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When I finished my master's degree, I had two degrees during which one of my minors was bilingual multicultural education. But as a white person whose first language is English, the chances of my having credibility for a job in bilingual education or around equity issues, I determined to give myself an immigrant's experience. I went to a country where I didn't know the language--Japan--to take up a job I had gotten via interviews stateside. When I landed in Tokyo and nobody from the school was waiting for me as promised, I called the school, I couldn't get anyone to answer. After over an hour of trying, I finally got someone who didn't speak much English, but helped me understand the language school had gone out of business. I only had enough money to get me through the first six weeks of teaching until my first check, which was food and apartment rent money, transportation, etc. It was not hotel money. I had to decide whether I believed in my mission to get an immigrant's experience, or would I turn tail and fly home at the first bump? Two weeks later I had a job offer, but had to wait until that company issued me a working visa. They recommended I go home to wait. Again, I knew if I went home, I probably would just take another teaching job and not have my immigrant's experience. So I found a "work study" opportunity at a Catholic/Buddhist commune in the Japan Alps, Nagano Prefecture. What was supposed to be three weeks turned into four months, so I studied Buddhism, practiced Dharma, participated in the rice harvest, learned to cook Japanese vegetarian food, contributed my language and writing skills, and became part of the daily lives of the people on the commune. Once my visa paperwork came in, I traveled to Tokyo, then Korea to get my former visa replaced with my new employer's working visa, then back to Japan to start teaching. I taught for two years, eventually getting my own apartment (A 1DK), and traveling all over learning language and culture and being an immigrant.
Rinda Montgomery
Mosier, OR 97040 | 503-881-6949
rindamc@icloud.com | https://www.linkedin.com/in/rinda-montgomery-4322842/
Executive Director
Strategic Planning / Change Management / Budget Planning / Policy Design / Program Development
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Professional Summary: · Accomplished government administrator with over 15 years of experience designing and implementing projects and programming through grants and strategic partnerships to promote ongoing improvement and cultural diversity and equity. · Strong senior leader with a proven track record of managing, training, assessing, and supporting over 100 staff members from multiple sites and at a distance. · Strategically-minded justice advocate with a passion for consulting with other industry colleagues and building highly successful teams aimed at implementing quality programs and practices that meet the needs of clients and provide success for all. |
Areas of Expertise: · Policy Design · Staff Training & Development · Project Management · Grant Writing & Oversight · Diversity/Equity Advocate · Budget Administration · Mentoring · Technology Innovation |
Career Experience
Chief Academic Officer | 01/2012 – Present
Paradigm Learning Systems, Oregon
Serve as an educational consultant fostering successful learning structures within diverse school systems domestically and internationally. Consult with school districts in the United States and Australia on best practices in competency-based curriculum design and instructional practice. Assist schools in implementing data-driven decision making and technology-infused learning models.
Selected Accomplishments:
- Co-Founded the company along with one additional business partner in 2012.
- Co-authored and published, “P3 – The Pathways to Proficiency Project; A Philosophical Design”.
Assistant Superintendent | 08/2004 – 12/2018
North Central Educational Services District (ESD), Condon, OR
Supported over 900 students and staff in the 12-school, six district servicing area with the design and administration of curriculum and educational programs. Served concurrently in the roles of Director of School Improvement, Co-Director of Special Education and Speech, Regional Librarian, Director of English Learner Programs, Director of Educational Technology. Directly supervised over 30 full time teachers and administrative staff. Collaborated with Superintendent on goals, policies, and important strategic decisions to align classroom education with state educational standards, served as a certified trainer for newly implemented national program. Delivered training and professional development for 95% of staff utilizing a proficiency-based teaching and learning model on curriculum design/delivery, resource management, technologies, and pedagogy.
Selected Accomplishments:
- Moved a district in the servicing area from 260th in the state’s rankings, up to 8th in only three years with implementation of teacher coaching and innovative curriculum.
- Wrote and received a US Department of Agriculture Distance Learning and Telemedicine grant for $350K that allowed for new blended learning initiatives and education technology hardware updates for the ESD.
- Implemented a new handheld computer data synchronization system for scoring assessments that reduced time needed to score by 65% and errors from hand-scoring assessments by 85%.
Additional Experience
Curriculum Specialist/Trainer
HOSTS Learning LLC, Vancouver, WA
Drafted learning materials for language arts, English language development, and curricular assessment for structured learning systems. Trained teachers on the use of all HOSTS learning systems. Evaluated curriculum offerings through publisher resources to align curriculum with educational objectives. Provided curricular (domestic and international) and technical support to all HOSTS sites in Washington, Oregon, and Idaho.
Selected Accomplishments:
- Delineated an English language development program and teaching resources to meet the needs of economically disadvantaged students lacking oral language development.
- Extended the English language development program to over 100 schools, while fully managing the program delivery, implementation, and training.
Grant Director, Title VII
Vancouver School District, Vancouver, WA
Managed all aspects of a 5-year, $5M grant from the U.S. Department of Education that focused on developing the abilities of teachers to address the needs of the minority language population in 32 schools. Supervised, developed, and evaluated a staff of seven employees. Delivered in-service training and hosted conferences for all teachers involved in the implementation of the grant. Created and administered the program budget. Communicated regularly between grant writer, evaluator, and federal granting agency.
Selected Accomplishments:
- Expedited the grant accomplishments and reached the goal achievements six months ahead of scheduled by the end of year two.
- Initiated Saturday Academies that accommodated over 60 teachers at each event and provided presentations from national-lever trainers in ELL issues to help break down barriers between the minority language student population.
Educational Background
Doctor of Educational Leadership | Walden University
Certificate in Change Management | Cornell University
K-12 Administrator Program | Lewis and Clark College
Master of Science in Secondary Education| Western Oregon University
Bachelor of Science in Language Arts | Oregon State University & Western Oregon University
Certificates/Licenses:
Change Management | Licensed Library Media Specialist | Certified Professional Leadership Coach
Preliminary Administrator, Oregon | Principal License, Oregon | Standard Teaching, Oregon
