The California County Superintendents Educational Services Association (CCSESA) has produced a guide for
Bio
Natalie Woods Andrews Ed.D.
Natalie Woods Andrews is a credentialed administrator and teacher with over twenty years of experience in educational leadership, early education, and public school and university instruction. She currently serves as the Director of Sacramento County Office of Education’s School Readiness Department. Prior to her current position, Ms. Woods Andrews served as a principal for Title I elementary schools in the Fairfield-Suisun Unified School District; Education Specialist for Napa-Solano Head Start preschool program; and Program Administrator for Elk Grove Unified School District’s First 5 school readiness program and Head Start, State, and Title I preschool programs.
Her early professional experience began as a Coordinator of Title I elementary school services and elementary school teacher. Ms. Woods Andrews earned a Doctor of Education degree in Educational Leadership from the University of Southern California.
Wilma Hashimoto
Wilma Hashimoto earned her Business Administration degree from the University of Southern California and her Master of Arts degree in Education Administration from CSU, Fresno. She began her career as a corporate auditor then discovered her passion in teaching, specifically with at-risk children. She had a successful journey as a classroom teacher and a school site and district administrator in Clovis Unified School District.
In her current capacity as the Associate Director for the Fresno County Office of Education she oversees the Early Care and Education department and serves as the liaison between the California Department of Education and the more than 250 subsidized childcare programs in Fresno County and is now developing the implementation of Transitional Kindergarten in the county and statewide.
Nancy Herota
Nancy Herota is a credentialed administrator with over twenty years of experience in educational leadership, elementary education and early childhood education. She works at the Sacramento County Office of Education and serves as the statewide Director for the California Preschool Instructional Network (CPIN), which is funded by the Child Development Division (CDD) of the California Department of Education (CDE).
Her role includes providing leadership to the eleven CPIN regions of the California County Superintendents Educational Services Association (CCSESA) and coordinating statewide CPIN professional development and technical assistance support to preschool programs.
Prior to her current position, Ms. Herota worked as the Director for the early childhood education programs in the Elk Grove Unified School District. She also possesses a Master of Social Work degree and worked directly with preschool children and their families in the Head Start preschool program.
David Swart
David Swart currently serves in the position of Superintendent for the Rescue Union School District in El Dorado County. Prior to this position, David served as the district’s Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction for four years and worked for the Pulliam Group and Educational Testing Services (ETS) for the prior four years as a national consultant assisting schools in using data to improve academic outcomes for all students. In this capacity, David consulted with district superintendents and leadership teams and trained teachers in urban and rural school districts in fourteen different states. Before working for ETS, David served as Assistant Superintendent of Education Services for the Auburn Union School District, in Auburn, Ca.
Prior to this time, David served as an elementary and middle school site principal for ten years and was a classroom teacher at the high school, middle school and elementary school levels for 14 years.
Kathy Thompson
Kathy Thompson is the Assistant Superintendent of Early Childhood Services for the Shasta County Office of Education. She has been an early childhood educator for 32 years. She is actively involved in local, regional, and statewide efforts to advocate for quality early care and education programs and the implementation of transitional kindergarten.
Joyce Wright
Joyce Wright is Sacramento County Office of Education’s Assistant Superintendent of Instructional Support Services (early childhood, foster youth, prevention/health/mental wellness, research/assessment, homeless students, new teacher support, Sly Park Outdoor Education Center, and AVID). She has over 40 years of experience as an educator, teacher, school district coordinator, university instructor, supervisor of student teachers, educational researcher, and administrator of state and federal projects.
Ms. Wright’s interest and involvement with early education and care began with her initial position as a teacher at a child care center and continued to include teaching early childhood art at CSULA and CSU Sacramento; collaborating with higher education, the California Department of Education, and county offices of education to develop integrated programs for early childhood educators; spearheading local efforts for preschool expansion; and participating in various early childhood research and policy initiatives.
Furthermore, as a mother of triplets (now adults), she also understands the immediate and long-term impact of children’s experiences during their first five years.
Wilma Hashimoto of the Fresno County Office of Education demonstrates how to formulate Transitional Kindergarten curriculum as a bridge between the California Preschool Curriculum Framework and the Kindergarten Common Core Standards.
School or class intended for children age four to six as a prominent part of preschool education. The kindergarten originated in the early 19th century as an outgrowth of the ideas and practices of Robert Owen in Britain, Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi in Switzerland and his pupil Friedrich Froebel (who coined the term) in Germany, and Maria Montessori in Italy. Kindergartens generally stress the social and emotional growth of the child, encouraging self-understanding through play activities and creative expression.
