Kathy Torres' Portfolio Homepage

PLI Fieldwork Cohort 13

-Site Supervisor-John Samaniego

-Field Supervisor-Dr. Nancy Parachini

-Kathy Torres is a candidate for the 2013 M.Ed. at UCLA's Principal Leadership Institute-Cohort 13.

About Kathy Torres

My name is Kathy Torres and I am currently a  School Counselor at Ambassador School of Global Leadership, which is a 6-12^th grade Pilot School in Los Angeles Unified School District.  I am the fifth child in a family of eight, born to immigrant parents of Mexican descent.  Being one of five sisters and with only two brothers, we were raised to be self-sufficient and with a huge emphasis on education.  My father worked various blue-collared, low wage jobs and my mother’s main responsibility was to care for us all while at home.  My upbringing was a joyful one consisting of much laughter and fighting for space in our crammed home, but the values and work ethic my parents instilled in us all is priceless.  In some miraculous manner, my father was able to put all eight children through parochial school.  Having graduated from Bishop Amat High School, I then went on to community college and eventually transferred to California State University of Los Angeles and received my B.A. in Urban Education.  I soon became employed as a 2^nd grade Dual Language Teacher in Baldwin Park Unified.  During my first year teaching, I was also attending graduate school full time with a major in School Counseling.  After three wonderful years of teaching and having graduated from graduate school, I left teaching and pursued a career in school counseling.

My journey in education has been a challenging one but undoubtedly a very fulfilling vocation.  I am certain that I entered into the right vocation and it is for that reason that I  want to continue in this field but with more of a focus on leadership, hence my enrollment in UCLA’s PLI program.  Being bi-cultural of immigrant parents who have worked all their lives in order to provide for us all our essential needs in abundance, and most importantly our value for education, I have always had a strong passion for instilling that back to my community.  I have a personal connection to and a strong passion for immigrant families because I understand their struggles, having lived them myself, and I also know that there is hope for a better life, the pursuit of the American Dream.  The emphasis of Social Justice in the PLI program is one that is dear to my heart and one that I plan to follow authentically as a future Social Justice Leader.

School Information

Ambassador School of Global Leadership (ASGL) is a pilot school in Los Angles Unified School District.  ASGL is only in its third year of existence and isone of 6 schools located on the Robert F. Kennedy Complex, which is located in Koreatown in the Mid-Wilshire area of Los Angeles.  Koreatown is one of the most densely populated and diverse cities in Los Angeles.  All of our students live in an apartment building and the majority is of Korean and Hispanic descent, although various other ethnic groups are also present at ASGL (e.g. Pakistani, Egyptian, French).  ASGL serves the academic needs of 650 students grades 6-12. Its curriculum addresses the California content standards through an “internationalized” lesson approach. Students have an opportunity to become multilingual through world languages class offerings in every grade level. Electives explore the interconnectedness of people from around the world  (i.e. Model United Nations) in the past and present in order to help students shape a better future. In addition, students interact with international students  and with professionals who work in diplomacy, education, public service, business and trade.

Final Reflection

Final Reflection

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