Jessica Fernandez
Brooklyn,NY
Summary
Strategic, bilingual (fluent Spanish/English) 6th-Grade Lead, Education Specialist, and Bilingual/Special Education specialist who builds operational excellence through absolute transparency, accountability, and strong school-wide systems. Grounded in PSEL standards and school district leadership training, my strengths lie in establishing clear organizational frameworks, utilizing restorative mediation, and driving collective efficacy to deliver measurable, sustainable school improvement. I firmly believe that effective school administrators must remain highly visible, actively leading from outside their office spaces to engage directly with staff, students, and community partners as an aspiring administrator.
Overview
22
22
years of professional experience
Work History
Teaching Academy Director (TAD)
NYC Teaching Fellows (Summer 2025 Session)
New York, NY
05.2025 - 09.2026
- Program Administration: Selected to direct an intensive summer academy training pipeline for incoming educators, overseeing daily site operations, instructional fidelity, and policy compliance.
- Instructional Coaching: Mentored, coached, and evaluated a cohort of 20 new teachers, delivering actionable feedback rooted in real-time observation data to accelerate their instructional readiness.
- Professional Development: Planned and facilitated professional development workshops centered on classroom culture, student engagement, and data-informed instruction.
- Developed curriculum for summer teaching sessions, enhancing instructional methods and student engagement.
- Coordinated staff training programs to improve teaching effectiveness and classroom management.
- Organized and allocated resources required to meet needs of 20 teachers
6th-Grade Team Leader & Educator
Liberty Avenue Middle School
Brooklyn, NY
09.2016 - Current
- Grade-Level Leadership: Serve as the 6th-Grade Lead, managing a multidisciplinary team of educators to align instructional practices, analyze behavioral trends, and coordinate student support services across the entire grade level.
- Student Response Team (SRT) Leadership: Actively serve on the SRT to mediate conflicts and foster strong, restorative relationships between students and teachers; design targeted behavioral interventions that successfully de-escalated classroom tension and restored instructional time.
- MTSS Framework Implementation: Spearhead the school-wide implementation of the Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) framework; facilitate weekly data-driven team meetings to identify at-risk students, monitor Tier 2 and Tier 3 academic/behavioral interventions, and systematically close achievement gaps.
- Peer Coaching & Feedback: Partner closely with peers and administration to provide targeted instructional feedback, conduct peer observations, and lead collaborative curriculum planning sessions for the upcoming school year.
- Literacy Framework Innovation: Champion high-impact Reading for Meaning routines across content areas, designing rigorous Chunk & Gist exemplars and formulating data-driven student response criteria for core literary texts (such as Bud, Not Buddy) to lift overall reading comprehension.
- Developed and implemented lesson plans aligned with curriculum standards.
- Facilitated professional development workshops for staff, promoting best practices in education.
Education Specialist & Leadership Liaison
Cypress Hills Local Development Corporation (CHLDC) CBO
Brooklyn, NY
01.2017 - Current
- Strategic Alignment: Serve as the Education Specialist in a vital leadership capacity, bridging the day school with the community-based organization (CBO); seamlessly carry the school's core academic, behavioral, and cultural goals into the extended-day afterschool program.
- Curriculum Planning: Lead joint curriculum planning efforts to ensure afterschool enrichment and intervention modules directly reinforce day-school instruction, maximizing instructional time and student engagement.
- Stakeholder Collaboration & Bilingual Outreach: Partner directly with school administration, teachers, families, and community staff to develop a cohesive community-school model; leverage fluent Spanish language skills to build trust, maintain open communication, and deepen engagement with Spanish-speaking families.
Educational Leadership Candidate / Practicum
School District Leadership Program
New York, NY
01.2025 - 01.2026
- Portfolio Development: Completed a rigorous, comprehensive 150-hour leadership portfolio and practicum strictly aligned with the Professional Standards for Educational Leaders (PSEL).
- District-Wide Strategic Planning: Developed a comprehensive Superintendent’s Entry Plan tailored for complex urban school environments, focusing on organizational diagnostics, building trust, and establishing a shared community vision for NYC Public Schools District 19.
- Stakeholder Engagement: Formulated strategic frameworks for a Community Vision Kick-Off Meeting, ensuring deep integration of collaborative initiatives involving all staff levels—from instructional personnel to facilities and cafeteria staff.
- Organizational Efficacy: Spearhead school-level strategic analysis incorporating philosophies of transparency, accountability, and collective teacher efficacy to elevate school-wide academic outcomes.
General Manager / Operations Manager
Best Buy
New York, NY
01.2005 - 01.2016
- Large-Scale Personnel Management: Directed, mentored, and evaluated a large-scale workforce of up to 200 team members; managed all human resources functions including recruitment, hiring, performance tracking, conflict resolution, and compliance.
- Operational Oversight & Budgeting: Handled complex, high-stakes facility operations, including master scheduling, strict inventory control systems, and budget management to maximize efficiency and accountability.
- Accountability Frameworks: Supervised staff performance and handled critical personnel actions (including hiring and strategic restructuring) in alignment with operational goals and organizational metrics.
Education
Master of Science - Bilingual Special Education (Grades 1–6)
Hunter College
NY, NY05.2018
Advanced Certificate - Educational Leadership
Troy, NY01-2026
Master of Science - Education: Common Branch (Grades 1–6) with Bilingual Extension
The City College of New York (CCNY)
New York, NY01-2025
New York, NY
01-2018
Certifications, Languages & Professional Training
Languages: Native/Fluent in Spanish and English (Written and Spoken)
School District Leader (SDL) Certification: Evaluation and Examination in Progress (NYSTCE)
New York State Certified Teacher: Common Branch (Grades 1–6)
Bilingual Education Extension (Grades 1–6)
Bilingual Special Education Extension (Grades 1–6)
Fully compliant with the Professional Standards for Educational Leaders (PSEL) portfolio requirements (150 hours logged and submitted).
Leadership Philosophy
"True educational leadership relies on absolute organizational transparency, building collective efficacy among staff, and ensuring that every single stakeholder—from the cafeteria team to the school administration and community partners—is unified under a single, student-centered vision."
Timeline
Teaching Academy Director (TAD)
NYC Teaching Fellows (Summer 2025 Session)
05.2025 - 09.2026
Educational Leadership Candidate / Practicum
School District Leadership Program
01.2025 - 01.2026
Education Specialist & Leadership Liaison
Cypress Hills Local Development Corporation (CHLDC) CBO
01.2017 - Current
6th-Grade Team Leader & Educator
Liberty Avenue Middle School
09.2016 - Current
General Manager / Operations Manager
Best Buy
01.2005 - 01.2016
Master of Science - Education: Common Branch (Grades 1–6) with Bilingual Extension
The City College of New York (CCNY)
Master of Science - Bilingual Special Education (Grades 1–6)
Hunter College