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Summary

A former Executive Director for Human Resources within the Texas school district system, Sylvia Atkinson has addressed personnel issues as an educational administrator for nearly a decade. Sylvia Atkinson’s pronounced ability to balance staff support with student needs has helped her to successfully serve as Superintendent of Schools in Los Fresnos, Santa Rosa, and the Socorro School District in El Paso. One of Sylvia Atkinson’s major professional strengths is her ability to create opportunities in which both students and staff to excel. Her devotion to providing recognition to those who earn it, as well as her firm commitment to quality staff development and training, have helped both students and teachers of Ms. Atkinson’s district to succeed.

As an administrator, Sylvia Atkinson regularly employs staffing formulas that allow all locations to be fully staffed while funneling annual budget savings into her district’s staff compensation plan. Throughout her history as an educational administrator, Sylvia Atkinson has demonstrated her commitment to staff support. A vocal proponent of the necessity for collaboration, service, and recognition among community members and coworkers, Sylvia Atkinson works steadily to increase unity in her school district.

Sylvia Atkinson has earned a number of awards for her work within the educational system. During the 2007-2008 school year, Sylvia Atkinson was honored with the State Award for Service. During this same academic year, Sylvia Atkinson was granted the Congressional Excellence Award. She has also been awarded the Hispanic Heritage Award for her service to education.

Work History

Socorro ISD

El Paso, TX, United States
2007 - 2008
Superintendent of Schools 

- Provided quality leadership, administrative support, and expertise relative to the successful coordination, supervision, and direction of an Independent School District in West Texas that borders one of the most impoverished cities in Mexico, Juarez; was able to foster significant improvement in student performance within the eighteen months of employment; increased number of recognized campuses from six to twenty-one in one year.
- Employed a position control system for all personnel FTEs to remain responsive to community and board expectations that every position is needed and tied to student instruction and/or staff support.
- Provided leadership and administrative support as our district facilitates the staff development of all classified and certified staff in conjunction with promoting district policy and procedures; i.e. Continuing Professional Education Credits and NCLB.

Santa Rosa ISD

Santa Rosa, TX, United States
2006 - 2007
Superintendent of Schools / HR Administrator 

- Provided quality leadership, administrative support, and expertise relative to the successful coordination, supervision, and direction of an Independent School District in the lower Rio Grande Valley—Santa Rosa, Texas; was able to foster significant improvement in student performance within my year of service.
- Provided direct supervision of the Human Resources Department as it addressed the personnel needs of the district; i.e. certification issues, degree evaluations, leaves and absences, staffing patterns/formulas, employee handbooks, affirmative action plans, job descriptions, employee grievances, sexual harassment, professional development, hiring procedures, mentoring, employee incentives, salary studies, working calendars, worker’s compensation, FMLA, FLSA, ADA/Section 504, employee relations, mediation, conflict resolution, employee evaluations, PDAS, school calendars, and public relations.
- Provided leadership and administrative support as our district facilitates the staff development of all classified and certified staff in conjunction with promoting district policy and procedures; i.e. Continuing Professional Education Credits and NCLB.

Education

University of Houston

Houston, TX, United States
1995 - 1999
Ed.D , Administration & Supervision

University of Texas at Brownsville

Brownsville, TX, United States
1993 - 1995
M.Ed. , Educational Administration

Southern Methodist University

Dallas, TX, United States
1989 - 1993
BA, Political Science and Sociology

Professional Skills

•    Exhibits exceptional written, verbal, interpersonal communication, and mediation skills; strong analytical and quantitative skills; strong networking skills; excellent presentation skills.
•    High degree of computer proficiency with HP/Dell and Macintosh; knowledge of the Internet and website creation, Tenet, Windows XP, Winocular, Pentamation, MS Office, Hyper Studio, PageMaker, WordPerfect, Netscape, Visio Plus, Media Writers, Digital Imagers, Notepads, Smart Boards, Smart Pads, and other related applications.
•    Created needs assessments, program evaluations, affirmative action plans, vertical alignment plans, bond presentations, UIL guides, recruitment plans, campus improvement plans, district-wide strategic action plans, district calendars, departmental action plans, staffing formulas, grant application summaries, performance assessments, instructional technology evaluations, personnel handbooks, student handbooks, community involvement manuals, and training manipulatives at the campus, district, and university levels.
•    As a consultant for Title One School Support Initiatives, provided leadership, administrative support, and technical assistance relative to designated districts via their Superintendents and Campus Principals regarding the coordination and pursuit of meeting Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP); i.e. review and recommendations for staffing patterns, review and recommendations for professional development, review and recommendations for placement/hiring procedures, recommendations for mentoring initiatives, and review employee incentives/employee evaluations.