DR. DANIEL RUSSEL BIOGRAPHY
In 1994, Dr. Daniel Russell began his career in public education through Teach for America (TFA), and he participated in LAUSD’s district intern program for which he received the Golden Apple Award. He first taught third through fifth grade at 99th Street Elementary School, where he also served as a teacher-facilitator for the Language Development Program for African American Students (LDPAAS), which later became the Academic English Mastery Program (AEMP). He also served as a BTSA mentor, a SDAIE (Specially Designed Academic Instruction in English) trainer, and as an EL coordinator. It was through LDPAAS/AEMP and the guidance of its then-director, Dr. Noma Lemoine, that Dr. Russell was introduced to culturally and linguistically responsive (CLR) teaching. In 2002, his 5th-grade class was featured in a segment about African American Language (AAL) in the PBS documentary called Do You Speak American? In addition to working at 99th St., Dr. Russell also served as a founding teacher of the Culture and Language Academy of Success (CLAS), where he taught fifth through eighth grade from 2003 to 2013.
Additionally, he served as a sixth-grade humanities teacher and as Dean of Culture and Climate for a charter school in South L.A. For nearly two decades, he served as a Program Specialist for the Center for Culturally Responsive Teaching and Learning (CCRTL), where he facilitated professional learning sessions on cultural and linguistic responsiveness (CLR) and CLR-PBIS/MTSS, provided one-on-one instructional development and support in CLR to educators, conducted research, and analyzed data related to implementation of CLR practices. Currently, he is co-director of Advocates for Cultural and Linguistic Responsiveness, where he provides tiered support to schools, districts, and educational organizations in culturally and linguistically responsive practices.Â
Dr. Russell graduated from San Diego State University in 1994 with his B.A. in U.S. History. After completing his teaching credential through LAUSD’s district intern program, for which he received the Golden Apple Award in 1996, he went on to earn his National Board credential in the category of middle childhood, generalist in 2003, to which he credits his exposure to CLR as helping him to attain this achievement. He was also acknowledged as an outstanding AEMP teacher and facilitator while at the AEMP model school, 99th St. Elementary. In 2021, Dr. Russell earned his doctorate in Organizational Change and Leadership from USC’s Rossier School of Education. His dissertation, nominated for Dissertation of Distinction, focused on the persistence of racial disproportionality in school exclusionary discipline despite the implementation of PBIS with fidelity. Specifically, he examined how knowledge, motivation, and organizational factors help or hinder the implementation of PBIS in a culturally responsive manner. As with earning his National Board credential, Dr. Russell credits his experience with and passion for CLR in attaining this capstone achievement. Building upon his dissertation research and their collective knowledge about CLR and culturally responsive classroom management, Dr. Russell co-wrote with Dr. Sharokky Hollie, Supporting Underserved Students: How to Make PBIS Culturally and Linguistically Responsive, which was published in February of 2022.Â