FEATURED LEADERS
Our Featured Leaders are Early Childhood Community stakeholders who work to make Oakland smarter and stronger. They are parents/caregivers, providers, educators, and collaborators.
Maria Sujo, Director of Early Learning (Alameda County Office of Education)
Until very recently, Maria Sujo was the founding Director of Kindergarten Readiness at Oakland Unified School District (OUSD). In this role, she supported families as they enter OUSD preschools, so that they can smoothly transition to elementary school. Her many program offerings brought together teachers, family navigators and other school site staff, all with the aim of helping preschoolers & their families feel safe and ready to explore their new journey into elementary school.
In her new job at the Alameda County Office of Education (ACOE), Maria is Director of Early Learning. She’ll be leading a team that supports school districts and early learning partners across the county to implement universal pre-kindergarten, whether that’s in a non-profit center or a state funded preK. Says Maria, “I see my new role as stewardess of care and quality whether it be through financial avenues, educator development or career pipelines or preschool to 3rd grade alignment, to champion quality care in Alameda County for our babies, particularly those furthest from opportunity.”
We caught up with Maria to celebrate this transition and her continuous stream of accomplishments.
Why do you do what you do?
I started my career in early childhood education as an assistant in Pre-Kindergarten (PreK) classrooms, and I believe this to be radical heart work. My family immigrated to this country when I was five years old, and we faced many struggles in acculturating and navigating a system that was not designed for us. My lived experience ignites my passion to serve others; to help alleviate the discomfort of disenfranchised families and to utilize the resources that I was gifted, such as mastery of the English language and a college education, to tilt the system in favor of those who are marginalized.
When you look back on your work with OUSD, what are a couple things that stand out that you're most proud of?
I love this question because I am in my era of taking credit for my hard work. I think women, especially Black and Brown, are not allowed to revel in their accomplishments and the beauty they add to the field- so thank you for asking!
The first thing is starting the kindergarten readiness work at OUSD, and making sure it was community-driven. The programs that I created, such as the Kinder Transition Teacher Leader program and the Kinder Readiness Home Visiting program, have been co-designed with teachers. I will never forget when one of our PreK teachers, now a coach, told me that she chatted with the kinder teacher about kids transitioning to her classroom while she was standing in the parking lot on her way home. That was my impetus for the kindergarten transition teacher leader program, because I wanted teachers to have protected and PAID time to have these important connections.
The 2nd thing I am proud of is an equity index to tier and prioritize initiatives. In the kinder readiness program all of our work is guided by equity. We focus on children and families furthest from opportunity, using factors such as if they are unhoused, newcomer, special ed-receiving or residing in particular zip codes. This allows us to serve families in a way that is commensurate with their needs.
Tell us about your hopes for your new role.
I’m very excited to step into a system where I can have wider reach within the county. My new team is quite skilled in the field of early childhood, so I’m looking forward to plugging into that and leading us towards innovatively supporting everyone who works within the mixed delivery system to care for our youngest children.
I am hoping that I can facilitate processes and create systems of care that allow practitioners to focus on serving kids.
You’ve been a key member of the OSSS Lead Planning Team for many years now. Can you tell us what being part of the collaborative has meant to you?
The OSSS collaborative has been central to my early learning work at OUSD. As a district leader I brought a specific lens to the work that differs from my colleagues at the table. My proximity and partnership with this diverse team helped me practice a more holistic approach when it comes to welcoming families at OUSD. At this table I worked with Head Start (HS) to design a joint transition system for welcoming HS children to our elementary schools. I also developed a connection with Family Child Care (FCC) providers to ensure their families were connected to our family engagement platforms and family navigators when it came to enrolling in elementary school.
One of the best parts about OSSS is the connections and friendships that I have formed over the years. Systems change is hard work- interagency collaboration is complicated but this team brings heart and soul to the table and so it makes the work meaningful and fun. I have made lifelong friendships here. I am excited to continue from a different seat now.
What is an avenue of change that you can challenge someone else to create?
