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Middle School Principal has Family Education History
http://www.tuscanyhillsnews.net/TH-2009-2-14/THN-945.htm
Dr. Tamerin Capellino, better known as “Tami,” is the principal of Canyon Lake Middle School, where many of the Tuscany Hills students attend. In fact, she says that the Tuscany Hills and lower Tuscany residents are the largest feeder areas to Canyon Lake Middle School.
She has recently completed her doctorate at the University of La Verne in Organizational Leadership and has served with distinction in several neighboring school districts, such as Corona-Norco Unified, Hemet Unified, and Santa Ana Unified and is an adjunct professor for University of California, Riverside extension where she works with teacher credentialing candidates. She earned her B.S. and M.S. from California State University, Fullerton and holds credentials in Cross Cultural, Language and Academic Development, a clear multiple subject and a clear administrative services credential.
Tami played school as a child and “loved the teaching part. I loved being the teacher and the leader so it all went hand in hand,” she says. Her family came from Michigan and her grandparents were also educators. “My grandparent’s house was right next to the school where they taught and I always thought of the K-12 school as my grandpa’s school,” she adds. Her great-grandparents as well along with other aunts and uncles were teachers or administrators so teaching was simply part of who she is and what she does.
She and her husband live in the community right across from Tuscany Hills, and her four children attend local schools. Her sons Kyle and Codi are now in high school and the younger two, Taylor and Troy, attend Railroad Canyon Elementary.
She is excited to work at the school and live in the community because it puts her in close touch with everything her children do and with the school-community relationship. The fact that her family’s personal commitment to education was something she grew up with, Tami feels that education is a touchstone for all students who are working to become successful and well rounded.
Tami first met her husband, Tony when the two were in high school. After graduation, the two worked at the Family Fun Center where he was a go-cart mechanic and she was a cashier. They got engaged, got unengaged, went on different personal and career paths, then reconnected and finally married in 2003. “My husband is a hands-on type of guy and he helps with the family business,” she says.
The couple wanted to buy a home in Corona when she was first working for the Corona-Norco district, but they came out to the Lake Elsinore area and immediately like the “small town feel” of the valley. They moved here in 2003 and Tami commuted first to Corona and then later to Hemet Unified before she decided to apply for a job with the local school district.
“Cody was already going to school here and a piece of me got excited when I heard the ConnectEd call about a town hall meeting to hear from parents, staff and students in regard to selecting a new principal,” she says. While she knew former principal Mike Sepulveda, she didn’t want to create any sense of impropriety so she did not attend the meeting. However her children and husband encouraged her to apply for the position. When she attended the Cougars Awards Night, she knew it was something she really wanted. “I talked to my mentor and felt compelled to apply for the job. I believe it is a good fit, for me and for the school students,” she adds.
Tami says her personal, “no excuses” commitment that all students will be successful is part of her strong points as a principal. She believes that the district is committed to helping all its students succeed academically as well as socially, and points to the district’s moving out of Program Improvement status. “We all are following a vision of professional learning communities and aim to increase achievement in all aspects of educating our students,” she adds. She says the staff at Canyon Lake Middle is focused on data based decision making and utilizes parents and teachers alike to take ownership in what goes on at the school on a daily basis.
“Everyone here has a team mentality of we-can-do this,” she feels.
When she isn’t at some school related event or watching her own children at sporting competitions, she loves to run marathons and traveling. She and her family have been to at least 37 of the 50 states and she is planning on traveling to Europe before too much longer. The family still maintains an house in Michigan near a lake and it is their “home away from home,” she says, with a smile.
When it comes to her educational expertise and accomplishment, the list goes on for days, but the bottom line for her is being an instructional leader that makes a definite difference in the delivery of education to students.
“They are why we are here in the first place. They are the ones we need to serve and educate to the very best of our ability.”
Tami says in closing that parents should expect a dynamic three years for their students attending Canyon Lake Middle. “There is something for every student, there is lots of energy and high expectations and pride in generating and promoting them. This is a larger real family environment and everyone on staff cares about the students making this a close-knit campus with lots of welcoming clubs and organizations.”
