PROFESSIONAL RESUME
Nerissa
Bretania-Shafer, Ph. D.
Post Office Box 3159
Hagatna, Guam 96932
Tel: (671-475-0462
Biographical Statement
Dr.
Bretania-Shafer is one of the leading educators in Guam.
Known for her intellectual skills, her spirituality and direct way in dealing
with difficult issues, Dr. Bretania-Shafer has made many significant
contributions to the practice of education in Guam.
In the past decade, she has been directly involved with every planning,
management and evaluation issue with the Guam Public School System as the
Administrator of Research, Planning and Evaluation. She has been successful in
the classroom and worked as a consulting resource teacher in various public and
private schools. As the co-chairperson of the Professional Teacher Evaluation
(PTEP) Committee, she played a major role in facilitating the development and
initial implementation of the PTEP. Her expertise in assessment issues has been
broadly recognized.
Her capabilities
and commitment to high professional standards were most evident in 2003 when
she served as the interim Superintendent for the Guam Public School System. In
this capacity, she oversaw the recovery of Guam
schools from two typhoons in the previous year and introduced a style of
transparent leadership that restored community confidence in the schools. In the
time she served as Interim Superintendent, she became a forceful advocate for
resources for the schools in Guam’s difficult political environment and became
a role model for the Filipino community of Guam.
For most of her
professional career, she has been the Administrator of the Research, Planning,
In this capacity, she managed the State Assessment Program (SAT1O) for both
public and private schools. In that capacity she did not only ensured that the
SAT1O was appropriately administered, but that teachers and principals were
given another assessment instrument to use throughout the year. This was done
through the implementation of a pilot program of the Curriculum Director Test
Item Bank.
Dr.
Bretania-Shafer currently serves as the Assistant Superintendent of Special
Education. Among her primary responsibilities is the management of the
improvement activities stated in the State Performance Plan and collection and
reporting of data for the Annual Performance Report. Her experience in special
education over the past year has broadened her knowledge and skills relative to
students with special needs,
Born in the Philippines,
she was raised and educated in Guam and became
an active member of the community. She has been a leader in Filipino community
organizations, an advocate in Guam’s
self-determination quest and has served the community as a member of the Guam
Memorial Hospital Board of Trustees, Guam Humanities Council, and the St. Paul
Christian School Board. Her involvement in community affairs and her
connections to the people of Guam built in her an appreciation of the unique
role Filipinos play as an immigrant community, She speaks Hiligaynon (her
native language), Tagalog, a little Chamorro and, of course, English. In
combination with her cultural knowledge, she is seen as the consummate
professional woman who has not sacrificed her knowledge or pride in her
background. Known for her effective speaking, writing and intellectual skills,
she is regularly consulted for her expertise on research-based school reform
and improvement.
EDUCATION:
Doctor of Philosophy,
University of Oregon, 1989
Curriculum and Instruction
Dissertation: A Theoretical Analysis of Paulo Freire’s
Literacy Modd in View of the Chamorro
Socio-cultural Context
Master
of Science in Education
University of Oregon, 1985
Special Project: Implications of
Special Education Placement in Guam
Bachelor
of Arts in Education, Magna Cum Laude
University of Guam, 1981
Elementary and Special Education
Attended
Seattle University, 1973-74
General Education
High
School Diploma, 1973
Sacred Heart Forest
Ridge High
School
Attended
Notre Dame
High School (Talofofo) and Mount Carmel School (Agat)
CERTIFICATION: MASTER EDUCATOR = Elementary K-5
& Special Education K-12
Teaching Certificate, Expires
January 15, 2018
PROFESSIONAL
EXPERIENCE:
~ 2007 — Present
Assistant
Superintendent
Special Education Division
Responsible
for assisting the Associate Superintendent of Special Education in managing
special education programs and related services for students with disabilities
enrolled in public and private schools. This includes overseeing federal funds
(Part B and Part C) totaling more than $14 million and $5 million local funds,
supervision of program coordinators,
service providers and support staff, overseeing the development of mandated
reports such as the State Performance Plan and Annual Performance Report, participating
in Guam Education Policy Board work sessions and bi-monthly meetings of the Guam Advisory Panel of Students with Disabilities
(GAPSD), Works directly with GPSS support division heads and school principals
to continuously ensure that the needs of students with disabilities are adequately met.
