Address
CAAASA12155 El Oro Way
Granada Hills, CA 91344
Phone: (818) 321-7779
CAAASA Officers
President: Pamela Short Powell, Ed.D.
Vice President: Edna E. Davis-Herring
Treasurer: Joseph Jones
Secretary: Ramona E. Bishop, Ph.D.
Consultant: Charlie Mae Knight, Ed.D.
Executive Director: Dwight Bonds
Biographies
DR. PAMELA SHORT POWELL
Dr. Pamela Short Powell has spent the last thirty-five years serving as an educator in the public school system. She served as the Superintendent of the Inglewood Unified School District, the Interim Superintendent for the Oklahoma City Public Schools, the Chief Academic Officer for Oklahoma City Public Schools, and the Assistant Superintendent for Schools, Director of Elementary Instruction, Principal, Curriculum Resource Specialist, and teacher for the Pasadena Unified School District.
Dr. Powell has actively and successfully pursued various community outreach ventures for the benefit of children, such as implementing the Adopt-A-School Program; establishing a partnership with the Association of Inglewood Ministry Alliance; and initiating a district-wide fatherhood outreach effort. Test scores increased significantly in both school districts where she served as Superintendent and Interim Superintendent as a result of concentrating on student and professional needs and enhancing and increasing the number of comprehensive professional development programs for teachers and administrators.
Dr. Powell received the NAACP Distinguished Educator and Community Service Award; Education Excellence Award; Soroptimist Education Excellence Award; Nova University Herbert A. Drew National Ed.D. Program Award for Educational Leaders; Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. Ebony Excellence Women of Vision Award; and the National Association of University Women Award. She has been a visiting professor for the University of San Diego and Azusa Pacific University. She has appeared on several television programs and radio talk shows, and has been featured in numerous articles and publications highlighting her advocacy for children and her work as an educator.
JOSEPH JONES
Joseph Jones has thirty-five years of experience in public schools, pre-college, and the university levels, including classroom teacher, middle school counselor, middle and high school assistant principal, and high school principal. Mr. Jones has also served as a part-time instructor of graduate students in teacher education and school administration, and as a nationally distinguished lecturer.
For the past sixteen years he has held a position with the Association of California School Administrators (ACSA), first as a Professional Services Executive, Director of Member Services, and more recently as the Assistant Executive Director of Member Services and Professional Standards. He assists California superintendents and administrators with due process, contract development, legal problems, conflict resolution, interest-based bargaining, site-based decision-making, and sexual harassment workshops. He also serves as ACSA's liaison to numerous state and national associations and boards.
Mr. Jones has a long history of public service and is a recipient of many awards.
DR. RAMONA E. BISHOP
Dr. Ramona E. Bishop is a graduate of the University of the Pacific, Stockton, where she earned the Doctorate of Education in Educational Leadership. She holds a Master of Science Degree in Educational Leadership from California State University, Hayward, and a Bachelor of Arts Degree from the University of California at Berkeley.
Dr. Bishop has served as Superintendent of the Del Paso Heights School District, Sacramento; Director III Multilingual/Multicultural Equity, Access and Achievements in Sacramento City Unified School District; and Principal, Bret Harte Elementary School, Sacramento City Unified School District; and she served in a dual role as Associate Superintendent of Curriculum/Instruction and Principal of Anna Yates Elementary School, Emery Unified School District. She has received the following awards: 2008 ACSA Region 3 Superintendent of the Year; 2007 Distinguished Educator, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.; 2005 Silver Star Award, Association of California School Administrators; 2004 Above and Beyond Award from SCUSD Special Education Department; and Teacher Education Student of the Year, University of San Francisco.
Dr. Bishop is the Associate Superintendent for the Curriculum and Academic Achievement Division in the new Twin Rivers Unified School District. The Curriculum and Academic Achievement Division provides support to all school sites within the District to accelerate performance for ALL students while eliminating the achievement gap.