She says the there a renewed focus on the curriculum and instructional plan and standards that is paying off and promises “We’re going to break that 800 mark and everyone is pumped about being Number One.”
Community Matters Newsletters
Follow the Leader: New Skills for Teachers
http://www.extension.ucr.edu/admin/newsletter/november_2010.html
Teachers are increasingly being tapped to take on leadership roles in their schools to fill gaps left by vice principals and other administrators who have been eliminated due to budget cuts.Many of those teachers take on the role willingly but have never been trained how to be a leader.
That’s where Tamerin Capellino comes in. Capellino, who specializes in educational administration, teaches teachers how to be leaders and, in the process, how to be better teachers because leadership skills naturally translate into more effective teaching in the classroom.
“I’m trying to give them the leadership skills necessary to perform in a 21st century education system,” Capellino said.
Some of those skills include:
· Computer Technology and Knowledge of Internet Resources: Education leaders must be technologically savvy in this day and time. PowerPoint presentations are standard tools in a staff meeting or a classroom. Leaders also need to be familiar with the myriad online resources available, many at no cost, that will help them develop websites or create interactive classrooms without the expense of installing a costly Smart Classroom system.
· Environmental Surveys: Historically, teachers have worked in isolation. Instructional leaders need to survey their whole environment and reach out to all stakeholders just as effective classroom teachers survey students and parents to find out what they need and desire.
· Meeting Strategies: Effective leaders/teachers need to be able to engage and encourage their peers to participate in meetings and their students to participate in lessons by creating small group sessions, which are less intimidating and more informal.
· Coaching. Effective leaders/teachers need to know how to motivate peers and students to find the answers within themselves and by encouraging alternative solutions.
· Recognizing Achievement. Achievement in schools often is recognized only on a broader scale such as when a high percentage of students pass the High School Exit Exam. Effective leaders/teachers know the importance of celebrating achievement from an individual standpoint to motivate people to do their best. Recognition of individual goals effectively connects the individuals to their school and makes them feel like they accomplished something.
· Team Building: Research tells us that a key component of students being successful in school is having connections to people on campus. The same can be said for teachers.
Capellino teaches “Instructional Leadership as a Springboard to Exemplary Teaching” at UCR Extension, where she explores the role of the teacher as an instructional leader and model of exemplary teaching. The class is required for a certificate in Exemplary Teaching and Instructional Leadership Skills.
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Press Enterprise: Outstanding Riverside County High School Programs Honored
http://www.pe.com/localnews/rivcounty/stories/PE_News_Local_H_awards07.3ee393e.html
http://www.pe.com/localnews/rivcounty/stories/PE_News_Local_H_awards07.3ee393e.html
The Friday Flyer: A New Principal for CLMS
http://www.thefridayflyer.com/story_print_friendly.php?storyid=10252&storypath=./FF-2008-9-12/stories&imagepath=./FF-2008-9-12/images&edition=September+12,+2008&writer=None&title=+&emailaddress=
North County Times: A Tiny Garden Sprouts Wings
LAKE ELSINORE -- A tiny vegetable garden at Canyon Lake Middle School has sprouted into a major boon for the campus.
Home Depot picked the school as the site of a project with Kaboom, a national organization whose vision is to create a place to play within walking distance of every child in America.
The project started when Canyon Lake special education teacher Adina Ross asked the retailer for some chicken wire and stakes to keep rabbits and squirrels from invading their small garden.
Ross teaches students with autism, Down Syndrome, mental retardation and other severe health impairments.
Wednesday, more than 100 volunteers decked in orange shirts spread out across the campus to build sensory, vegetable and butterfly gardens, fencing, a playground, picnic tables and a sandbox. They also painted a large mural.
The volunteers came from nine Home Depot stores in the region.
"Originally, it was a small vegetable garden and Tammie Mock spearheaded it into something incredible," Ross said. "My kids can use it every single day."
