AVID Region 9 views ongoing professional development as critical to supporting student and teacher success and encourages a variety of professional development approaches, including:

• AVID Coordinator and Teacher Workshops
• On-site technical assistance
• School-based, inservices for faculty and staff
• Pre-certification and certification meetings between the AVID site teams and the regional staff
• Tutor training workshop series
• Leadership Colloquiums
• Annual AVID Summer Institutes

Every opportunity to bring AVID professionals together to explore teaching and learning is an opportunity to support professional growth.

OCDE AVID Team with District Assignments

AVID Region 9 Director
Joyce Suber

Joyce Suber was an AVID Coordinator, Mentor Teacher and Language Arts Instructor for over ten years in the Sweetwater UHSD before coming to the San Diego County Office of Education (SDCOE) in 1997. Additionally, she received numerous awards including Teacher of the Year, CLHS Educator of the Year Nominee, UCSD Award of Excellence and many more. Joyce began as a Project Specialist with AVID's Health Careers Opportunity Program and then became a Coordinator at SDCOE working with the South Bay area and the San Diego AVID Padres Scholars Program.

Joyce has facilitated professional development in AVID across the nation and is currently the AVID Regional 9 Director. She oversees 292 schools in three counties (San Diego, Orange and Imperial) and supervises the projects, programs, and general operations of AVID.

Phone: (858) 292-3513 -- Fax: (858) 541-0265
E-mail: jacsuber@sdcoe.net

Sally Arellanes formerly the regional Lead AVID coordinator in Orange County, is now consulting with AVID supporting the Garden Grove School District. She has been a teacher, a reading specialist, and an administrator at the secondary level prior to joining the AVID Regional team.  Sally has worked with districts in San Diego, Imperial, and Orange Counties. She is an expert staff developer and teacher/administrator coach. 

Phone: (714) 966-4157 -- FAX: 662-3148
E-mail: sarellanes@ocde.us

Cynthia Gutierrez is an AVID Coordinator at the Orange County Department of Education. She works closely with Capistrano, Saddleback Valley, Newport-Mesa, and Wetminster School Districts in supporting their AVID programs. Cynthia worked for seventeen years for the Long Beach Unified School District as a teacher, elementary school counselor, and high school counselor/activities coordinator. She especially enjoyed implementing the AVID program at her high school, and was the Coordinator for her school. Cynthia earned her Bachelor’s in Psychology, Master’s in Education, and Doctorate in Educational Leadership at UCLA. She received her Bachelor’s in Counseling at the University of La Verne.

Phone: (714) 966-4292  Fax (714) 662-3148
E-mail: cgutierrez@ocde.us

Myrtice Rowe is the AVID Coordintor at the Orange County Department of Education. Myrtice earned a B.A. in English, a Single Subject Teaching Credential, and later, an M.A. in Educational Leadership and an Administrative Credential from San Diego State University. She was a teacher and AVID Coordinator at Monte Vista High School where she taught English, Reading, and AVID for eight years. Myrtice was advisor to the African Student Coalition and the Step Team. During her exemplary teaching experience, Myrtice earned the Golden Apple Award, Monte Vista's Teacher of the Year, and the Carlston Family Foundation's Outstanding Teachers of America Award. Myrtice collaborated with AP teachers at Monte Vista High School to raise the number of students enrolled in AP courses. This partnership resulted in an increase in the school’s AP pass rate.  Myrtice supports the AVID programs in the Anaheim Union, Fullerton Elementary, Fullerton Joint Union, Placentia-Yorba Linda, and Tustin School Districts.

Phone: (714) 966-4423  Fax (714) 662-3148
E-Mail: mrowe@ocde.us

Denise Harshman is the new AVID Coordinator at the Orange County Department of Education.  She  worked with AVID at Colton High School and Tustin High School.  In addition to her AVID experience, she has been an English and ELD teacher.  She received both her Bachelor’s Degree in English and her Master’s Degree in Educational Administration from California State University, San Bernardino.  Denise also works with Orange County Social Services Foster Youth program. As an AVID Program Coordinator, Denise works directly with the Santa Ana, Orange, Ocean View, Lowell Joint, La Habra City, Huntington Beach Union, Huntington Beach City, Fountain Valley, and Buena Park School Districts. 

