Derek Hubbard's Portfolio Homepage

Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire. William Butler Yeats

Student Bio/Information

My name is Derek Hubbard and I have been an educator for ten years. I began my career as an educator shortly after graduating from college. I attended Stanford University where I earned a Bachelors of Arts in Political Science. As an undergrad I earned two varsity letters as a member of the football team. Balancing a rigorous academic schedule with the seemingly endless demands of football taught me the sophisticated art of time-management.

Since my undergraduate degree I have earned a masters in Traditional Oriental Medicine. I have also earned my Multi-Subject, Education Specialist credential. Currently, I am earning my masters in Educational Leadership and my Administrative Credential through UCLA’s Principal Leadership Institute.

As was previously mentioned, I have been an educator for ten years. I began my career at Audubon Middle School in Los Angeles. While at Audubon I taught a variety of classes, including: a 7^th grade self-contained class of students identified with a Specific Learning Disability (SLD) and a 7^th/8^th grade resource class of students also identified as SLD.

During my tenure at Audubon, I taught English, math, history, science and creative arts. I also served as the school’s basketball coach. My experience as a coach was extremely rewarding and I have since witnessed several of my former players go on to play both collegiate and professional athletics.

Though, my experiences at Audubon were wrought with unforeseen obstacles, daunting challenges and numerous setbacks, it is at Audubon that I discovered my passion for being an educator.

After a three-year hiatus to pursue my masters in Traditional Oriental Medicine, I returned to teaching. My first assignment upon returning to teaching was at Hawthorne Academy. Hawthorne Academy is a continuation school for students 6^th – 12^th grade, that have been expelled from various districts throughout Southern California. At Hawthorne, I taught a self-contained class of 7^th and 8^th grade students identified as Emotionally Disturbed. My experience proved to be enormously challenging, but my desire to be a professional educator was reignited.

For the past five years I have worked at Cochran Middle School. During my tenure at Cochran I have served as an Education Specialist teaching a Special Day Class of students identified as SLD. I have taught English, math, US History and 6^th – 8^th grade science.

I have assumed many leadership roles outside of the classroom. I have served as the president of the school’s Leadership Council. In this position I have worked with a team to implement the school’s Public School Choice plan. I have also helped to create an infrastructure to ensure the democratization of the school as promised in our Public School Choice Plan. I have served as lead coordinator for the school’s Black History Month activities, as well as, lead coordinator for the school’s career day. In addition, I have organized and led several professional developments for our teaching staff, on topics ranging from: positive behavior support to visual aids for instruction to culturally relevant strategies to reading fluency drills to a study circle of teachers examining the achievement gap for African-American students.I have, also, worked with a group of teachers drafting, implementing and monitoring a grant to assist with improving the achievement levels of African-American students.

School Information

Cochran Middle School is located in Los Angeles, California. The school has a student population of 1,156; of which 79% of the school’s students are Latino and 20% are African-American. Cochran MS is a Title One school with 100% of its students identified as economically disadvantaged. In addition, 27% of Cochran’s students are identified as English Learners. Also of note, the 2012-2013 school year marked the first year for Cochran as one of the monitored school’s under LAUSD’s Public School Choice initiative.

Cochran’s API is 662. The school’s 2011-2012 API was the first in five years to decrease, going down by two points from the previous year. Conversely, Cochran has nurtured a growth in the achievement indexes of its English Learners, as well as, witnessed a reduction in suspension rates. Unfortunately, the school’s overall CST scores have lagged, with African-American students experiencing a steady decline.

It must be noted that Cochran has experienced a dramatic loss of students and consequently, teachers and support staff over the course of my tenure. The school has loss approximately 400 students, 25 teachers and numerous clerical and custodial personnel.