Fall 2008 Issue

    ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT

    Antonio Castro ’08 is an Outstanding Alumnus
    STRIVE for Excellence in Educational Leadership Fellowship Recipient

    Clockwise: Wife Lisandra, Antonio Castro, father Steve, mother Pam, sons Dominic (9) and Nicholas (7).

    Having received the STRIVE for Excellence in Educational Leadership Fellowship, in addition to the CTA Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Scholarship, Assistant Principal and former Special Education Coordinator Antonio Castro is one impressive alumnus.

    As an assistant principal at Sycamore Canyon School in the Conejo Valley School District, Castro supervises students and teachers K-8. Previously, as a special education coordinator, he managed special education services for four high schools and two middle schools and assisted in the creation of a new program for the retention of emotionally disturbed adolescents. Castro formerly was an administrator at Westmark School in Encino. Prior to becoming an administrator, Castro taught in the Simi Valley Unified School District. He continues his teaching role as a part-time faculty member in CLU’s School of Education and Adult Degree Evening Programs.

    Castro earned an Ed.D. in Educational Leadership and an M.S. in Education from CLU specializing in at-risk studies. He also completed secondary social science, education specialist, and administrative services credentials at CLU. He is trained and certified in Feuerstein’s structural cognitive modifiability model and is a certified Nonviolent Crisis Prevention trainer for the district. Castro stays involved in his profession through professional organizations and collaboration with colleagues.

    Born and raised in Moorpark, Castro is an active community resident whose family has been in the area since the early 1900s. His paternal grandfather owned Castro Market in Moorpark at one time, and his parents, Pam and Steve, have owned and operated a preschool P.S. for Kids for more than 25 years. As a teenager, Castro helped found Our Town Teens, a group that addressed gang issues through community involvement. More recently, he was involved in the fight against eminent domain, writing letters to the editor and speaking before the city council on several occasions.

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    Michael McCambridge Receives President’s Excellence in Teaching Award

    Education professor Michael McCambridge received the President’s Excellence in Teaching Award at California Lutheran University’s Honors Day Banquet on May 16.

    McCambridge, of Sherman Oaks, has taught at CLU since 1999 and is currently director of the Liberal Studies Program for aspiring elementary school teachers.

    “Dr. McCambridge is one of the most effective and dynamic teachers I have known,” said School of Education Dean Terence R. Cannings. “He is a true motivator who excels at meeting the needs of individual students and promoting and modeling active learning strategies in the classroom.”

    McCambridge, who has a strong arts and theater background, is an expert in the use of drama as a teaching tool. At CLU, he has developed arts outreach programs in local school districts, started a university drama ministry and serves as the Education Director for the Kingsmen Shakespeare Company. He has a distinguished 36-year career in education with experience teaching at every level from elementary school to graduate courses in public and private schools. He has also served as a principal and district curriculum director.

    As a professor, McCambridge works to create opportunities for teachers-intraining to explore how good teaching practices can result in not only academic achievement but also personal, social and moral growth for kindergarten through 12th grade students. He has researched and written about the role of teachers in raising good citizens.

    McCambridge grew up in Fostoria, Ohio, and graduated from Ohio University. He went on to earn a master’s degree in education from Pepperdine University and a doctorate in education from the University of San Francisco. He belongs to Emmanuel Lutheran Church in North Hollywood, one of two churches where he has organized drama ministries.

    A former CLU president created the Excellence in Teaching Award to recognize professors who are held in high esteem by their peers, the students and the university community. The award was presented for the first time in 1995.

    To listen to Dr. McCambridge’s keynote address at CLU’s Opening Academic Convocation in October or to download the podcast of his speech, visit http://www.callutheran.edu/president/opening_convocation_2008.php

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    School of Education Partners with Los Cerritos Middle School

    CLU School of Education will pilot a new Professional Development School (PDS) partnership with Los Cerritos Middle School in the Conejo Valley Unified School District this year. The goal of the new initiative is to improve and promote high quality student learning experiences through the collaborative efforts of school and university faculty.

    A second goal is to provide high quality professional development experiences for student teachers, veteran teachers and university faculty. Rather than working in isolation, teachers and faculty from both institutions become a team and work together to reach their common goals.

    CLU students and professors will benefit by having a designated school site readily available for observation, participation in activities, and handson learning. Los Cerritos teachers will become adjunct CLU professors, providing opportunities for them to demonstrate a variety of techniques, practical procedures and philosophies. This partnership ultimately will benefit each young student at Los Cerritos by providing high quality learning experiences rooted in research-based teaching methodology. CLU participants look forward to a successful collaboration that will improve the quality of learning

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    FACULTY SPOTLIGHT

    Dean Carol Bartell Returns to CLU

    Carol Bartell, Ed.D., returns to CLU as Dean of the School of Education, a position she held from 1995 to 2003.

