ConnectED Conference

Dr. Raul Saldaña comes to IGO Elementary with a wealth of knowledge and successful experience as an elementary educator, academic coach, and school leader.  Having attended the University of Texas at El Paso, he earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Interdisciplinary Studies in Early Childhood Education, a Master’s Degree in Education focused on literacy acquisition, and a Ph.D. in Teaching, Learning, Culture with an emphasis in Math, Science, and Technology.

Dr. Saldaña started his educational career as a pre-service teacher for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration at Johnson Space Center.  He focused on designing and delivering STEM curriculum to primary aged students.  He then accepted an elementary science teacher position at Clardy Elementary within the El Paso Independent School District (EPISD) in El Paso, Texas.  There he taught all subjects as a 4th teacher where he and his team would increase campus standardized performance scores in Math, Reading, and Writing by over 28% across all student populations.  After a few years, he then accepted a dual role serving as the academic science coach and lab teacher.  During his time at Clardy Elementary, he wrote grants to sponsor and launch the school’s first Robotics and Chess club. Believing in creating opportunities for students to learn, practice, and succeed, he hosted weekly chess tournaments and annual Robotics tournaments in and around the community for the entire city of El Paso.  Dr. Saldaña also served as Clardy’s Gifted and Talented Chair, Technology Club Sponsor, and the Student Council Sponsor. Strengthening community partnerships, he worked closely with community members, entities, and the Paul L. Foster School of Medicine to create student programs and allocate resources.

During his time with EPISD, Dr. Saldaña served as a district presenter for Advanced Academic Services, Curriculum and Instruction, and Technology Services.  As a member of the district’s curriculum writing team, he created various district media resources demonstrating how to access and navigate the new district curriculum platform and also provided tailored professional development to assist teachers.  His colleagues elected him to serve as a member of the District Educational Improvement Committee, where he served as a member of the calendar committee and chair of the dropout and prevention committee.

Leaving EPISD, Dr. Saldaña would join IDEA Public Schools charter network to launch a new region and campus as the founding assistant principal of Operations (APO) in El Paso, Texas. There he was responsible for day-to-day operations, student recruitment, community relations, and partnerships.  His time serving as APO was instrumental in setting the foundation to launch four additional IDEA campuses successfully.  Returning to curriculum and instruction, he later joined the Las Cruces Public Schools in New Mexico as an Assistant Principal.  During his time in New Mexico, he focused on building positive relationships among all stakeholders, increasing teacher capacity through professional development, and improving student outcomes by fostering students’ social, emotional, and academic development.  Dr. Saldana later went on  to be the founding school director of Asheville PEAK Academy in Asheville North Carolina.

Youtube Channel- rjsaldana2