Viviana Cabrales Garcia has served as an educator in the Bay Area for over 20 years. A child of immigrants, Viviana has first-hand experience of what it is like to navigate a system that is not set up for one’s own success. She has committed her professional career to ensuring that others from communities such as her own have access and opportunity to be well-represented in all spaces.
After completing her undergraduate studies at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA, Viviana attended the University of California Berkeley (UCB) Graduate School of Education, where she received her teaching credential and Masters degree.
Viviana spent her early years as an educator in an elementary school classroom, serving a predominantly Latino/Hispanic and multilingual community in South San Jose. She participated in a variety of leadership roles focused on ensuring students were receiving culturally and linguistically responsive experiences.
Seeking to impact change beyond her four classroom walls, she joined Partners In School Innovation – a non-profit that works to support educators at various levels of the school system in their Transformation efforts. She worked with the adults in the system in deepening their practice – with teachers to provide thoughtfully-planned instruction, with instructional coaches to improve teachers’ professional capacities, with site administrators to align school systems, and with district leaders to align systems of support and professional learning across the organization.
Viviana drew upon her many years working alongside teachers, coaches, principals, and district administrators for her own work as principal of AJ Dorsa Elementary School, within the Alum Rock Union School District. Viviana worked collaboratively with staff to attend to the academic and social-emotional learning of all students. She understood that attending to students holistically also meant that the needs of adults (staff and families) needed to be at the center of the work. This meant creating systems of multi-tiered support, collaborating with community organizations, investing in staff professional learning and fostering Early Learning.
Understanding the key role early education plays in a child’s development, Viviana joined the 21st Century School Leadership Academy (21CSLA) as the Lead Trainer for Universal Transitional Kindergarten (UTK). In this role, Viviana supported site, district and system leaders across California with the expansion and implementation of Universal Transitional Kindergarten — one key aspect of California’s Mixed Delivery System which aims to expand early education access.
Viviana brings the unique experience of having worked across multiple systems (public schools, non-profit, Higher Education) to deepen professional learning. She is excited to work in partnership with Kidango staff in leading the professional learning efforts that will support the realization of the organization’s mission and vision — all children having the early education experiences they need to be ready for success in school and life.