    During the past five years, Bartell has served as Dean of the College of Education at California State University, Los Angeles; Interim Dean at Cal Poly, Pomona; and Director of the Doctoral Program at CSU, Northridge. Her previous faculty appointments include positions at the University of Iowa and the University of the Pacific. Her teaching strengths lie in educational leadership and policy studies, which she has primarily taught at the doctoral level. She has worked in a state level policy role for the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing and has been a classroom teacher and administrator in P-12 schools in five states. She has played a leadership role in state and national standard-setting activities for teachers and administrators, including development of the California Standards for the Teaching Profession.

    Dr. Bartell has written more than 35 articles and book chapters, and has presented at more than 60 state and national conferences. Her work focuses on the preparation, induction, and mentoring of high quality teachers and administrators. She is the author of Cultivating High-Quality Teaching through Induction and Mentoring, published by Corwin Press.

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    Project ACT:

    A CLU and Moorpark Unified School District Partnership

    Project ACT Kick-off Event held on October 15, 2008.

    A recent $999,000 four-year federal grant to the Moorpark Unified School District in collaboration with CLU will place School of Education Faculty Michael McCambridge and Michael Cosenza front and center in bringing active, collaborative teaching through arts-based instruction to teachers at Moorpark elementary schools.

    Under the “Project ACT—Active, Collaborative Teaching” grant from the U.S. Department of Education, Dr. McCambridge will serve as Project Lead in providing a series of summer institutes for Moorpark elementary school teachers that focus on using process drama. Over the four years of the grant, the teachers will receive individualized coaching from the CLU team, and then will become trainers for their colleagues in the district. CLU Liberal Studies students will serve as interns in assisting teachers in incorporating the arts-based instruction in their lesson plans. CLU will receive approximately $60,000 in each of the four years of the grant. In a happy collaboration with other faculty, Michael Arndt and the Kingsmen Shakespeare Company will provide the KSC Shakespeare Educational Tour to six schools each year under the grant’s funding.

    Said McCambridge, “We are very pleased to receive this grant, since it will give us the opportunity to embed arts instruction throughout the elementary curriculum. Our goals are to create a practical, replicable model of quality arts integration, increase teacher effectiveness and increase student achievement.”

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    Counseling and Guidance Faculty Provide Violence Response Training

    The recent shooting death of a student at an Oxnard middle school and the frequency of similar incidents at kindergarten through 12th grade schools and college campuses throughout the country prompted School of Education Counseling and Guidance department faculty Gail Uellendahl, Diana Stephens and Lisa Buono to offer “Responding to Critical Incidents in Educational Settings.” 100 counselors and college student affairs professionals were trained on how to respond to shootings and other violent situations on school campuses this past Spring.

    Attendees learned how to diffuse and debrief students and were trained on the Violent Intruder Police Educator Response from a police facilitator and college safety and preparedness.

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    SOE Photo Gallery

    Proud to be CLU Alumni

    Josephine Foronda-Catalini,Education Administrative Credential 2008, and daughter, Cecilia Foronda Catalini
    JoAnn Evans, MA ‘08 with granddaughter, Charlotte.

    2008 Doctoral Celebration

    Barbara Semel Parkhurst and Jody Fernandez present the 2008 doctoral class gift, a contribution towards the STRIVE for Excellence in Educational Leadership Doctoral Fellowship
    2008 doctoral degree recipients Jody Fernandez, Barbara Semel Parkhurst, and Mickey Stueck with faculty member Dr. James Valadez at the May graduation celebration.
    Michele Dean, Ed.D. ’06 and Gayle Pinkston, Ed.D. ’06 present the STRIVE for Excellence in Educational Leadership Doctoral Fellowship Award.

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    SOE In the News

    Recent School of Education stories that have made headlines in the local news.

    Annual Superintendents Forum Held at CLU

    Left to right: Dean Carol Bartell, Oak Park Unified School District Superintendent Tony Knight, Moorpark Unified School District Superintendent Ellen Smith, President Chris Kimball, Phi Delta Kappa Co-President Kathleen Turner, Phi Delta Kappa Co-President Jeannie Valentine, Justin Elementary Principal Marian Weaver.

    Three area school superintendents discussed the changing face of education during Phi Delta Kappa’s annual superintendents forum at California Lutheran University in September.

    For complete article, see Ventura County Star: http://www.venturacountystar.com/news/2008/sep/24/forum-focuses-on-education-politics/.