7
• 1993 — 2007
Administrator
Research, Planning and Evaluation Division
Guam Department of Education
Responsible for providing educators, policy makers, and
other stakeholders within the community of Guam and the mainland United States,
quantitative and qualitative data essential to developing effective
instructional and management planning. I was also responsible for computing
statistics for the School Progress Reports and Annual State of Public Education
Report.
Worked directly with central office administrators, school
principals, researchers and the community to bring understanding to educational
trends, the connection between teaching practices and assessment and to improve
and reform educational practice on the basis of reliable date and practical
research.
o January—August 2003
Interim
Superintendent
Oversaw all functions and operations of the Guam Department
of Education as mandated by Guam Public Law 26-26. Managed the transition of
the Department under the new Guam Education Policy Board; Oversaw the recovery
of the schools from Typhoon Ponsongna; Led the process to Develop the DOE Cost
Savings Plan, which included several community forums; Developed and led the
process to develop reorganization initiative for the Guam Education Policy
Board; Coordinating The School Readiness Interagency Task Force to ensure
student safety and comfort; Represents the Department in the public media.
• 1992-1993:
Program Coordinator
Professional Teacher Evaluation Program
Curriculum and Instruction Division
Guam
Department of Education
Responsible
for coordinating the implementation of GDOE Professional Teacher Evaluation Program. This involves
development of in-service training models and conducting in-service training
for administrators and teachers. I was also responsible for developing the GDOE
Teacher Evaluation Cadre Model.
• 1987-1992:
Program Evaluator
Division of Special Education
Guam Department of Education
I was responsible for conducting formative and summative
evaluations of special education programs. This involved providing consulting
services to special education program coordinators regarding the development of
program goals and measurable objectives, as well as formative evaluation
designs. My secondary responsibility involves writing the Division’s Annual Report
based on a detailed review of annual reports from various special education
program coordinators, Became familiar with school-based problems and issues;
worked directly with building administrators and other special program
coordinators.
• Spring and Fall
1990:
Assistant Professor
Center of Continuing
Education
University of Guam
• ED 894: Culturally
Responsive Teaching. (3 credits) This course is designed to highlight the
language and cultural dimensions of the classroom environment and provide
examples of teaching practices that are responsive to the needs of culturally
and linguistically diverse students. It also focused on major components of the
GDOE teacher performance standards, A total of 50 students successfully
completed the course. Also taught ED 894: Teaching Students with Learning
Difficulties: Meeting the Challenge for the Individual and the Community.
Instructor for Modules One and Two:
Socio-cultural Dimensions of Education Students on Guam: Language, Culture and Communication Patterns.
• 1985-1987:
Graduate Teaching Fellow
Teacher Education
University of Oregon
Responsible
for team teaching two
courses: Teaching Strategies and Teaching Reading and Writing in the Secondary
School Teaching Strategies. These are required courses for students enrofled in
the University of
Oregon’s Secondary
Teacher Education Program. Both courses are designed to help pre-service and
experienced teachers increase their repertoire of instructional strategies.
4
• 1982-1985:
Consulting Resource Teacher
Division of Special Education
Guam Department of Education
Responsible for providing consulting
services to special education, regular classroom teachers and parents of
special education students, This involves conducting prereferral assessments,
facilitating the development and implementation of Individual Instructional
Programs (lIP), conducting lIP eligibility and placement meetings, monitoring
the progress of students in various schools and consulting with other service providers.