When I think of an avenue of change that leaders should focus on I think of strengthening our alleviating suffering for our immigrant communities, namely my Latinx families. Right now many of our families are feeling the insecurity, fear and threat of separation and deportation which is the antithesis to thriving, learning and development for young children. I hope that this is something that all leaders can hold close as they continue their work in early childhood education. We cannot think about 3rd grade reading scores, professional development, grant making initiatives if we do not embed care and responsiveness to these current political conditions in everything that we do.
In her new job at the Alameda County Office of Education (ACOE), Maria is Director of Early Learning. She’ll be leading a team that supports school districts and early learning partners across the county to implement universal pre-kindergarten, whether that’s in a non-profit center or a state funded preK. Says Maria, “I see my new role as stewardess of care and quality whether it be through financial avenues, educator development or career pipelines or preschool to 3rd grade alignment, to champion quality care in Alameda County for our babies, particularly those furthest from opportunity.”
We caught up with Maria to celebrate this transition and her continuous stream of accomplishments.
Why do you do what you do?
I started my career in early childhood education as an assistant in Pre-Kindergarten (PreK) classrooms, and I believe this to be radical heart work. My family immigrated to this country when I was five years old, and we faced many struggles in acculturating and navigating a system that was not designed for us. My lived experience ignites my passion to serve others; to help alleviate the discomfort of disenfranchised families and to utilize the resources that I was gifted, such as mastery of the English language and a college education, to tilt the system in favor of those who are marginalized.
When you look back on your work with OUSD, what are a couple things that stand out that you're most proud of?
I love this question because I am in my era of taking credit for my hard work. I think women, especially Black and Brown, are not allowed to revel in their accomplishments and the beauty they add to the field- so thank you for asking!
The first thing is starting the kindergarten readiness work at OUSD, and making sure it was community-driven. The programs that I created, such as the Kinder Transition Teacher Leader program and the Kinder Readiness Home Visiting program, have been co-designed with teachers. I will never forget when one of our PreK teachers, now a coach, told me that she chatted with the kinder teacher about kids transitioning to her classroom while she was standing in the parking lot on her way home. That was my impetus for the kindergarten transition teacher leader program, because I wanted teachers to have protected and PAID time to have these important connections.
The 2nd thing I am proud of is an equity index to tier and prioritize initiatives. In the kinder readiness program all of our work is guided by equity. We focus on children and families furthest from opportunity, using factors such as if they are unhoused, newcomer, special ed-receiving or residing in particular zip codes. This allows us to serve families in a way that is commensurate with their needs.
Tell us about your hopes for your new role.
I’m very excited to step into a system where I can have wider reach within the county. My new team is quite skilled in the field of early childhood, so I’m looking forward to plugging into that and leading us towards innovatively supporting everyone who works within the mixed delivery system to care for our youngest children.
I am hoping that I can facilitate processes and create systems of care that allow practitioners to focus on serving kids.
You’ve been a key member of the OSSS Lead Planning Team for many years now. Can you tell us what being part of the collaborative has meant to you?
The OSSS collaborative has been central to my early learning work at OUSD. As a district leader I brought a specific lens to the work that differs from my colleagues at the table. My proximity and partnership with this diverse team helped me practice a more holistic approach when it comes to welcoming families at OUSD. At this table I worked with Head Start (HS) to design a joint transition system for welcoming HS children to our elementary schools. I also developed a connection with Family Child Care (FCC) providers to ensure their families were connected to our family engagement platforms and family navigators when it came to enrolling in elementary school.
One of the best parts about OSSS is the connections and friendships that I have formed over the years. Systems change is hard work- interagency collaboration is complicated but this team brings heart and soul to the table and so it makes the work meaningful and fun. I have made lifelong friendships here. I am excited to continue from a different seat now.
What is an avenue of change that you can challenge someone else to create?
When I think of an avenue of change that leaders should focus on I think of strengthening our alleviating suffering for our immigrant communities, namely my Latinx families. Right now many of our families are feeling the insecurity, fear and threat of separation and deportation which is the antithesis to thriving, learning and development for young children. I hope that this is something that all leaders can hold close as they continue their work in early childhood education. We cannot think about 3rd grade reading scores, professional development, grant making initiatives if we do not embed care and responsiveness to these current political conditions in everything that we do.