    A podcast of the superintendents’ presentations can be downloaded at http://www.callutheran.edu/schools/education/alumni/podcasts.php.

    Doctoral Student Susan Martinez Named VC Teacher of the Year

    Susan Martinez, a fourth-grade teacher at Pierpont School in Ventura, was named Ventura County Teacher of the Year in June.

    For complete article, see Ventura County Star: http://www.venturacountystar.com/news/2008/jun/04/uteacher-of-the-yearu/.

    Instructors Learning New Ways to Teach Reading

    This fall, the California State Board of Education is expected to adopt new and improved textbooks for reading and language arts, and school districts will likely start using them in the 2009-10 school year. While educators look forward to the new materials, they worry about getting adequate teacher training amid state and federal budget woes.

    Nancy Myers will soon take on a leadership role with the California Reading and Literature Project at CLU, one of 14 regional sites for a state initiative designed to improve elementary and secondary school teachers’ instruction of reading and literature.

    For complete article, see Ventura County Star: http://www.venturacountystar.com/news/2008/jun/02/instructors-learning-new-ways-to-teach-reading/.

    Barbara Semel Parkhurst Earns Doctorate Despite Medical Challenges

    Studying for a doctorate is challenging enough, but Barbara Semel Parkhurst of Oak Park earned her degree at the same time she was undergoing multiple surgeries for a near fatal brain aneurysm.

    For complete article, see Thousand Oaks Acorn: http://www.toacorn.com/news/2008/0807/family/045.html

    Third Annual Michael A. Moffitt Educational Leadership Lecture with Karen Dyer

    Left to right: Dr. Deborah Erickson, Dr. Karen Dyer, Karla Lysdal-Moffitt, Dr. Carol Bartell

    Karen Dyer, co-author of the book, The Intuitive Principal, discussed the use of intuition as both a valid and valued strategy for enhancing leadership capabilities with CLU faculty, alumni, students and local educators at CLU’s Lundring Events Center in October. Dyer is the Group Director of the Education and Non-Profit Sector for the Center for Creative Leadership (CCL). In this role she works primarily with superintendents, principals, and others occupying leadership positions in education and non-profit settings in accessing CCL’s portfolio of programs, products, and services.

    The Michael A. Moffitt Educational Leadership Lecture was established to memorialize educator Michael A. Moffitt who was passionate about teaching and exploring the great outdoors with wife Karla Lysdal-Moffitt and daughter Alexandra.“My dad had a passion for knowledge. He always wanted to learn something new,” says Alexandra Moffitt. “His drive for knowledge was contagious and that was what made him such a great educator. He was an inspiration.”

    A podcast of Dyer’s presentation can be downloaded at http://www.callutheran.edu/schools/education/alumni/podcasts.php

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    Class Notes

    CLU teacher candidate supervisor Dale Ackerman was honored as a 2008 Inductee by the Ventura County Educators’ Hall of Fame.

    David Baldwin, MS ’83, TC ’96, is principal at Rio Vista Elementary School in the Rio School District. He has worked as principal and assistant principal in high school and adult education as well as more than 20 years teaching English to secondary students.

    CLU teacher candidate supervisor and Teacher Performance Assessment (TPA) assessor Christine Brown was honored as a 2008 Inductee by the Ventura County Educators’ Hall of Fame.

    Aileen Buhring ’69, MA ’89, retired from the Simi Valley Unified School District last year after having served as principal of Atherwood Elementary School for 11 years.

    Aldo Calcagno ’84, TC ’93, is principal at Hollow Hills Fundamental School in the Simi Valley Unified School District.

    Luis A. Castro, TC ’07, is teaching kindergarten at a Spanish-English dual immersion school in the Campbell Union School District in San Jose.

    Nancy Grubb, TC ’08, recipient of a $500 scholarship from Ventura County chapter of Phi Delta Kappa, completed her yearlong internship at Buena High School in Ventura as the teacher of record. Grubb was rehired as a special day class teacher and continues to teach mathematics, social science and health, as well as coach the varsity cheerleading team.

    Sylvia O. Guzman, MA ’95, is principal at Panorama City Elementary School. Guzman was principal of Primary Academy in Panorama City for the past six years.

    Robin A. Lilly, TC ’04, M.Ed. ’06, presented her classroom-based research on “Effective Writing Instruction and Perceptions of the Role and Efficacy of Feedback” at the Third International Santa Barbara Conference on Writing Research which brought together writing researchers from throughout the world to share findings and promote the growth of writing studies across the globe.