• 1980-1982:
Resource Room
Teacher
Harry S. Truman
Elementary School
Guam Department of Education
Responsible for teaching reading,
writing, math, science and social studies to special education resource room
students, enrolled in kindergarten — 6~’~ grade.
o OTHER
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
O Summer 1985
Assessment Specialist, Pacific
Basin Resource
Center (Guam)
o Summer 1985
Editor, Handbook for the Delivery of Special Education
Services, Division of Special Education, Guam Department of Education
o Summer 1984
Curriculum Writer, Secondary Special Education Math and
Social Studies Curriculum, Division of Special Education
O Summer 1983
Teacher, Planned Alternative
Center for Education,
Division of Special Education, Guam Department of Education
o Summer 1981 and 1982
Teacher, Special Education Summer Academic Camps: Fun in the
Sun
• RELATED
PROFESSIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES
o 2002-2003
Chair, Standing Committee for Programs, Policies and
Implementation,
National Forum on Education Statistics (U.S. Department
of Education)
o 1993 -2007
National Assessment for Educational Progress (NAEP)
Trial Assessment
State Test Coordinator
State Liaison for Guam Department of Education (GDOE) and National Center for Educational Statistics (NCES)
o 1992 -
Member
Guam Department of Education
Staff Development Council
o 1991-1993
Liaison, Guam Department of Education and Interface Network
Desegregation Assistance
Center, Region X.
Responsible for coordinating the development and implementation of action plan
designed to provide second language learners equal access to educational
programs.
o 1989-1993
Liaison, Guam Department of Education and U. S. Department
of Education Office for Civil Rights, Region X. Responsible for communicating
to OCR progress made by GDOE to meet Federal compliance standards for educating
second language learners.
o 1991-1993
Liaison, Guam Department of Education and Micronesian
Language Institute. Responsible for coordinating effort by GDOE and Micronesian
Language Institute to develop and implement native language proficiency tests.
o PROFESSIONAL COMMI1TEES
2008 Member, Academic
Affairs Advisory Committee
2007 Co-Chair, GPSS District Action Plan Committee
2004 Member, University of Guam
College of Education Master’s Thesis Committee
2004 Member, Governor’s Compact Impact
Reconciliation Committee
2000 Member, PREL Research & Development Cadre,
Honolulu, Hawaii
6
1996 Member,
Vision 2001 Education Task Force
1996 Member, Community Task Force Education
1995 Member, Guam
Education GOALS 2000
1993 Member,
Governor’s Compact Impact Task Force
Chair, Guam DOE Compact Impact Focus Group
1991 Chairperson,
Board of Trustees Quality Improvement
Committee Guam
Memorial Hospital
Authority, Tamuning, Guam
1989-1992 Chairperson,
Special Education Umited English Proficient Committee Guam Department of
Education, Agana, Guam
1989 -1992 Chairperson,
Language Other Than English (LOTE) Committee Guam Department of Education, Agana, Guam
1989-1992 Co-Chairperson,
Guam Public School Teacher Evaluation
Committee
1990 Member,
Panel of Standard Setting Committee for the Guam
Educators’ Test for English Proficiency
1989-1990 Member,
The Integrated Computer Laboratory Evaluation Task Force Guam Department of
Education
01990 Co-chair, Guam
Educators Appreciation Week Core Committee
OTHER EMPLOYMENT EXPERIENCE
o 1977-1978:
Beauty Consultant
Revlon Incorporated
Navy Exchange
Naval Station, Guam
Responsible for promoting Revlon
products, providing customers with skin care consulting services and monitoring
product inventory.
• 1976-1977:
Personnel
Specialist
Megg’s Department Store
Tamuning, Guam
Responsible for monitoring sales
clerks, preparing advertisements and developing employee work schedules.
• 1975-1976:
Credit Clerk
Pacific National Bank of Washington
Seattle, Washington
Responsible for compiling credit
reports for loan applicants.
o FELLOWSHIPS,
AWARDS AND HONORS
°2003 - Distinguished Administrator Award, International Association
of Early Childhood Educators, UOG
°2002 - Scholar, Guam Humanities Council
01993 - Fellow National Center for Educational Statistics
Cooperative Fellows Programs
°1985-1987 - Graduate Teaching Fellow, University
of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon
01981 - Magna Cum Laude, University
of Guam, Mangilao, Guam
°1980-1981 - President’s List, University
of Guam, Mangilao, Guam
°19794981 - Teacher Training Scholarship, University
of Guam, Mangilao, Guam
• PUBLICATIONS
Special Education Guidelines and
Procedures for Limited English Proficient Students. Language Other Than English
Manual. Guam Department of Education, Agana, Guam, 1992.
