Senior Director
System Improvement Leads (SIL) Project
West San Gabriel Valley (WSGV) Special Education Local Plan Area (SELPA)

U.S.: California Hub | NORTH AMERICA

Dr. Jennifer Yales works as the Senior Director for the System Improvement Leads (SIL) project out of West San Gabriel Special Education Local Plan Area (SELPA). The SIL project works collaboratively within the California Statewide System of Support to build the capacity of Special Education Local Plan Areas (SELPAs) and Local Education Agencies (LEAs) with a common goal to improve outcomes for students with disabilities.

Jennifer firmly believes that all students can learn and leverages her strong sense of responsibility and passion to develop and implement structures and systems that facilitate learning for all students. She is a lifelong learner with over twenty years of experience in the field of special education. For sixteen of those twenty years, she worked for a large urban school district in California, growing from a classroom teacher to a school psychologist before being promoted to three distinct administrative leadership roles within the district, one of which was the position of SELPA Director. After five years as SELPA Director, Jennifer took her enthusiasm for learning, expertise in special education and commitment to professional learning, to her current position of Senior Director for the System Improvement Leads (SIL) grant within the West San Gabriel Valley SELPA.

An area of interest for Jennifer are the dynamics and interconnectedness of parents/caregivers and school districts. Dr. Yales’ doctoral work focused on parent perceptions of collaboration during the Individualized Education Program (IEP) process with their school district. As a parent herself of a son with autism, Jennifer is committed both professionally and personally to the continuous improvement of school districts in providing equitable education for all students.

Jennifer sees the Certificate Program for Compassionate Systems Master Practitioners as an excellent opportunity to continue her learning interconnectedness to continue to contribute to the education system with an emphasis on community and research.