Meet Dr. Aspasia Angelou from Seattle, Washington. Dr. Angelou is the superintendent at Nadaburg USD 81. With 25 years of experience in education, Dr. Angelou has held various roles, including teacher, teacher trainer, assistant principal, high school principal, and director of high school design. She is also the current board member of Wickenburg Community Hospital and she serves on the advisory board for the Harvard Business Review. Her expertise lies in strategic leadership, fostering a culture of mutual respect, teacher collaboration, optimizing human resources, and creating meaningful, real-world opportunities for high school students.
Early Beginnings: A Passion for Education
Dr. Angelou, a Seattle native and the daughter of immigrant parents has built a remarkable career in education because she has lived the life changing impacts of being a lifelong learner. She graduated from the University of Washington and then moved to Texas as an educator in the Dallas Independent School District, and as a teacher trainer in advanced placement with the National Math and Science Initiative. She later served as a high school principal for 9 years in Oklahoma City Public Schools. Her initially failing high school was recognized by Solution Tree, Inc., as a Model in Professional Learning Community and she was named Principal of the Year for the state of Oklahoma in 2017. Subsequently, she served the students, teachers, and community of Tulsa Public Schools as director of high school design in 2019, leading high needs schools through a redesign project.
Dr. Angelou is passionate about creating equitable learning environments, opportunities, and outcomes for all students.
“My entire career has been committed to serving in Title I urban schools. I was awarded the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Scholarship to attend the 2017 Women Leading Education International conference in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where we focused research on the education of women and children born into the prison system, nationwide,” she shares.
In 2018, she visited innovative schools in China and collaborated with the Ministry of Education to increase and learn about their national STEM programming, including robotics and nanotechnology. Their focus was also to learn about how students in remote rural areas are educated equitably by offering housing at the competitive urban schools. She holds a doctoral degree in educational administration and leadership from Texas A&M University at Commerce, her master’s degree in educational administration from Texas Woman’s University, and a superintendent’s certification from the University of Oklahoma. Additionally, she completed a fourteen-month certification with the National Institute of School Leadership (NISL) in Washington, DC, and trained school administrators on effective instructional and operational leadership. Aspasia is also trained in school safety and security through FEMA in Maryland. Further, she is the CEO of HigherAspiration, LLC, an educational consulting firm, and a certified Solution Tree Associate for Priority schools. Dr. Angelou is currently serving as the district superintendent for the community in Wittmann and Surprise, Arizona, in Nadaburg Unified School District No. 81. She is the first female superintendent in the district’s history now in her sixth year in the role. She spearheaded a major historic milestone by creating the district’s first high school, a challenging feat that was in the works since 2006.
The Key Inspiration Behind Joining the Education Realm
As a child, Aspasia accompanied her father, and they went to her aunt’s home to get signed on some legal paperwork. At that time, she was barely tall enough to see over the kitchen table, but she could see where her aunt signed an X in place of her name. When she asked her father about this, he scolded her and told her not to ask questions. Her mother later told her that her aunt was illiterate—she did not finish third grade. Aspasia was deeply affected by the shame of that unspoken fact in her family’s history, which motivated her to pursue a career as a reading teacher in the Dallas Independent School District. Her initial years of teaching the lower readers reaffirmed her commitment to her chosen field of education.
The Impact of Being the Daughter of Immigrant Parents
Dr. Angelou’s father consistently emphasized the importance of education in life. As an immigrant, her father arrived through Ellis Island and worked on the railroad in Montana as they expanded the route to the west coast. In Seattle, he enrolled at the University of Washington and became a hydraulic engineer. His journey demonstrated to Aspasia that despite humble beginnings and a lack of education history in the family history, one’s internal drive and curiosity to learn can change life’s circumstances. Dr. Angelou’s parents played a pivotal role in cultivating a strong appreciation for education and learning within her that burns bright to this day, and fuels her passion to positively impact students and educators.
Creating Equitable Learning Environments
With 25 years in education, Dr. Angelou has held various roles, including teacher, assistant principal, principal, director, superintendent, and consultant. Throughout her career, she has constantly focused on lower socioeconomic schools (Title I) in urban and rural settings. Dr. Angelou firmly believes and exemplifies that all students can succeed regardless of their location. Her personal experience herself makes her uniquely qualified to speak with conviction regarding an unwavering belief in every student’s potential to achieve his/her dreams, regardless of their zip code.
The Biggest Challenge
Dr. Angelou believes that inequity in funding and resources is the biggest barrier in Title I schools. While differences may exist between urban and rural settings, funding is still influenced by state and federal allocations, property taxes, and the ability to connect with committed community and business partners in support of school activities, internships, and externships. She works tirelessly to overcome their barriers for her students and community.
Enhancing Equity and Access to Quality Education
In her role as principal, superintendent, and consultant, Dr. Angelou focuses on developing significant industry partnerships tailored to the local economic landscape. This involves identifying the key local industries and future employment needs. By doing so, the team can collaborate to design curricula and experiences that prepare students for local employment while also equipping them for college, career, or the military.
The Latest Tech Evolutions
The most impactful change in technology currently is the integration of artificial intelligence. This affects students, teachers, and administrators. Like all technology, they are committed to identifying the best, most ethical, uses of AI for the stakeholders.
Preparing Students for the 21st-century Market Demand
STEM fields are a critical component of the courses at NUSD. Over the last four years, the institution has focused on coding and building the courses offered through Career Tech. Furthermore, the team is exploring potential partnerships with a local hospital and other businesses to establish pathways into health sciences and robotics. With the West Valley experiencing growth, the team is committed to new industry partnerships that have opportunities to integrate STEM learning directly from the field into the classrooms. Dr. Angelou notes that finding a balance between honoring rural traditions and preparing for the future means having multiple perspectives at the decision making table.
Significance of Community Partnerships in Education
Throughout her various roles, Dr. Angelou has worked diligently to invite business and community partners into the school community. In Oklahoma City, that was a working bank in the school. The teacher was a bank manager, and every student learned about finance. The elective courses included a period working in the bank and offering every service from home loans to car loans and personal checking/savings accounts. In NUSD, one area of focus is on health-related jobs needed in the community.
Upcoming Notable Changes in the Education System
According to Dr. Angelou, the most critical change is the growing need to establish authenticity and validity of information for the students and helping them think critically and research valid information will be a major feat in the future of education. Solving the problems in an ever changing modern society will entail collaborative skills across languages and geographical boundaries. Solving issues in the medical field, environmental complexities, and economic issues in a global context will be areas of need in the future of work.
The Future Roadmap for Nadaburg Unified School District
As one of the fastest-growing districts in the state, Dr. Angelou aims to establish NUSD as a place of belonging for every student and educator. “I believe that it is a community-wide effort to adapt to the growth in our region, and by working collaboratively and communicating transparently, we can create a special oasis in the desert where we respect the rural way of life while preparing students to fulfill their dreams in college, career, military or homegrown entrepreneurship.
