THE TEAM

After receiving my undergrad in Secondary education and two M.A.s in History and Educational Leadership, I have sought out and embraced leadership opportunities throughout all my 20+ years in education. As a Charter school CEO, EAC Board Member, Principal, Dean, Avid Site Coordinator, member of the CSU Pueblo STS dual enrollment advisory board, Department Chair and Building Leader, I have had the opportunity to gain considerable experience and skills in this area. I find that in my conviction “every child should receive exceptional teaching tailored to their needs” equals my commitment to collegiality, collaboration, instructional coaching, and my continued education.

Kevin Gardner has served over thirty-five years as an educational administrator and team leader in both large and small school settings. During his career he has worked at the building level as Principal, Assistant Principal, Athletic Director, Activities Director, teacher, and coach. At the district level he worked in school community relations and as the legislative liaison to the state legislature, as well as coordinating district wide summer programing.

Kevin has extensive experience in curriculum development instruction, standards alignment, and data analysis. He has a deep background in all aspects of school operations including management, facilities, infrastructure development, new school construction, renovation, and restoration. He also has an extensive background in budgeting, human resources, evaluation, planning, crisis response, activities, and events.

I’m an educator, a teacher, a workshop and seminar presenter, a community liaison, a student-success coordinator, and a technical geek (ask me anything about data, Microsoft Excel, or credit tracking software systems, seriously). I’ve grown in my ability to figure out how technology can remove administrative tasks off our plates so school counselors can spend more time doing what they do best. I’ve been a district-level head counselor in San Diego Unified for the past 9 years and have an ability to think about and build systems while also paying attention to the details at the site level.
Specialties: building comprehensive school counseling programs based off the ASCA national model, college and career counseling, MTMDSS development, using data to drive actions,  

My name is Elgin Fitzgerald and I am a passionate special education leader with over 10 years experience in the field.  I have a desire to ensure that all students have access to the education that meets their needs and a belief that all students can succeed, regardless of their circumstances.  My journey started as a student-athlete at Dartmouth College where I began my career as a leader on the basketball team.  I was unsure of exactly what I wanted to do with my career but knew I wanted to be a positive role model and make an impact on the lives of our youth.  I then pursued a Master’s degree in special education and fell in love with working with students with disabilities.  I taught at the K-12 level for 7 years and at that point I knew I wanted to go into education administration.  I received my special education director license and worked for two years as a special education coordinator at the district level.  However, I knew I wanted to be closer to the students and make more of a direct impact so I have spent the past two years overseeing special populations at Rocky Mountain Classical Academy.  Along the way, I have been a coach, mentor, tutor and much more but have maintained my passion for helping students with special needs be the best versions of themselves.