Reflective Journal
(Click here to return to Portfolio Homepage)
This Reflective Journal provides some professional highlights from my career, which consists of seven years of charter school experience, seven years of public school experience, and seven years of supplemental education or tutoring management experience. In summary, from these experiences, I value the opportunities that I have had to exceed assessment, business, operations, and school accountability metrics. Coupled with these professional highlights are my business and entrepreneurial experiences, community involvement, educational background, and experiences as a post-secondary adjunct professor. In addition to completing University of Houston’s principalship program, I am an adjunct professor of EDUC 1300 - First Year Experience at Lone Star College, while also being a student completing my Doctor of Education degree in Leadership and Management at St. Thomas University (Miami, FL).
In 2000, as a graduate student pursuing a master's degree in Computer and Electrical Engineering, I began working as a part-time tutor with Educational Development Associates, LLC, also known as Acaletics. With EDA, I honed some basic instructional practices, in particular as it pertains to assessment—preparing students for secondary and post-secondary college admissions and placement, K-12 end-of-year, and professional certification exams (i.e., ACT, CLAST, FCAT, FCTE GMAT, GRE, PLAN, PSAT, and SAT). Also, I learned how to create practice assessment items and promote Acaletics products, while ending my experience with EDA as an educational consultant.
In 2001, I began my teaching career as a substitute teacher. With expert content knowledge of various math and science high school subjects, and while exhibiting instructional strategies such as accessing prior knowledge and scaffolding, I quickly gained notoriety as a substitute teacher who could cover teachers’ classes and sustain student expectations in the classroom. With strong recommendations from principals and assistant principals from multiple school locations, I was hired as a temporary mathematics instructor at Hialeah-Miami Lakes Senior High School, my alma mater. At this point in my career, I decided to pivot and transition from pursuing an engineering career to completing all education and certification requirements to become a teacher. Also, this experience allowed me to serve as an assistant track and field coach, specializing in the high jump, long jump, and triple jump, which were some of the events I participated in as a member of the HML and FAMU track teams.
In 2002, I began at Blanche Ely High School as a mathematics teacher and assistant track and field coach. As a teacher of Intensive Mathematics, I had immediate success with traditional low-performing students, as their assessment results reflected learning gains and proficiency on the Algebra 1 end-of-course state assessment. A year later, as now the head coach of the girls’ track and field team, I challenged my student-athletes to perform in the classroom and on the track. For each of the next three seasons, my girls worked hard to achieve their goals to become consecutive Florida High School Athletic Association State Track and Field Finalists, while also maintaining GPAs between 3.2 and 3.8. After year one as a teacher, I earned the opportunity to teach Honors and Advanced Placement mathematics students enrolled in Blanche Ely’s engineering and medical magnet programs. Additionally, in collaboration with The College Board and Upward Bond, and as a part of the SAT norm-referencing process, I led the coordination of this joint preparation program, yielding the experience of having my first student score a perfect 2400 on the SAT exam.
In 2002, I began as a part-time instructor with Sylvan Learning’s National Learning Centers. For two years, I worked as a part-time instructor and center-level instructional leader. In 2006, I decided to leave the classroom and accepted a Director of Education role. After receiving a national award for the academic performance of my students enrolled at my center location, and after 18 months as an education director, I accepted the role of District Education Manager, which enabled me to train instructors and directors in Sylvan Learning’s academic programs and instructional best practices. In 2007, as a result of the economic downturn and corporate downsizing, my district-level position was eliminated and I accepted the opportunity to serve as a Center Director and Head of School at my own center location. After receiving another national award for exceeding expectations for several business metrics, I threw my hat in the running to become the Regional Director for Southeast territory for Sylvan Learning’s National Learning Centers. However, in 2011, due to personal reasons, I decided to resign and pursue other employment opportunities.
In 2011, as a natural progression in my career, I accepted an opportunity to become a Regional Director and franchisee with Club Z! In-Home Tutoring. Doing business as ABZ Learning for the Miami and Ft. Lauderdale markets, the focus of my business was to enroll students and provide them with Supplemental Education Services. With a small footprint and limited resources as to the variability in the tutoring resources and services that I was able to offer my students, I decided to relinquish my pursuit to continue in this role. I learned some valuable lessons in this first opportunity to be a business owner, which included establishing community partnerships to garner access to use public facilities and recruiting part-time certified teachers while working from a very small budget. Moreover, as a franchisee, and while having limited control over advertising and the reputation of Club Z! In-Home Tutoring, learning from an intricate SES process strengthen my skillset as a business and community leader.
In 2012, I began with Somerset Academy Schools, Inc as a mathematics instructor. One year later, I accepted the administrator role of Dean of Discipline, while also serving as the secondary department head for both mathematics and science. In 2015, after three years of serving as a disciplinarian and as two department heads, I transitioned into my first role as an instructional leader. As an instructional coach and a curriculum specialist, I was recognized three times by the State of Florida—twice for math achievement and once for the high achievement of learning gains. Specifically, I was recognized by the State of Florida for Improvement in Mathematics Achievement from 2015-2016 to 2016-2017 for Somerset Academy Hollywood Middle School, ranking 1 out of 565 middle schools and 15 out of 3,241 total schools (99th percentile amongst all middle schools and 99th percentile amongst all schools). For the same metric and period, Somerset Academy Preparatory Middle School ranked 39 out of 565 (93rd percentile amongst all middle schools). For the 2017-2018 academic year, I was recognized for achieving learning gains in mathematics for 72 percent of the lowest quartile of students for Somerset Academy Preparatory Middle School. These recognitions enabled me to serve on multiple committees for instruction and school turnaround, which were responsible for reforming schools across the charter school network, including schools throughout the State of Florida. Also, I served as the administrator for athletics, facilities, maintenance, safety, and security teams.
In 2019, I served as Assistant Regional Director for Tutoring Club’s Pearland and Katy locations, where I supported academic programming, staff development, and regional operations. In this role, I collaborated with center directors to implement individualized learning plans across K–12 subjects, ensured instructional quality through targeted coaching, and monitored student progress using performance data and parent feedback. I also played a key role in scheduling, enrollment outreach, and family engagement efforts that improved retention and strengthened community partnerships. This experience deepened my capacity to manage multi-site operations while advancing student achievement in supplemental education settings.
In 2020, I began as a mathematics instructor with Spring ISD at Virtual Learning Program. After six months in the classroom, I accepted the Lead Teacher and Safety Officer roles where I coached and trained teachers and modeled instructional best practices, while also ensuring that all campus safety procedures and protocols are followed. In 2021, I accepted the role as a Learning Specialist where I turned my attention to leading professional development activities and improving instructional best practices for EOC exam preparation courses.
I currently serve as an Assistant Principal at Hastings High School in Alief ISD, where I lead efforts to strengthen instructional quality, teacher development, and student achievement. My leadership is grounded in building strong relationships, providing actionable feedback, and promoting consistent lesson internalization across core content areas. I support PLC facilitation, oversee academic recovery systems, and implement targeted interventions through “Lunch & Learn” and advisory period initiatives. My work has contributed to a 25% increase in Biology STAAR EOC outcomes and the development of a collaborative science department culture grounded in data-driven instruction. As documented in my T-PESS and T-TESS evaluations, I consistently earn high marks for cultivating a culture of equity, excellence, and professional growth—affirming my ongoing impact as an instructional leader in Alief ISD.