DR. CHARLIE MAE KNIGHT
Dr. Charlie Mae Knight began her education career as an elementary school teacher in Blakely, Georgia, and as a counselor and teacher in Monterey, California. She continued her studies, earning the Master Degree from Monterey Institute of International Studies and the Doctorate from Nova University. She has championed the cause of African-American leadership, convening the annual Multicultural Education Conference in Monterey, California; the California Education Summits in Sacramento, California; and the Urban Institute in Santa Clara, California. She became a charter member of the California Association of Compensatory Education (CACE), and served as President of Region III from 1975 to 1977 and President of CACE in 1978. She also served as President of the National Alliance of Black School Educators from 1996 to 1998.
In her years in California, Dr. Knight has served as Associate Superintendent, California State Department of Education; Trustee of Compton Community College; Superintendent of Lynwood Unified School District; and Superintendent of Ravenswood City School District. In Ravenswood, Dr. Knight transformed the education offered to students by bringing the District from the brink of bankruptcy through her initiation of many innovative programs, generating private and public support for programs, and restoring public confidence in the District’s ability to educate its children.
Dr. Knight is known for her commitment to students and their families, her tremendous energy, and her inspirational leadership. On June 30, 2003, Dr. Knight retired after serving forty-two years in public education. On August 8, 2005, she established the Knight Foundation to provide housing for public servants and the poor.
GABRIEL E. MCCURTIS
Gabriel E. McCurtis is the Superintendent of Schools for the McFarland Unified School District. He earned the Bachelor Degree and Master Degree at the University of California, Riverside. He is currently working on the Doctoral Degree in the field of Christian Education through the Calvary Chapel Teachers College located in San Diego.
Mr. McCurtis began his career in the field of education in 1981, as an elementary school teacher with the Rialto Unified School District located in Rialto, California. In 1985, Mr. McCurtis relocated to Ventura, where he began working for the Ventura Unified School District. After a brief absence as a public school administrator, he worked as an adjunct professor for Azusa Pacific University. In 2000, Mr. McCurtis returned to service as a public school administrator, working in the Bay Area for the Pittsburg Unified School District and the Berkeley Unified School District as high school executive vice principal, elementary school principal, and alternative high school principal. In 2004, Mr. McCurtis returned to Southern California and began working for the Santa Paula Union High School District as a high school vice principal and in 2005 relocated to the McFarland Unified School District, where he served as high school principal, Director of Human Resources, and his current position of Superintendent of Schools.
Mr. McCurtis is married to his wife of thirty-two years, Debra. He has three adult children and four grandchildren. He is also an ordained minister and the pastor of the Unity Christian Fellowship Church of God in Christ, a ministry he founded in 1991.
DR. WILLIAM J. ELLERBEE, JR.
Dr. William J. Ellerbee, Jr. is Deputy Superintendent of the School and District Operations Branch with the California Department of Education (CDE). He is responsible for general oversight activities and policies within the following divisions: Nutrition Services, State Special Schools and Services, Charter Schools, and School Facilities and Planning.
Prior to coming to CDE, Dr. Ellerbee served as the Associate Superintendent for Elementary Education with the Sacramento City Unified School District. He has more than twenty-four years of experience in education administration, in addition to experience as an elementary teacher and paraprofessional. He has served as an adjunct instructor with National University, the University of California, Berkeley Extension, and the University of the Pacific, Stockton, and he has ten years of experience as a legislative aide with the California State Assembly.
Dr. Ellerbee received the B.A. and M.A. Degrees from California State University, Sacramento, and the Ed.D. from the University of the Pacific, Stockton, California. His professional strengths include expertise in organizational development, team building, school reform, strategic planning, and educational equity. He serves on several local, state, and national boards and committees. Dr. Ellerbee is also the recipient of recognition including numerous awards for his leadership, dedication, and commitment to education and the community.