With Farra, H.E., and Kltkie, L. P.,
“Limited English Proficient, Bilingual and
Multicultural
Special Education Students: Implications
for Teacher Education and
Service Delivery.” International
Journal of Special Education, Fall 1991.
“A Theoretical Analysis of Paulo
Freire’s Literacy Model in View of the Chamorro Sociocultural Context.” Doctor
of Philosophy Dissertation, University
of Oregon., 1989.
“Guam’s
Vocational Improvement Project, Year 1: 1988-1989,” Evaluation Report. A
project funded by the Western Regional Resource
Center, Eugene, Oregon,
1989.
Procedures for Providing Educational
Services at Liheng Famagu’on (Department of Youth Affairs). Department of
Education, Agana, Guam,
1988.
Editor, Division of Special
Education Exceptional Children Annual Report: SY19986-87. Department of
Education, Agana, Guam,
1987.
B
“Ethnic Inequities in Guam’s Special Education
Programs,” in Spencer, Mi. (Editor), Chamorro Language issues and Research on Guam: A book of readings. University
of Guam, Mangilao, Guam,
1987.
With Andriotti, L., and Mack, K. Evaluation Report: Lane Regional Science Cadre Program. Lane County,
Oregon, 1986.
With Biel, Bonnie, Editor.
Handbook for the Delivery of Special Education Service SY
1985-86. Division of Special Education, Department of
Education, Agana, Guam,
1985.
“An Analysis of
Perceived and Observed Discrepancies in Guam
Special Education Student Population.” An independent research project with
cooperation of the Guam Department of Education. Agana,
Guam, 1982
With Flores, N, Pangelinan, J. and Hammer, S. Special
Education Secondary Math Curriculum. Division of Special Education. Department
of Education. Agana, Guam,
1984.
With Flores, N, Pangelinan, J. and Hammer, S., Special
Education Secondary Social Studies Curriculum. Division of Special Education.
Department of Education, Agana, Guam, 1984.
• PRESENTATIONS AND WORKSHOPS
“Interpreting and
Using SAT9 Scores to Improve Instruction.” School Principals,
teachers and test
coordinators. Guam Department of Education, Hagatna, Guam,
1996
— 2006 (Annual Workshop)
“Understanding
Test Scores and Standardized Tests.” School Faculty & Various Parent
Teacher Organizations (PTO) upon request. Guam,
1996-2006
“The Role of
Critical Teaching Skills in the Renewal of Your School Mission.” Notre Dame High School Faculty and Support Staff.
Notre Dame, Talofofo, Guam, 1992
“Guam Department
of Education Equity Institute: A School District’s Effort to Meet the Needs of
Second Language Learners.” General Assembly Address. Region X Desegregation Assistance
Center Second Annual Conference: It
Takes a Whole Village to Raise A Child, Interface
Network. Beaverton, Oregon, 1992
“The Role
of the Professional Teacher Evaluation Program in the Professional Growth of
Health
Educators.” General Assembly Speaker. First Annual Health Educators
Conference, Guam
Department of Education and Department of Public Health and Social
Services, Palace
Hotel, Agana, Guam,
1992.
“The Guam
Department of Education Professional Teacher Evaluation Program.” Instructor.
Seminar for all school Principals, Assistant Principals and Teacher
U
Representatives,
sponsored by Project LEAD, University
of Guam and Guam
Department of Education. Palace Hotel, Agana, Guam, 1992
“Follow Up
Professional Teacher Evaluation Program Workshop: Meeting the Professional
Needs of School Site Evaluators.” Instructor, All school Principals and
Assistant Principals. Blue Room, University
of Guam, Mangilao, Guam,
1992
“Humanities
Special Projects for the Classroom Teacher.” Presenter. Language Arts Annual
Conference. Pacific Star Hotel, Tumon, Guam,
1992
“Teenage
Pregnancy in the Guam Public Schools.” Facilitator. First Lady Focus Group.
