Speakers

Sixty-five percent of students are failing to reach grade level reading by 4th grade and not catching up. Reading failures cause students to have low self-esteem and they become at risk of dropping out of high school and going to prison. It doesn’t have to be this way! With the right training program, teachers who teach up to 120-140 students a day, will be saving thousands of lives and helping students for many years to come!

In this presentation, you will learn:
• How teachers recognize a dyslexic student
• What teachers need to do to effectively teach a dyslexic student
• The power of music and how it impacts the brain of a dyslexic student

“Cruz is a 2nd grader and felt his little kindergarten sister was smarter than him. Within weeks, as a result of learning to read, his self-esteem has sky-rocketed! He is now teaching his little sister the phonics and grammar rules. Now he feels smarter than his baby sister!” Cruz’s Mom

Dr. Marianne Cintron has a Doctorate of Education in Leadership and Administration, has a Masters in General Education and one in Special Education, and has two California Teaching Credentials. She is a Dyslexia Specialist, President of Step By Step Dyslexia Solutions, and a National Trainer. She has twenty years of experience in Education, ten years as a Classroom Teacher, is an Author, App Developer, and Curriculum Writer. After teaching in several districts, she left the school system to have a greater reach and to help schools learn about teaching dyslexic students. She is currently a board member of the International Dyslexia Association–Tri County Branch, a member of the Pomona Chamber of Commerce, and Secretary of Christian Business Partners in Glendora. She is the only educator using music with her reading program to effectively help dyslexic students improve in reading at a profound rate. She is passionate to share this information with schools in order to close the achievement gap in reading and stop the school to prison pipeline

Robin Hutton has spent her adult life working in major event productions and the motion picture business. She was the writing and producing partner of Tom “Billy Jack” Laughlin for over
thirty years until his death in 2013. Currently she is President of Angels Without Wings, Inc., a 501(c)3 non-profit corporation that spearheaded the development and dedication of five national
monuments to Sgt. Reckless, the famous Korean War horse. These reside at the National Museum of the Marine Corps, Triangle, VA (2013); MCB Camp Pendleton, Oceanside, CA (2016); the
Kentucky Horse Park, Lexington, KY (2018), Barrington Hills Farm, IL (2019); and the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame, Ft. Worth, TX

(2019. One more is planned for Ocala, FL (2021) and hopefully on to South Korea. Her first book, Sgt Reckless: America’ s War Horse, was a New York Times Bestseller, as well as the 2015 Equine Book of the Year from American Horse Publications, and a 2016 Gold Medal winner from Military Writers Society of America. Her latest book, War Animals: The Unsung Heroes of World War II, was a 2019 Gold Medal winner from Military Writers Society of America. The heroes in this book inspired a new project, the Animals in War & Peace Medal of Bravery. Eight animals (6 posthumous/2 current) were awarded this new medal by members of Congress on November 14, 2019 in Washington, DC on Capitol Hill. This ceremony also launched the International War Animals Museum - a permanent museum to commemorate these war animals who fought side-by-side with our military war heroes.

AWARDS: Ms Hutton received three Certificates of Appreciation from the Veterans of Foreign Wars, as well as an award from the Department of Defense’s Korean War 60th Anniversary
Commemorative Committee. In 2014 she was named “Patriotic Citizen of the Year” by The Military Order of the World Wars and The Military Order of the Purple Heart for her charitable
work. She also received the Ambassador for Peace Medal from the South Korean Government.

On November 13, 2019 she was awarded the very first Sgt Reckless Award, a new medal presented by the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame. 

Education: Bachelor of Science, Ithaca College, Ithaca, NY 1976 - Magna Cum Laude

Dr. Vivian Ekchain

On July 1, 2019, Dr. Ekchian became the Superintendent of Glendale USD, which serves 26,000 students in grades Pre-K through 12.  Prior to coming to Glendale Unified School District, she was the Deputy Superintendent of the Los Angeles Unified School District, the second-largest school district in the nation serving nearly 600,000 Pre-K through adult student learners across 1,100+ schools and centers, where she worked for 34-years.  She has dedicated her career to serving students with a focus on language learners, educators and communities in a variety of roles, including teacher assistant, classroom teacher, principal, director of instruction, chief of staff to the superintendent of schools, chief human resources officer, chief labor negotiator, local district superintendent, associate superintendent, and interim superintendent.

As a visionary and transformational leader, Dr. Ekchian ensures students are at the center of every decision and creates coherence, inspires innovation, and accelerates the academic success of all students. A proud servant of the people, she embraces diversity and values the indispensable contributions of every student, educator, employee, parent, and community partner. Throughout her career, Dr. Ekchian has been recognized for her keen ability to accelerate student outcomes by generating innovative solutions, removing barriers, and confronting challenges head-on.

As a lifelong learner, Dr. Ekchian has a bachelor’s degree and teaching credential from California State University, Northridge; a master’s degree in educational administration from the University of California, Los Angeles; and a doctoral degree in educational leadership from the University of Southern California.

A firm believer in the unparalleled power of education to transform lives, Dr. Ekchian remains committed to providing a world-class, globally competitive education to all students in order to ensure they are college, career and life ready.