Coaching staff: Jorge Navarro

Jorge Navarro is a core member of our team here at School Wise Press, where he has served as Director of Client Relations since 2006. With more than 18 years of service in public education, Jorge brings a uniquely holistic background to our coaching team. He has been a secondary school classroom teacher, a scholarship program administrator, a preschool teacher, a teaching artist, a trainer of teachers and principals, and, most recently, an English Learner coordinator.

As a teaching artist with the Creative Arts Team in New York, Jorge had a special opportunity to work with professional actors training teachers on the use of drama in the classroom. This led to designing and conducting dramatic workshops for principals. His experience in New York furthered his appreciation of the importance of communication training. “Leadership depends greatly on effective communication,” Jorge says. “It’s one thing to know your message, but quite another to know how to deliver it with impact to your various audiences and stakeholders.”

Jorge’s can-do attitude and offbeat sense of humor result in a coaching style that’s both engaging and effective. Applying techniques used in his experience as a teaching artist and musician, he takes the stress out of Program Improvement with a whole new approach–one that’s positive, creative, and flexible.

Professional Biography

Jorge began his communications training in 1995 as a program coordinator for the University of Florida's Graduate Minority Programs Office. There he worked with professors and graduate students developing research presentations for national conferences. From 1997 to 1999, he was an administrator with the Florida Fund for Minority Teachers, a legally mandated, statewide scholarship program. Along with coaching scholars on best teaching practices, Jorge presented at numerous national conferences, including that of the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education. He also worked closely with Florida school districts to ensure job placements for scholarship recipients. After passing his qualifying exams (PhD, University of Florida), he became interested in the use of music in bilingual teacher training and moved to New York City to begin work on his dissertation. His work there led directly to the development of curriculum that School Wise Press uses for its Program Improvement communications training.

In New York, Jorge became a teaching artist with the Creative Arts Team, a theatre company in residence at the City University of New York. For two years he trained core-curriculum teachers on using participatory drama in the classroom. Next he designed and conducted professional development workshops for the NYC Leadership Academy, an independent nonprofit tasked with providing transformational leadership for schools. Jorge also taught for the nonprofit New Visions for Public Schools, where he enjoyed training aspiring school principals.

In Jorge's own words: “I had no idea that drama belonged anywhere but on a stage or in a movie. I had taught introductory drama myself, but I thought it was for the school auditorium–or the drama room, that room next to the band room. When I began working with professional actors to train classroom teachers, my perspective changed entirely.”

Using drama to improve teaching throughout all five NYC boroughs created a natural path for Jorge to the principal training as well as work with corporations such as JP Morgan Chase. “We introduced school and corporate leaders to dramatic techniques designed to help each develop a compelling ‘voice’ and presence. Leadership depends greatly on effective communication. It’s one thing to know your message, but quite another to know how to deliver it with impact to your various audiences and stakeholders.”

AWARDS

Pre-Doctoral Fellowship, Bilingual Education Program, School of Teaching and Learning, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL (1995–1999)

Multicultural Student Leadership Award, University of Florida (1998)

Bahai' Award for Excellence in Education (1995)

Teacher of the Year, Lecanto High School, Citrus County, FL (1993)

PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS & TRAINING

Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) (1999–present)

New York State Department of Mental Health/FEMA, Project Liberty Crisis Counseling Service Provider Certification (2003–2005)

Professional Teacher Certification (English/Language arts, Grades 6–12), Florida Department of Education, Tallahassee, FL (1989–2000)

EDUCATION

Doctoral Candidate (PhD), College of Education, School of Teaching and Learning, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL (1998–2004)

Master of Education, College of Education, Department of Instruction and Curriculum, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL (1989)

Bachelor of Arts (English/Asian Studies), College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL (1987)