Government House, Agana, Guam,
1991.
“GDOE Teacher
Performance Standards and the Integrated Curriculum: How do these relate?”
Lecturer. All Elementary Schools, Guam Department of Education. Agana, Guam, 1991-92
“Guam’s Multicultural Society: What newcomers need to
know.” Monthly lecturer. Andersen Air Force Base Newcomers Relocation and
Adaptation Program. Andersen Air Force Base, Guam,
1991.
Parents of
Adjudicated Youths: Keeping it all in perspective.” Guest Speaker. Parenting
Class for Parents of Adjudicated Youths. Superior Court of Guam.
Agana, Guam.,
1991.
“Let’s Get
Acquainted With GDOE’s Professional Teacher Performance Standards.”
Guest Lecturer.
Professional Teacher Evaluation Program Orientation Workshop.
Northwest
Regional Educational Laboratory and Guam Department of Education. Pacific
Star, Agana, Guam, 1991.
“Professional
Teacher Evaluation Program: An Evaluation Program for Professional Growth.”
Keynote Speaker. Conference sponsored by the Filipino Educators Association of
Guam. Governor’s Adelup Complex, Agana, Guam, 1991.
“Educator’s
Report Card: What Do We Deserve?” Guest Speaker. Phi Delta Kappa, Pacific Star
Hotel, Tumon, Guam, 1991.
Guam Department of
Education Board Policy Seminar. Facilitator. Committee on Employee Evaluation.
Guam Department of Education. Government House, Agana,
Guam, 1990.
“Teacher
Evaluation: Fact or Fantasy?” Guest Speaker. Phi Delta Kappa, Pacific Star
Hotel, Tumon, Guam, 1990.
“Viewing the
Education of the Pacific child Through A Different Set of Lenses.” Presenter,
Center for the Advancement of Pacific Education (CAPE)
1988 Conference. University of Guam, Mangilao, Guam,
1988.
10
“Taking Another
Look at Women’s Role in Guam: A Personal
Perspective.” Soroptomist International, Guam
Chapter. Red Carpet, Agana, Guam,
1988.
“Demographic
Characteristics of Guam’s Special Education Population.” Presenter, Guam Special Education Annual Conference. Brodie Memorial
School, Tamuning, Guam,
1983.
“Chamorro Self
Determination and the Quest for a Nuclear Free Pacific.” Speaker, International
Conference for a Nuclear Free Pacific. Guam
Legislative Building,
Agana, Guam,
1982.
• SELECTED SEMINARS, CONFERENCES AND TRAINING
02008 Special Education Overlapping Part B/C Conference, Washington D.C.
°2007 Response to
Intervention Conference, Arlington Virginia
02007 General
Supervision Conference co-sponsored by U.S. DOE and Western
Regional Resource
Center, San Francisco
°2007 Early
Childhood Outcomes Conference, Baltimore
Maryland
02007 Moving
Forward, Enhancing Literacy, University
of Guam
°2007
Organizational Leadership, University
of Guam
02004 Professional Development for
System-wide Leadership. University
of Guam
°2004 National
Forum for Education Statistics Winter Meeting and 17th Annual Management
Information System (MIS) Conference, Portsmouth,
Virginia.
02002 National Center
for Educational Statistics (NCES) Forum Steering Committee, Washington D.C.
Also attended Forum and Data Conferences for NCES in 1996-2004
°2002 EIAC/ASAP
Meeting, National Assessment for Education Progress (NAEP),
St. Petersburg, Florida. Also attended NAEP training and
network meetings in
1996 and 2000 in
various locations
02002 Leadership Academies Conference, Washington DC
°2002 Bookette
Software Training, Monterey,
California
02000 PREL R&D Cadre Seminar XI (PLUS), Honolulu,
Hawaii
Also attended PREL Cadre Seminars in
1999 and 1998.
°1996 Harcourt
Brace Measurement and Assessment Corporation. The Psychological Corporation’s
Performance Assessment Scoring Center San Antonio, Texas
11
° 1993 Performance Evaluation — A Total Systems Approach.
