Meet Our Partners
Dr. Fred Navarro is a lifelong educator, most recently retiring as Superintendent from the Newport Mesa Unified School District. He has served public schools for nearly forty years and earned a reputation for recruiting and cultivating top talent in all leadership roles. He earned his B.A and teaching credential from California State University Dominguez Hills and his Master’s Degree and Doctorate in Education from UCLA. He served Long Beach Unified School District as Activities Director, Assistant Director of Human Resources, Assistant Principal and Middle School Principal. He served as a high school principal in the Alhambra and Newport Mesa Unified School where he also served as Director of Secondary Education. He served as the Assistant Superintendent of the Anaheim School District and as Superintendent of the Lennox School District. His various District and community leadership roles include:
California School Boards Association Superintendents’ Advisory Council
University of California, Irvine School of Education Dean’s Community Advisory
Board of Directors, Newport Beach Chamber of Commerce
Part-time faculty, UCLA School of Education
Board of Directors, Schools for Sound Finance
California Interscholastic Federation, Southern Section, Commissioner’s Superintendents’ Advisory
John Hopkins Center for Talented Youth, Fellow
LBUSD CABE Chapter President (1993)
He believes that a high-quality leadership team is vital to student success in the classroom; therefore, a quality superintendent is essential to creating a thriving district where every student is provided an exemplary and rewarding educational experience.Dr. Fredrick Navarro has had a long and distinguished career in education. He served as the superintendent of the Newport-Mesa Unified School District (NMUSD) in California, where he was known for his efforts to improve educational outcomes and foster leadership within the district. Dr. Navarro's career in public education spans nearly four decades, during which he held various positions that contributed to his reputation as a committed and effective educational leader.
Throughout his tenure, he focused on recruiting and developing top talent within educational leadership roles. Under his leadership, NMUSD made strides in various educational initiatives and policies aimed at enhancing the quality of education for students.
After retiring from his role as superintendent, Dr. Navarro continued to be involved in the educational community through his association with Elevation Education Solutions, LLC., creators of the Axiom Dashboard, where he serves as an Executive Coach to principals and district leaders, trainer and advisor, contributing his expertise to educational consulting and leadership development.
Dr. Tim Ritter had served in public education for 36 years when he retired from the Temecula Valley Unified School District in 2020 where he was Superintendent for 10 years. Prior to his tenure as Superintendent in TVUSD he served the district as Deputy Superintendent, Assistant Superintendent of Education Services, and Principal at Chaparral and Great Oak High School. Before coming to TVUSD Dr. Ritter served in the Chaffey Joint Union High School District for 17 years as an Assistant Principal and Science Teacher.
Throughout his career, Dr. Ritter has established himself as a leader and expert in the areas of curriculum, instruction, and assessment. He has worked with and supported over 50 districts throughout the country as a consultant for the California Department of Education, the National Science Foundation, and Lifelong Learning and Associates. He has also served on numerous WASC accreditation teams and worked on the development, review, and evaluation of numerous statewide and national student and teacher assessment programs.
Dr. Ritter is a true collaborator who is most proud of the learning communities he helped build and foster in Temecula. He was the founding principal of Great Oak High School, which is recognized as one of the best and highest performing schools in California. It is his team building and collaborative philosophy along with his strong commitment to the building of a culture of student success through high quality instruction that resulted in TVUSD becoming one of the most respected districts in the state. Throughout his career Dr. Ritter has received a number of recognitions and grants but he is most proud of twice being a California finalist for the Presidential Science Teacher of the Year, and in 2015 being named the Riverside County Administrator of the Year. Dr. Ritter serves as an Executive Coach, trainer and curriculum developer for Elevation Education Solutions, LLC., creators of the Axiom Dashboard.
Dr. Anna Corral is a retired administrator that has served mostly in Orange County. After receiving her Bachelor’s Degree in Music from UCLA, Dr. Corral taught for ten years at the junior and high school levels. She then earned her doctoral degree in education from USC and entered administration. Over 25 years as an administrator, Dr. Corral has been leading educational change at the elementary, junior and high school levels.
Dr. Corral has a passion for student learning and supporting teachers in their craft. During her tenure as principal, she opened a Parent Center in two of the schools where she was principal; to serve parents of at-risk students learn to support the academic growth of their children. Dr. Corral believes that student success comes when the team of school, parents and community come together to provide an environment where students can grow and learn with no limits.
Dr. Corral began her career as a music teacher, and as a band director, she continues her interests in music by performing with a variety of Community Bands.
Dr. Robert F. Cunard's career in education spans several decades and includes a range of teaching, administrative, and leadership roles. He began his career with the Long Beach Unified School District, where he taught middle school English for three years and high school English for four years. During this time, he also served as a mentor teacher for two years, guiding new educators and helping to shape the instructional practices within the district.
