Three in SBCUSD honored as Administrators of the Year

Each region of the Association of California School Administrators (ACSA) annually recognizes the outstanding performance and achievement of individual school administrators and classified managers in several categories.

This year, three San Bernardino City Unified School District (SBCUSD) administrators were honored by ACSA Region 12 for their exceptional leadership in managing school programs, commitment to professional growth, commitment to educational quality and student achievement, and creativity in addressing issues facing public education.

The Region 12 Student Services Administrator of the Year for 2022 is Dr. Marlene Bicondova, the Director of Positive Youth Development for SBCUSD. Dr. Bicondova has a proven track record of creating positive outcomes for youth. As a principal, she transformed Curtis Middle School from one of the lowest-performing middle schools in the county into a high-performing school by implementing a proactive approach to student success that focused on daily assessments that informed teacher instruction. For the past four years, Dr. Bicondova has worked at the District level to reduce chronic absenteeism and suspension rates. Her signature accomplishment has been the creation of the SBCUSD Bullying Intervention System, which uses restorative practices and Undercover Anti-Bullying Teams as the key components, which work to change school culture to stop bullying before it starts and stop bullying when it does happen.

Pacific High School Principal Dr. Natalie Raymundo is the ACSA Region 12 Secondary Principal of the Year. Raymundo has been a principal since 2009 when she took the helm of Richardson PREP HI Middle School. She believes that education can change lives and even entire communities, especially when educators demonstrate respect for students, families, and stakeholders. Her leadership has helped create a safe and welcoming environment for students and instilled in them a desire to become leaders in the community, as evidenced by Pacific High winning the Civics Leadership Award in 2017, 2019, and 2020. She also implemented the fourth-period advisory program, which provides students with social-emotional learning activities, grade checks, goal setting sessions, and other academic and social development every Monday.

Shana Smith, Assistant Director of the Employee Development Department for SBCUSD, is Region 12’s Personnel Director of the Year. Smith began her SBCUSD career in 1995 teaching first grade. She began supporting teachers as a program specialist and new teacher mentor in 2000. After 17 years leading the Teacher Induction Program, she earned her place as the assistant director of Employee Development. In that position, she can combine her love of teaching with her love of mentoring the next generation of educators as she helps develop programs and instruct new teachers so they can be successful SBCUSD educators.

ACSA, which is one of the largest organizations for school leaders in the nation, is dedicated to developing and supporting educational leaders who meet the diverse needs of California students. ACSA Region 12 specifically serves educational administrators working in San Bernardino County.