0 1992 Instructional
Leadership and the Implementation of the Professional Teacher Evaluation
Program. Workshop. J.T. Pescarelli, Ed. D., Instructor. Guam Department of
Education. Nikko Hotel, Tumon, Guam.
0 1992 Sexual Harassment Workshop. Desegregation Assistance Center,
Region X and Guam Department of Education. George Washington
Senior High School.
Mangilao, Guam.
0 1992 Guam
Department of Education Equity Institute SY 1992-1993. Desegregation Assistance
Center, Region X and Guam
Department of Education. George
Washington Senior
High School. Mangilao, Guam.
0 1992 Fundraising and the Non Profit
Organizations Workshop. National Organization Of Non Profit Boards and the Guam Humanities Council. Dallas, Texas.
° 1992 Quality Improvement and the
Medical Staff Leadership. Seminar. Joint Commission On Accreditation of
Hospital Organizations and the Guam
Memorial Hospital
Authority. Seattle, Washington.
0 1992 Association
of Supervision and the Curriculum Development (ASCD) Summer Institute. Attended
the following workshops: Essential Teaching Skills and Strategies for Cognitive
Supervision. San Francisco,
California.
0 1992 Desegregation Assistance
Center Second Annual
Conference. “It Takes A Whole
Village to Raise A
Child.” Beaverton, Oregon.
0 1992 Leadership Seminar. Guam
Department of Education. Palace Hotel, Agana, Guam.
0 1992 Partners in Excellence. Dann
Dorr. Nikko Hotel, Tumon, Guam
0 1992 Mastering Peak Performance.
Dann Dorr and Patrick Neal. Nikko Hotel, Tumon, Guam.
° 1992 Guam Department of Education
Equity Institute SY 1991 —
1992. Desegregation Assistance
Center, Region X and Guam
Department of Education. Top of the Mar. Agana, Guam.
0 1991 First Annual
Desegregation Assistance
Center Conference. Interface Desegregation Assistance
Center. Beaverton, Oregon.
° 1990 Bilingual Special Education
Conference. University of Texas, Austin,
Texas.
0 1989 Center for the Advancement of
Pacific Education Program Policy Board Meeting. Honolulu, Hawaii,
12
• MEMBERSHIP
IN PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATIONS:
0 National Forum for Education Statistics 1995 to 2007
O Association of Supervision and Curriculum Development
° Filipino Educators Association of
Guam (Advisor) Agana, Guam
(2005-2006)
0 American Association of University Women
University of Guam, Mangilao, Guam,
° The Guam
Humanities Council (1990-1992); Secretary (1991-1992)
o COMMUNITY
SERVICE ACTIVITIES
° First Vice President, Filipino
Community of Guam 2005 - 2006
0 Member and Secretary of Board of
Education,
St. Paul Assembly of God
Christian School,
1998-2000
° Editor, St.
Paul Messenger
Official Church Weekly
Bulletin, St. Paul Assembly of God Church
° Member, Planning Committee,
Association of American
University of
Women.
“Accentuate Positive Me,” Conference for Middle School and High School Female
Students, 1992.
° Chairperson, Program Committee, Iloilo Association of Guam
“Kasadyahan Sang
Aton Kaliwat.” (A Celebration of Our Roots), 1992.
0 Member, American Red Cross Board of
Directors, Guam Chapter, 1992-1993.
0 Member, Iloilo
Association of Guam (1991-2007) Agana, Guam.
° Member, Guam
Humanities Council, 1991-1993
° Member, Guam Women’s Club, 1991-1993
0 Member, Guam Memorial
Hospital, Board of
Trustees, 1990-1993.
° Catechism Teacher (1980-1983) Mt. Carmel Church, Agat and
St. Guadalupe Church, Santa Rita, Guam.
° Member, Organization of People for Indigenous Rights,
1981-84.
o SPECIAL
SKILLS
Speaks Visayan and Tagalog in addition to English; Familiar
with Chamorro Language
Proficient in the use of several computer-based word
processors, statistical analysis and desktop publishing.
13