SUZANNE MARIE NICASTRO

3955 POLARIS AVE, LOMPOC, CA 93436

(805) 588-2423 sn9ea16c@westpost.net

EDUCATION:
*M.Ed. Chapman University
*B.A. English Literature, University of California, Santa Barbara
CREDENTIALS:
*California Professional Clear Administrative Credential
*Secondary Teaching Credential, English
*California Journalism Education Certification (CJE)

ADMINISTRATIVE ASSIGNMENTS:
SANTA YNEZ UNION VALLEY HIGH SCHOOL DISTRICT
2008-2010: Principal-Responsible for the staffing, curriculum standards, saf
ety, and
administration preparation for 1100 high school students.

Salary: $132,500 annually

Primary responsibilities/accomplishments include the following:
* Establishment of a school leadership team to assist in collaborative decision
making
and long term planning for school
* Conducting instructional leadership and training modules for 70+ staff member
s that
focused on academic interventions.
* Creating a 3 year plan to close the academic achievement gap that included sy
stemic
expansion of existing interventions, technical changes in the schools stud
ent
information services system, and the adoption of a new Senior English curric
ulum
* Evaluating community needs and conforming policies and procedures to best sui
t
student and staff needs, while staying within legal and operational constrai
nts
* Communicating with all educational stakeholders to ensure satisfaction with
program
and providing follow-up support to resolve potential conflicts.
* Compiling and analyzing data reports while overseeing new goal implementati
ons as
as a result of this data
* Implementing new master schedule priorities which helped establish short and
long-term student achievement goals.
* Prepare and deliver formal presentations to School Board and community group
s

LOMPOC UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT

2006-2008: Principal-Responsible for the staffing, curriculum standards, saf
ety, and
administration preparation for 1033 middle school student
s.
Salary: $95,400 annually
Primary responsibilities included the following:
* Conducted instructional leadership and training for 50+ teachers for specific
curriculum adoptions and intervention programs
* Developed and maintained a series of training manuals, tests, and new schedu
les
which were used to evaluate and assess student performance
* Created professional learning community groups that were trained to establish
a new
academic delivery system for at-risk students
* Evaluated community needs and conform policies and procedures to best suit st
udent
and staff needs, while staying within legal and operational constraints
* Communicated with all educational stakeholders to ensure satisfaction with p
rogram
and provide education to resolve potential conflicts.
* Implemented new master schedule priorities, which helped establish short and
long-term student achievement goals.
* Served on the District negotiating team for employee contractual decisions
* Prepared and delivered formal presentations to School Board and community gr
oups
SANTA YNEZ UNION VALLEY HIGH SCHOOL DISTRICT
2005-2006: Assistant Principal- responsible for assisting the Principal with
all
staffing, in-service, and administration preparation for
1100 high school
students. Primary responsibilities include discipline, r
esearch and design
of curricular programs, coordination of schedules, chair
person of
numerous committees, school outreach work, and addressing
community
concerns.
ORCUTT UNION SCHOOL DISTRICT
2004-2005: Assistant Principal- responsible for assisting the Principal with
all
staffing, in-service, and administration preparation for
850 K-6 students.
Primary responsibilities include discipline, research and
design of
curricular programs, coordination of schedules, chairper
son of numerous
committees, school outreach work, and addressing communit
y concerns.
LOMPOC UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT
June, 2003: High School Summer School Principal- responsible for the staffin
g, in-
service, and administrative preparation for 670 students.
 All aspects of
discipline, counseling, curriculum, and student placement
were addressed.
1993-2004: English Department Chair-responsible for coordinating work effort
s of
15 department members including assessment needs, curricu
lum trainings,
supply orders, department budget, standards alignment, c
urriculum
development, course offerings, and student placement.
TEACHING ASSIGNMENTS:
2007-Present: Adjunct Professor-responsible for seminar teaching/training of beg
inning
elementary and secondary teachers pursuing their graduat
e degrees in
Education.
1991-2004: English teacher- responsible for the implementation of grades 9-1
2
English curriculum standards as well as the preparation f
or multiple state
assessment demands. Curriculum includes grammar, reading
comprehension, and writing techniques.
1994-2001: Journalism Advisor- responsible for the production of a bi-monthl
y
school newspaper with 30 student staff members at a 9-12
public high
school. All aspects of journalism production were taugh
t including layout
design, media ethics, and solid journalism writing. St
udents attended
journalism conventions and competitions at the local, s
tate, and national l
level.
COMMUNITY ACTIVITIES:
*Leadership Lompoc Valley, Chamber of Commerce, Class of 2004
*Phi Beta Kappa
*Adjunct Professor, Chapman University
*Youth Minister
*Church Finance Council member
AWARDS AND HONORS:
*Impact II Teacher award for curriculum excellence
*Tri-County Journalism Teacher of the Year, 1999 and 2001
*Tri-Valley Reading Literacy Award, 2003
*National Endowment of Humanities Grant (NEH Scholar)
PROFESSIONAL REFERENCES:
* Paul Turnbull, Superintendent, Santa Ynez High School, Santa Ynez, CA
(805) 688-6487
* Karen Rotondi, Vice-Principal, Righetti High School, Santa Maria, CA
(805) 588-1090
* Dr Frank Lynch, Superintendent Lompoc Unified School District Lompoc, CA
(805) 736-2371