Mock, Team Depot captain at the Lake Elsinore Home Depot, submitted the project to the corporate office for the grant. They received $2,000 for supplies, and Mock was able to get donations of food and drinks from some of her vendors to feed the volunteers.
Mock said she was touched by a letter she received from Ross seeking the original donation.
"Our goal is to make this a great place for children to attend school," Mock said.
Among the features is a playground, where Ross' students can play tic-tac-toe and other games while learning shapes and colors.
"For that particular class, it means they have a place to call their own at Canyon Lake Middle School," Principal Tamerin Capellino said. "It's going to give them opportunities they didn't have previously."
The new additions were added into areas that were mostly unused before, Capellino said.
"This really gives us useable space for the whole school," she said. "It really does provide us a lot of flexibility.
While there are areas specifically for the special-needs students, other places can be used by the entire student body.
"This is going to take on a whole science thing," Ross said of the butterfly and vegetable gardens.
One of the special features is a mural titled "Handprints of the Future," where every Canyon Lake student will place a painted handprint. A smaller wall will be for Ross' students.
Many of Ross' students volunteered Wednesday, as did others from the campus.
"The regular kids get to see what my kids go through," Ross said. "When they get to know them, they're more inclined for acceptance. This brings more community."
The captains of the cheerleading squad said they get a lot out of helping, and didn't even mind wearing paint-stained orange T-shirts.
"I like to see the joy in their face," Katie Rodriguez said.
"It kind of makes your day being with them" Kaitlin Fitch added.
http://www.nctimes.com/news/community/article_7d289191-5c2b-5113-8321-c8e0df250354.html
LAKE ELSINORE -- A tiny vegetable garden at Canyon Lake Middle School has sprouted into a major boon for the campus.
Home Depot picked the school as the site of a project with Kaboom, a national organization whose vision is to create a place to play within walking distance of every child in America.
The project started when Canyon Lake special education teacher Adina Ross asked the retailer for some chicken wire and stakes to keep rabbits and squirrels from invading their small garden.
Ross teaches students with autism, Down Syndrome, mental retardation and other severe health impairments.
Wednesday, more than 100 volunteers decked in orange shirts spread out across the campus to build sensory, vegetable and butterfly gardens, fencing, a playground, picnic tables and a sandbox. They also painted a large mural.
The volunteers came from nine Home Depot stores in the region.
"Originally, it was a small vegetable garden and Tammie Mock spearheaded it into something incredible," Ross said. "My kids can use it every single day."
Mock, Team Depot captain at the Lake Elsinore Home Depot, submitted the project to the corporate office for the grant. They received $2,000 for supplies, and Mock was able to get donations of food and drinks from some of her vendors to feed the volunteers.
Mock said she was touched by a letter she received from Ross seeking the original donation.
"Our goal is to make this a great place for children to attend school," Mock said.
Among the features is a playground, where Ross' students can play tic-tac-toe and other games while learning shapes and colors.
"For that particular class, it means they have a place to call their own at Canyon Lake Middle School," Principal Tamerin Capellino said. "It's going to give them opportunities they didn't have previously."
The new additions were added into areas that were mostly unused before, Capellino said.
"This really gives us useable space for the whole school," she said. "It really does provide us a lot of flexibility.
While there are areas specifically for the special-needs students, other places can be used by the entire student body.
"This is going to take on a whole science thing," Ross said of the butterfly and vegetable gardens.
One of the special features is a mural titled "Handprints of the Future," where every Canyon Lake student will place a painted handprint. A smaller wall will be for Ross' students.
Many of Ross' students volunteered Wednesday, as did others from the campus.
"The regular kids get to see what my kids go through," Ross said. "When they get to know them, they're more inclined for acceptance. This brings more community."
The captains of the cheerleading squad said they get a lot out of helping, and didn't even mind wearing paint-stained orange T-shirts.
"I like to see the joy in their face," Katie Rodriguez said.
"It kind of makes your day being with them" Kaitlin Fitch added.
http://www.nctimes.com/news/community/article_7d289191-5c2b-5113-8321-c8e0df250354.html