Sahar Moshayedi, Ed.D.

Background 

Sahar comes from a multigenerational family of educators. Her grandmother, aunts and cousins on her maternal side have all been educators by profession. Her mother was a veteran special education teacher in the Ventura Unified School District and her sister is currently a preschool SDC teacher in Orange County, CA. Sahar’s philosophy and vision for students in education is one that has been shared amongst her family and relatives- every child is capable of learning with the right support. As the daughter of parents who immigrated to the United States from Iran prior to the 1979 revolution in the region, education became an even more critical component to Sahar’s identity. It was consistently engrained in her upbringing that education is not only the door to opportunity, it is one of the few things that nobody can take from you once you have it.

Dr. Moshayedi lives in Southern California to be close to her family and friends, enjoys traveling, skiing and spending much valued time with loved ones who live in multiple countries around the world. She is continuing her educational journey with school districts, her newly developed Circle2Learn program, serving nonprofits with her time and expertise, and plans to acquire a professorship for educators at the university level.

Educational Achievements

Prior to becoming an educator, Sahar earned a Bachelor’s Degree from UC Santa Barbara in Global Studies. As her career journey went on from classroom teacher to site and district leadership, Sahar earned a Master’s Degree in Education Administration from CSU Channel Islands and a Doctoral Degree in Educational Leadership and Organizational Change from the University of Southern California. Her Master’s Thesis included research on the effectiveness of bully prevention programs in schools, and her doctoral dissertation focused on elementary principal learning outcomes for English Learner students in low-socioeconomic communities. Her extensive research in these areas allowed her to implement innovative methods of improvement as a school leader.

Career Training and Experience

Sahar Moshayedi, is a life long educator who started her career as a middle school science teacher in the Oxnard School District in 2010. She spent five years in the classroom teaching at Haydock Intermediate School and in 2015 she was selected to be the lead intervention coach at Lemonwood Elementary School. During her time in the classroom and as the site intervention coach, she consistently advocated for students who were in need of intensive academic and socio-emotional support. Building on her experience implementing high quality multi-tiered systems of support in the classroom and school wide, Sahar went on to become a curriculum administrator in 2016 in the Compton Unified School District. During this time, she implemented a district wide K-6 ELA curriculum adoption and created instructional tools and assessments to support staff and students in the transition to the newly developed California Common Core State Standards. She also partnered with the Los Angeles County Office of Education to bridge the district’s rollout of the Next Generation Science Standards to all elementary and middle schools in the district. Over the subsequent years she spent in Compton Unified, Sahar progressed on to the role of elementary and middle school vice principal, and ultimately became the Principal of Rosecrans Elementary School through June of 2021. Sahar continued her professional growth upon being selected to serve as elementary principal in the Saugus Union School District, where she continued to advocate for underserved students to ensure universal access to grade level instruction, and engaged staff in professional development on data driven instructional practices following the COVID-19 learning and attendance crisis.

Sahar has been afforded the opportunity to acquire a wide range of experience including working with students both in underprivileged and affluent communities with diverse demographics. Since the start of her career, she has consistently championed supporting students in need, diversity, equity and inclusion practices, as well as focusing on STEM programs to foster a 21st century learning environment that prepares students for college and career readiness. Her wide scope of experience and training has afforded her the opportunity to launch the newly developed Circle2Learn program, a community partnership that focuses on supporting school staff, parents and students in bridging the achievement gap towards grade level proficiency. She continues to broaden her impact on students not just in California, but worldwide, participating in non-profit organizations and serving on boards to collaboratively oversee curriculum development programs in underdeveloped countries.

TK-6 Principal | Saugus Union School District (July 2021 – June 2023)

Leadership and Innovation: Supervised and evaluated a diverse team of 40 certificated and 44 classified staff members, fostering a culture of innovation and continuous improvement.

STEAM Education: Spearheaded the creation of a 21st Century Makerspace in collaboration with the community and district leaders, enhancing our focus on STEAM education and establishing Emblem Academy as a hub for creativity.

Academic Excellence: Implemented high-quality instructional systems addressing learning loss, resulting in a complete restoration of pre-pandemic achievement rates (79% ELA and 68% Math CAASPP met and exceeded rates in 2019 and 2022).

Community Engagement: Facilitated community education and support programs, reducing chronic absenteeism to less than 10% and increasing Average Daily Attendance (ADA) to over 95% within two years post-pandemic.

Data-Driven Practices: Introduced a culture of data-driven pedagogical practices, utilizing schoolwide common formative assessments and instructional planning to enhance teaching strategies.

Community Partnerships: Developed crucial partnerships with the City of Santa Clarita and local law enforcement to enhance school safety following a neighboring high school shooting in 2019.

K-8 Principal | Compton Unified School District (July 2019 – June 2021)

Transformational Leadership: Transformed Rosecrans Elementary School, achieving a 10% increase in ELA/Math scores in the first year.

Blended Learning Models: Implemented data-driven blended learning models, elevating learning outcomes by more than two proficiency levels.

Budget Oversight: Balanced a budget of up to $1M, overseeing resource allocation and aligning the School Plan for Student Achievement (SPSA) to drive school success.

Assistant Principal (July 2017 – June 2019)

Oversaw Federal Program Monitoring Review audit, leading Reclassification and English Learner monitoring.

Provided leadership for STEAM, AVID, and Turnaround Arts grant programs.

Curriculum Administrator (July 2016 – June 2017)

Led a $3M district-wide ELA K-8 Curriculum Adoption, ensuring alignment with Common Core standards.

Conducted a district-wide Special Education Audit K-8.

K-8 Instructional Coach (TOSA) | Oxnard Elementary School District (August 2015 – June 2016)

Designed and implemented RTI programs, led CHAMPS PBIS rollout, and supervised intervention and support teachers.

6-8 Science Teacher | Oxnard Elementary School District (August 2010 – June 2015)

Served as Science Department Chair, Magnet Environmental Science Program Coordinator, and CHAMPS model teacher.

Education and Credentials

Doctor of Educational Leadership, University of Southern California (2016-2018)

Master of Educational Leadership, CSU Channel Islands (2012-2014)

Bachelor of Arts in Global Studies, UC Santa Barbara (2001-2005)

Professional Affiliations and Language Skills

ACSA- Association of California School Administrators

CALSA- California Association of Latino Superintendents and Administrators

USC Rossier School of Education Alumni

CSUCI- Channel Islands School of Education Alumni

Languages: Farsi (Fluent), French (Intermediate), Spanish (Beginner)

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