Phone: (714) 966- 4446  Fax: (714) 662-3148
E-Mail: dharshman@ocde.us

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Randi McNiel is Senior Departmental Secretary for the Orange County Department of Education (OCDE) AVID Program.  Her major areas of responsibility include the Knott's Berry Farm Event, Senior Recognition, maintaining the scholarships, Path Training (AVIDizing), and workshops throughout the year.  Randi has been with OCDE for ten years, working with the Orange County Child Care and Development Planning Council prior to coming to the AVID Program in 2004, at which time she received the OCDE Crystal Bell Award.  She has worked in church ministry for 15 years as Administrative Secretary, choir director, TV camera operator, and videographer, and served as Treasurer on the Regional Board of the Church Staff Worker's Association and as National President.  Randi worked for the Salinas Union High School District in Monterey County before coming to Orange County.

Phone:  (714) 966-4157 -- FAX: (714) 662-3148
Email:  rmcniel@ocde.us           
                                                                         

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Ricardo Gomez is the AVID Coordinator for South Bay Schools. Ricardo taught Mathematics and AVID at Mar Vista High School in the Sweetwater Union High School District for eleven years. He has been an AVID tutor and lead AVID Coordinator at Mar Vista High (an AVID National Demonstration School). He is a National Trainer for AVID Math. He gives professional development to teachers on implementing writing, inquiry, collaboration, and reading strategies in a math class. Ricardo earned both a B.A. and M.A. in Mathematics from San Diego State University. Ricardo received an Award of Excellence by the Outstanding Teacher Recognition Program at UCSD. In 2003, he was awarded the Mar Vista High School Teacher of the Year Award. As an AP Calculus teacher, he was responsible for raising AP test passing rates and enrollment.

Phone: (858) 569-5322 -- FAX: (858) 541-0265
E-mail: rgomez@sdcoe.net

Darren Smith is the East County AVID Coordinator at the San Diego County Office of Education. Darren served as the AVID Coordinator at Emerald Middle School in the Cajon Valley Union School District for six years. His teaching assignments over the past thirteen years include Mathematics, English, History, Science, Physical Education, Digital Art, Computer Literacy, ELD and AVID.

Darren earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Architecture with honors at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. He holds a Master’s Degree in Educational Technology and gives professional development to teachers and AVID Coordinators on technology integration.

As a director for Emerald’s eConnection technology program, Darren collaborated with the Lemon Grove School District and the Classroom of the Future Foundation to establish an innovative One-to-One Initiative, which has transformed teaching and learning in his AVID classroom.

Phone: (858) 569-5450 -- Fax: (858) 541-0265
E-mail: darsmith@sdcoe.net

Kristen Winn is the AVID Coordinator for the North County Schools. Kristen graduated from the University of Nevada, Reno with a BS in Biology and was a NCAA Division 1 Conference Champion in Swimming. She started her career in Education in 1996 as a middle school Science teacher. She became an AVID teacher and Coordinator in 2000 for the San Juan Unified School District in Region 3. Kristen served as an AVID Tutor Trainer for the Sacramento County Office of Education. She earned her Administrative Services Credential in 2005. Upon relocating to Seattle, Washington, Kristen worked as an Instructional Designer for McGraw-Hill Learning Group Technology designing educational web games. While in Washington, she became the Bellevue School District AVID Coordinator.

Most recently, she served as the Science Curriculum Coordinator for the San Juan Unified School District in Sacramento, CA serving over 40,000 students and supporting K-12 teachers with curriculum and professional development.

Phone: (760) 761-5175 -- Fax: (760) 750-1912
E-mail: kwinn@sdcoe.net

Isabel Cervantes-Falk provides services to all Imperial County AVID sites as well as Borrego Springs High School in San Diego County. From her office, which is housed at the Imperial County Office of Education, she works with eight high schools and 11 middle schools from 11 different districts in Imperial County and one District in San Diego County. Prior to joining the AVID Region 9 team, she worked at Southwest High School in the Central Unified School District. There she taught several levels of mathematics, coached drill team, and was the coordinator of the AVID program.

Phone: (760) 312-6176 -- FAX: (760) 312-6565
E-mail: icervantes@icoe.org