Following his tenure in Long Beach, Dr. Cunard moved to the Irvine Unified School District, where he spent eight years teaching high school English. In addition to his teaching responsibilities, he took on the role of Activities Director for four years, overseeing student activities and programs. His mentorship continued here as well, where he served as a mentor teacher for another four years, further demonstrating his commitment to educator development and student engagement.
Dr. Cunard then transitioned to school administration, beginning with the Newport-Mesa Unified School District. He served as a high school assistant principal for nine years, during which time he authored a California Distinguished School application and coordinated WASC self-studies. His leadership skills were further honed in this role, preparing him for higher administrative responsibilities.
At the Alvord Unified School District, Dr. Cunard served as the principal of La Sierra High School for four years. During his tenure, he significantly improved the school's performance metrics, growing the API score from 670 to 748, increasing UC/CSU eligibility by over 50%, and improving ADA from 94% to 96%. His impact was similarly felt in the Anaheim Union High School District, where as principal of Magnolia High School for six years, he increased the API score from 678 to 717 in just three years and boosted the graduation rate by 12%.
In addition to his K-12 administrative roles, Dr. Cunard has extensive experience in higher education. For 11 years, he was an adjunct professor at Concordia University, Irvine, where he taught every course in the Education Administration program and instructed the CalAPA for two years. His contributions to education have been recognized with numerous honors, including being named ACSA Region 17 Secondary Principal of the Year in 2016, serving as a CIF Champion for Character, and chairing WASC Visiting Committees 11 times. He is also a published author, having written "The Successful Principal: Concrete Strategies and Essential Advice," which was released in 2017. Dr. Cunard currently serves as an Executive Coach, curriculum developer and trainer for Elevation Education Solutions, LLC., creators of the Axiom Dashboard.
Patrick Yrarrázaval-Correa
Mr. Patrick, as he is affectionately known by his colleagues, served the students, families and staff of the Santa Ana Unified School District for 33 years. He was an ELD and History/Social Studies teacher, a middle school counselor, assistant principal, and principal. He then moved to serve as a high school principal. For the last six years of his tenure, he led the District's drop-out prevention and intervention efforts.
Throughout his career in SAUSD, he strived to improve teaching and learning conditions, and to constantly improve the schools at which he worked. He tirelessly worked to bring about changes that would improve student outcomes, including such innovations as mastery approach to standards-based grading, unique academies to support beginning English learners as well as high-performing AP students, and innovative calendars and bell schedules designed to meet the needs of the students and teachers. He partnered closely with the University of California, Irvine, Cal State Fullerton, and Santa Ana College, leveraging their experience and knowledge to increase expectations and achievement on his campuses. Some of these programs include the Saturday Academy of Mathematics, the Saturday Academy of Law, the Anteater Academy at Valley High School, and an intense collaboration with the teacher preparation program at UCI.
To this day, Patrick enjoys warm collegial relationships with many of his former colleagues, and he engages with many of them through his current work providing professional learning opportunities through Elevation Education Solutions, LLC., and helping to develop, improve, and employ the Axiom Dashboards as a tool for school transformation.
Jose Luis Pedroza
Mr. Pedroza, as he is affectionately referred to by his former students, their parents, and past colleagues, entered the field of education through an unusually winding path. Initially holding the prestigious position of Vice President General Manager at a marketing firm, he chose to transition to a more fulfilling career following the tragic loss of his sister-in-law to cancer. His journey in education commenced with his role as the Coordinator of Research in Evaluation, where he oversaw local and state assessments. In this capacity, Mr. Pedroza collaborated with educators and school leaders, guiding them in transforming data into actionable professional development and technology integration strategies to enhance student outcomes.
Throughout his career, Mr. Pedroza has held various significant roles, including serving as a science and AVID teacher at the high school level, the Focus Coordinator for the High School Inc. Academies, and ascending through the ranks to become an assistant principal and principal. He is an alumnus of the Executive Development Program, formulated by the National Institute of School Leadership (NISL), and later assumed the role of a district trainer, mentoring cohorts of administrators through this rigorous program. Additionally, Mr. Pedroza earned certification in Advanced Cognitive Coaching and played a pivotal role in implementing the Improve Science framework, developed by W. Edwards Deming. His expertise in classroom management has empowered numerous teachers to foster positive student behavior effectively.
Mr. Pedroza epitomizes the essence of a lifelong learner, demonstrating an insatiable curiosity for the latest advancements in technology and research across various domains, including cognitive psychology, formative assessment, human motivation, executive functioning, parent engagement, English language development, and Universal Design for Learning. His proficiency in operationalizing school improvement initiatives while mitigating conflicts and resistance is widely recognized. Mr. Pedroza holds a steadfast belief that all learners, regardless of age, strive to realize their full potential and can achieve this with the appropriate support and guidance. Mr. Pedroza is dedicated to school improvement and, through his work at Elevation Education Solutions, LLC., focuses on designing, developing, and implementing top-tier professional learning opportunities for teachers. He also promotes the use of Axiom Dashboards as a powerful tool for school transformation.