    Amanda Magallanes, TC ’08, teaches firstgrade Structured English Immersion (SEI) at Kamala School in the Oxnard Unified School District.

    Christina L. Myren ’68, TC ’69, retired after 40 years as an educator for the Conejo Valley Unified School District. Myren was the recipient of the first Presidential Award in Elementary Math and was California’s Teacher of the Year in 1990. She will be providing workshops in math for K-2 teachers in Basel, Switzerland in November.

    Jessica Newville ’08, who is currently enrolled in the teacher preparation program, is one of 33 future teachers nationwide to receive a $150,000 fellowship from the Knowles Science Teaching Foundation. Newville plans to apply the fellowship towards the pursuit of her goal of teaching beginning algebra.

    Doreen S. Oswaks, MS ’82, is a special education teacher and resource specialist at Medea Creek Middle School in Oak Park Unified School District. She has a severely handicapped credential and currently teaches and works with up to 28 seventh- and eighth-grade special education students with various disabilities including visually and hearing impaired, autistic, speech/language impaired, emotionally disturbed, and other health impaired, as well as Down syndrome and Fragile X syndrome.

    Barbara Semel Parkhurst, Ed.D. ‘08, will present her doctoral dissertation work titled “Culturally Proficient Leadership: Collaboration for Special Education Students” at the 87th Annual California Educational Research Association (CERA) Conference in December in Rancho Mirage, California. The conference features a primary focus on “Effective Teaching and Learning: Evaluating Instructional Practices.”

    Drew Passalacqua, Ed.D. ’07, is principal at Granada Middle School in East Whittier City School District.

    Fern Somoza, MA ’02, is principal at the Paul Revere Charter Middle School in Pacific Palisades. Previously, she was assistant principal at both George Ellery Hale Middle School and Birmingham High School.

    Krister Swanson ’89, MA ’96, earned his Ph.D. in American History with a focus on 20th Century Labor History from University of California Santa Barbara. Swanson’s dissertation is titled “The Rise of the Major League Baseball Players Association: One Craft Guild’s Safe Path Home.”

    Susan Tandberg, TC ’03, Ed.D. ’06, presented a workshop titled “Navigating the Roadmap to Successful Passage of CASHEE Using WorkAbility” at the California Community of Practice Secondary Transition Conference in April. She discussed strategies for connecting CAHSEE and WorkAbility to increase pass rates and provide students with the skills needed to make a successful transition to post-school options. Tandberg also presented a workshop entitled “Transition Planning: Preparing for Post-Secondary Options” at the Back to School Autism/Aspergers Conference in Pasadena in August.

    Mary D. Wennes, TC ’79, MS ’80, was honored with the 2008 Distinguished Alumni Award by her alma mater Austin High School in Austin, Minn., for her dedicated work on hunger and social justice issues and sustainable development programs in South Africa.

    Caroline Neuhaus Wesley, MA ’99, Ed.D., is principal at Rio Del Valle Middle School in the Rio School District. She is the former principal of Emilie Ritchen Elementary School in Oxnard, where she developed an English Language Development Academy for students new to the United States.

    Amy Wick, TC ’08, a recipient of a $500 scholarship from Ventura County chapter of Phi Delta Kappa, completed her yearlong internship at Camarillo High School as the teacher of record. Wick has been rehired as a resource teacher and continues to teach English and guided studies as in support of a variety of general education subjects.

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    Faculty News

    Deborah Erickson, Ed.D., will present her work titled “Using a portfolio defense to measure the knowledge, skills, and dispositions of an educational leader” at the Hawaii International Conference on Education in January. She will co-present the following: “Breaking the relationship barrier: Using the Consultancy Protocol to build group development in a doctoral cohort” with doctoral students Maya Tenenbaum, Michael Cosenza, Hanns Botz, and Sandra Cruz; “Entering the professoriate: What new professors need to know to transition successfully into higher education” with Cal Poly Pomona faculty members Phyllis Hensley and Gary Kinsey; and “Building relationships with local school districts: Professional Development and School Leadership Centers” with CLU faculty member and doctoral student Michael Cosenza.

    Blas Garza, Ed.D., former president of Santa Barbara dance club Los Fiesteros, celebrated the club’s 50th anniversary of its founding on Sept. 27 with a formal affair that included entertainment by the “Harry James” Big Band from the East Coast. Los Fiesteros consists of 65 couples who enjoy dancing to swing, Latin, country, and blues music.

    Diana Stephens, Ph.D., will present the findings of her dissertation study on “The Site- Supervision of School Counselors-in-Training: An Interview Study of Promising Practices” on Monday, Nov. 10, in the Roth-Nelson Room Stephens completed her Ph.D. in Human and Organizational Systems at Fielding Graduate University in Santa Barbara.

