Like us on Facebook      Follow us on Twitter   

Imagination Celebration - Apr 11-May 24 | Creative Edge Lecture - Apr 21 | Dia del Nino - Apr 26 | Arts Awards - Oct 14 

OC Schools Superintendent Dr. Al Mijares Appointed to ArtsOC Board of Directors

Dr. Al Mijares, Orange County's Superintendent of Schools, has joined the Board of Arts Orange County, reinforcing the strong relationship that has existed for a number of years between the arts council and the Orange County Department of Education.  The two organizations partner on the annual Imagination Celebration and the annual Creative Edge Lecture, as well as maintaining strong lines of communication on the work that ArtsOC does in arts education advocacy to support the Department's Arts Advantage plans in most of the County's school districts.

 

Mijares was appointed Orange County Superintendent of Schools in August 2012, and prior to that time he served for six years as the Vice President of the College Board where he worked to expand the high school-to-university pipeline, in order to assure the college readiness and success for students, especially the underrepresented.

 

He joined the College Board after serving as Superintendent of the Santa Ana (CA) Unified School District for more than 11 years. Under his guidance, the district received national recognition for successfully meeting the needs of its diverse student body. Mijares was praised for his innovative curricular reform and for improving reading and math skills.


Before Santa Ana, Mijares served as Superintendent of the Bakersfield (CA) City School District and Coachella Valley (CA) Unified School District and as a principal in the Moreno Valley Unified School District in Riverside County, CA. Before and during these administrative posts, he held faculty positions as an adjunct professor at Chapman University in Orange, CA, and taught part-time at both Pepperdine University's Los Angeles campus and at Compton College in Compton, CA. Additionally he also served on the Ambassador Advisory Committee under University of Southern California President, Steven Sample.


He is currently the Chairman of Comunidad Latina Federal Credit Union, a member of the Board of Trustees for Biola University, a past member of the advisory council of the Tiger Woods Learning Center Foundation, on the advisory board of Public Schools for Tomorrow, and was the first chairman of the Santa Ana Empowerment Zone board of directors. Additionally, he is the recipient of several honors, including the American Association of School Administrators Leadership for Learning Award, the Orange County Hispanic Chamber of Commerce's 2005 Educator of the Year Award, the League of United Latin American Citizens' 2004 Excellence in Education Award, the Association of California School Administrators' Diversity Award, and the California School Board Association's Merit Award for Outstanding Leadership.


He earned his bachelor's degree in child development/special education from California State University, Northridge. While working in the San Francisco Bay Area as a project specialist for physically handicapped children in public schools, Mijares earned his master's in social welfare from the University of California, Berkeley. He earned his Ph.D. from the University of Southern California. He holds several school credentials, including school psychology and school administration. Al is married to Jackie and they are the proud parents of 5 grown sons all of whom graduated from the public school system and are college graduates.

 

RESOURCES FOR ARTISTS & ARTS ORGANIZATIONS - ArtsOC.org

ARTS & CULTURAL EVENTS + CALLS FOR ARTISTS + AUDITIONS + JOBS + CLASSES + VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES - SparkOC.com

 Arts Orange County is supported in part through funds from
  
  
      California Arts Council Logo 
              

OTIS REPORT LAUNCH IN OC

MARCH 18 - 4 PM @ BOWERS

Information & Tickets

Tickets are now on sale for Arts Orange County's 6th annual Creative Edge Lecture featuring Sarah Lewis. Prepare to be inspired by this 90-minute lecture as we discover what we can all learn from the world's greatest innovators.  Purchase tickets.

For VIP seating, including a luncheon with Ms. Lewis, please contact Karen Ahola.

NOMINATIONS ARE OPEN FOR THE 16TH ANNUAL ORANGE COUNTY ARTS AWARDS!

 

Complete guidelines, forms, and a list of past honorees may be found here.
Arts Orange County is the leader in building appreciation of, participation in and support for the arts and arts education throughout Orange County. 
It is a powerhouse in advancing Orange County's arts ecology, a trailblazer in advocating workforce development through arts education, a leader in building future audiences and a trendsetter in the world of nonprofit arts councils.

Arts Orange County, 3730 South Susan Street, Suite 100, Santa Ana, CA 92704