WORK WITH CHILDREN and FAMILIES
Jim has been in education for 30 years, with ten years of experience as a teacher/educator with Culver City Unified School District’s Office of Child Development, working with pre-k through 5th-grade children. While working with C.C.U.S.D., Jim co-created successful extra-curricular programs for school-age children in science, art, theatre, and drama and, in 1998, was awarded the C.C.U.S.D. Certificate of Excellence in Educating Youth. In 2003, Jim joined the team at the Nationally Accredited Anna Bing Arnold Children’s Center at California State University, Los Angeles, where he works as the Center director.
EXPERIENCE IN HIGHER EDUCATION
Jim teaches regularly with CSULA's Department of Child and Family Studies: CHDV 2300 Program Design in Early Childhood Education; CHDV 2200 The Young Child (Practicum); CHDV 3430 Cognitive Development; CHDV 2500 Child, Family and Community, CHDV 2310 Administration and Supervision of Daycare Centers Formerly: CHDV 222 Administration of Preschool and Day Care Centers and CHDV 228; Administrative Leadership in Early Childhood Programs; CHDV 433 Approaches to Group Parent Education, and is a Field Supervisor for the department's CHDV 495 administrative internship program. He has been invited as a guest presenter within the CSULA Charter School of Education's Curriculum and Instruction for EDEL 560 and co-created and presented Capturing the Moment: Emergent Literacy in Action for the COE in 2011. Jim also works as a mentor teacher, facilitating quarterly training opportunities for child development students attending Cal State LA. In 2007, he was a featured guest on KCET’s, A Place of Our Own. He was featured on two episodes related to Building Self-Esteem and Early Math Activities. For more information on early childhood education and care go to: www.aplaceofourown.org
FORMAL EDUCATION
Jim earned his first Child Development Degree from Santa Monica College and later went on to attend Cal State LA, where he earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Child Development (Option 2: Multiple Subject Credential) and a Master's Degree in Early and Primary Education. He is a proud member of NAEYC, CTA, AFT, NCCCC, and the National Education Association.