculum courses as an adjunct professor in the graduate program at Concordia University at Texas in Dallas, and she is part of the core faculty for the American College of Education (ACE), teaching online courses in Bilingual and ESL Theory and Methodology for the Master’s Degree program. She actually wrote or co-wrote several of the courses. She has also taught in the College of Education for Texas Women’s University (TWU), and the University of Texas at Arlington (UTA). Dr. Good’s second book, Beyond Books, Butts, and Buses: Instructional Leadership for Assistant Principals, is scheduled to be published soon. “Understanding the Data Analysis Process Using a Collaborative Model”, which was based on her doctoral dissertation and published in January of 2010, is one of several articles written by Dr. Good.
Dr. Rebecca Good earned her Doctorate of Education as well as a 48-hour Mid-Management (Principal) Certificate from Texas A&M University, Commerce, Texas. She also holds a Master’s Degree in Bilingual Education and a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Spanish from Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Texas.
In addition to her numerous duties and interests, Dr. Good has been recognized for a wide range of achievements. She was been interviewed about outstanding campus leadership on “Good Morning America”, and she was chosen to serve on an educational principal panel televised nationwide for Learning 24/7, Inc. on best practices. Her awards include numerous years of Junior Achievement Recognitions, and Hispanic Woman of the Year from the Practical Parenting Education Agency in Plano, Texas. She is an accomplished translator of materials into a universal Spanish language, and she is a sought after presenter at conferences and workshops because of her expertise in instructional improvement through data analysis and other innovative instructional practices.
Kathleen Leos
Co-Founder and CEO of The Global Institute for Language and Literacy Development, LLC (GILD)
Ms. Leos is the Co-Founder and CEO of The Global Institute for Language and Literacy Development (GILD) LLC. The company provides highly specialized professional consultant services to education stakeholders on how to fundamentally transform education systems to meet the Academic Achievement goals of students identified as English and Dual Language Learners in Early Childhood, K-12 Postsecondary Education and the Workforce.
GILD experts design new education systems for ELLs based on Standards, federal, state and local legal requirements, evidence-based research, neuroscience, and organizational culture. GILD was founded in 2008 with Ms. Leos’ departure from the US Department of Education, where she served a six-year presidential appointment as the US Department of Education’s Office of English Language Acquisition (OELA) ESEA, Title III’s Assistant Deputy Secretary (2002-2007).
Ms. Leos served 7 years (1995-2002) as a School Board trustee for the Dallas Independent School District in Dallas, Texas. During her tenure, she held multiple positions as Board President, Vice-President, and Chair of the Business, Personnel, and Education Committees. Ms. Leos was DISD’s State Legislative Education Liaison (1996-2002) and co-authored the state’s HB 103 or the ELL “No Exemption” Bill which required Texas ELLs included in the State Accountability System for the first time in the in the history of Texas public education.
Ms. Leos is the recipient of numerous awards and recognitions. Among them are the 2005 Mexican American Legal Defense Educational Fund Excellence in Government Service Award, 1995 Texas Women of Spirit Award, the 1996 Velma Schmidt Early Childhood Award, 1996 Advocate of the Year Award, and the 1995 International Altrusa Community Service Award, in which she was selected out of nominations from 200 countries around the world. In 1999, the International Reading Association recognized her efforts to create reading centers in inner city non-English speaking communities. In that same year, the Ford Motor Co. presented Ms. Leos with the Hispanic Salute Award for literacy efforts in the Hispanic community. In 2001, her company, Basic English Inc., won the Laura Bush First Lady Family Literacy Award. The Texas Woman Trailblazer nomination was presented to Ms. Leos in 2002, and in June 2003 the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) honored Ms. Leos with its President’s Award for Excellence in Education for Hispanic Students. Currently, Ms. Leos serves on several boards and commissions in pursuit of academic excellence for English Language Learners and immigrant students: 3-21. She is the Chair of the Advisory Board for the Annette Caldwell Simmons, School of Education’s Institute for Education Policy and Leadership developed in concert with the Bush Education Institute for Education Leadership. She also serves as a board member to the MIND Research Institute commissioned by the National Academy of Sciences and is an expert consultant to Scientific Learning. Ms Leos is an enthusiastic board member to the Today Foundation’s Texas Leadership Forum that explores avenues to support developing young civic and political leaders in minority communities.
Lisa C. Saavedra
Co-Founder and Vice President of The Global Institute for Language and Literacy Development, LLC (GILD)
Lisa C. Saavedra is the co-founder and Vice President of The Global Institute for Language and Literacy Development, LLC, (GILD), an educational consultant services company that works with national and international, state, district, school and community educators to facilitate high academic achievement for English language learners (ELLs).
Prior to establishing GILD, Ms. Saavedra was the Bureau Chief for the Florida Department of Education, Bureau of Academic Achievement through Language Acquisition. Ms. Saavedra has dedicated her professional career to ensuring the language and literacy development and high academic achievement of English language learners for over 25 years. In her former position, Ms. Saavedra served as educational expert to the Florida Department of Education on all matters related to the education of ELLs. Ms. Saavedra provided leadership to all 74 Florida school districts developing comprehensive plans for instructional services including standards and alignment, assessment, curriculum design/ implementation and established the State of Florida’s accountability system to include the 350,000 diverse English language learners in the state. As Vice President of GILD, Ms. Saavedra continues this mission and commitment by sharing her expertise and promoting the transformation of education systems.
Wanda Huckaby
Professional Service Advisor, Texas Education Agency
Wanda Huckaby is a former teacher, principal, superintendent and presently serves as a Professional Service Provider who represents the Texas Education Agency as an external monitor. She has had the privilege of being an educator who helped children increase their knowledge and become more motivated about attaining their goals.
Her desire to equip students with the tools to be successful led her to pursue the position of an education administrator for over 30 years. She has worked as a principal in schools where there were great challenges and gaps in learning and with students who were classified as talented and gifted and had to apply to attend the school.
She also served as the Senior Director, Superintendent to Uplift Public Charter Schools. She currently serves as a Professional Service Provider for Texas Education Agency to provide technical assistance to schools which require improvement based on state test criteria.
She is currently working with four K-8 charter schools to ensure that they meet state accountability standards.
Another area to which she has devoted over 30 years is serving on the board of South Dallas Fair Park Inner City Development Cooperation. Their mission is to help empower communities with acquiring affordable high quality homes, arranging partnerships with financial institutions and businesses to support the transformation of communities, helping to support start up businesses with the incubating programs, and working with schools to encourage financial literacy and youth entrepreneurship.