    James Valadez, Ph.D., will have his article titled “Shaping the Educational Decisions of Mexican Immigrant High School Students” published in the prestigious American Educational Research Journal.

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    Upcoming Events

    Club Teach Mixer

    Alumni interested in serving as mentors are invited to attend.

    Monday, Nov. 3, 6 p.m.
    Overton Hall

    Club Teach
    Do you have an interest in mentoring future educators? CLU’s School of Education is looking for alumni interested in serving as a mentor to undergraduate students in our new student organization Club Teach. Club Teach will hold its first mixer on Monday, Nov. 3, from 6 to 8 p.m. at Overton Hall. Please contact Kristine Calara at kcalara@callutheran.edu or (805) 493-3837 if you are interested in mentoring an aspiring educator.

    Diana Stephens, Ph.D.,

    presents her dissertation on “Site Supervision of School Counselors-in-Training”

    Monday, Nov. 10, 1:30-2:30 p.m.
    Roth-Nelson Room

    Diana Stephens, assistant professor of counseling and guidance, will present the findings of her dissertation study on “The Site-Supervision of School Counselors-in-Training: An Interview Study of Promising Practices.” She will discuss the changing roles and responsibilities of 21st century California school counselors and how new trainees are inducted into the profession so they can successfully collaborate and team with administrators and teachers in providing for the diverse academic, career and personal/social needs of all students on campus. The findings of Stephens’ study have implications for all stakeholders in K-12 education. Admission is free. Sponsored by the Center for Equality and Justice. For more information, please contact the Center for Equality and Justice at (805) 493-3694 or cej@callutheran.edu.

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    Advanced Bionics Funds Deaf Education Resource Center

    Jeff Greiner, CEO of Advanced Bionics, the manufacturer of the Harmony cochlear implant and the only cochlear implant manufacturer based in the U.S., made
    a gift of $10,000 to fund and name the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Teacher Preparation Program’s Deaf Education Resource Center (DERC). Located at CLU’s Woodland Hills graduate campus, DERC will provide faculty and students with the specialized equipment, resources and reference materials that are specific to and needed by the program.

    Advanced Bionics, based in Valencia with a manufacturing plant in Sylmar, has been a supportive partner for CLU and the program, providing teacher candidates with an educational visit to their company with a tour of the manufacturing facility, presentations and conversation with engineers and employees, and free materials for each of the students. Now the company has taken the additional step of committing financial resources to fund the Deaf Education Resource Center.

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    SOE Scholarship and Fellowship Recipients

    We greatly appreciate the donors below who have the foresight and commitment to provide scholarships for our aspiring educators. Congratulations to the scholarship recipients in the School of Education!

    Fellowships Recipient
    Anonymous Foundation Donor Paige Banculla
    Melanie Carlisle
    Shannon Brintnall
    Jennifer McCann
    Melissa Webster
    Valeria Wold
    Delta Kappa Gamma (Simi Valley Chapter) Danielle Mier
    Louise and Paul Evenson Scholarship Keri Wolthausen
    Phi Delta Kappa Ventura County Scholarship Nancy Grubb
    Amy Wick
    Paul Schoenbeck Memorial Scholarship Ana Mondet
    John R. Siemens Memorial Scholarship Cleo Bare
    STRIVE for Excellence in Educational Leadership Doctoral Fellowship Antonio Castro
    James A. Thompson Memorial Scholarship Laura Bachrach

    Special thanks to our donors who shape the future of education through their investment in the School of Education. To view our Honor Roll of Donors, visit http://www.callutheran.edu/schools/education/giving/

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    IRA Rollover Provision Reinstated for 2008/2009

    President Bush signed the $700 billion economic bailout bill (H.R. 1424,The Financial Rescue Package), which includes a two-year extension of the IRA Rollover provision.

    The provision will be made retroactive to Jan. 1, 2008, and will apply to gifts made from that date through Dec. 31, 2009.

    The provision exempts from taxable income any funds transferred (“rolled over”) from an Individual Retirement Account (IRA) to a charitable organization.

    The following limitations apply:

    • The donor must be age 70½ or older.
    • The cap on annual IRA rollovers is $100,000.
    • The contribution must be a direct gift to a charity (no planned gifts).
    • The contribution can satisfy your required minimum distribution (RMD) for the year.

    For additional details or questions, please contact K. Richard Holmes IV ‘98, Associate Director of Estate and Gift Planning, at (805) 493-3586, holmes@callutheran.edu.

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