Biography

Manuel L. Isquierdo, Ed.D.
Proud Superintendent of the Sunnyside District

Dr. Manuel L. Isquierdo has served as an administrator in both urban and suburban school districts for the past 20 years. His record is one of consistent achievement in the field of school improvement with an emphasis on improving test scores, decreasing dropout rates, and increasing graduation rates. As an urban school administrator in districts such as Kansas City, Chicago, Dallas, Northern California and most recently Tucson, Arizona, Dr. Isquierdo is experienced in implementing and managing change and designing successful comprehensive school reform initiatives that are being used as models at the state and national levels.

The Sunnyside Unified School District Governing Board selected Dr. Isquierdo as superintendent in 2007 to improve the graduation rate, decrease the dropout rate, address the challenges of corrective action, and respect the importance of relationships in the process.

Dr. Isquierdo spearheaded the launch of Project Graduation, an innovative program to improve graduation rates, attendance and student achievement. The Digital Advantage—an award-winning laptop incentive program—soon followed, paving the way for the implementation of Digital Scholars, 8th-Grade Digital Scholars, Digital Advantage Parents, One-to-One Computing for 5th-Grade Digital Explorers and Teachers.  Dr. Isquierdo’s personal involvement in fund-raising for these programs resulted in commitments of $1.1 million in six months. The outcomes have been impressive. Under his leadership, graduation numbers have skyrocketed from 598 in 2008 to a record-high 821 in 2010. In the classroom, students and teachers are bridging the digital divide by incorporating cutting-edge technology into the curriculum, and the district has issued more than 3,000 laptops to students in grades 5 – 12.

The successes and innovative concepts of Project Graduation: The Digital Advantage have garnered attention at state and national levels. Articles featuring Dr. Isquierdo and Project Graduation have been published in EdTech, Scholastic Administrator and District Administration magazines.  Additionally, he has presented at the State of Latinos in Education Summit, National Technology & Learning Conference, Intel Technology Visionaries Conference , and the Association of Latino Administrators and Superintendents Summit on Hispanic Education, among many others.

As further evidence of his vision for technology in education, Dr. Isquierdo was named one of the nation’s 10 Tech-Savvy Superintendents of the Year in 2010 by eSchool News, an online resource for technology news for today’s K-20 educator.

Dr. Isquierdo’s vision for the Sunnyside District has been empowered by a supportive and award-winning Governing Board. In December 2010, the Board received the Lou Ella Kleinz Award of Excellence from the Arizona School Boards Association—its highest honor. And for its leadership of Project Graduation: The Digital Advantage, the Sunnyside District Governing Board has been named recipient of a 2011 Magna Award—a national recognition program co-sponsored by the American School Board Journal, the National School Boards Association, and Sodexo School Services that honors school board best practices and innovative programs that advance student learning.

Dr. Isquierdo was awarded his doctorate from National-Louis University in March 2004. His dissertation was titled "Latino/a Voices: A Case Study in School Reform of an Urban Hispanic High School." He earned his master's degree from Michigan State University and bachelor's degree from Saginaw Valley State in Michigan.