Ed.D. in Educational Administration & Leadership, 2010
School of Education
November 1, 2010
Passion for Education Emerged in Childhood
“Graduating Cum Laude, Silke has been able to complete her college career in three years. Silke has a plan to begin teaching and then consider either an administrative credential or a doctorate in education policy. While attending CSUS she has regularly tutored at her former high school, both in content areas and in development of reading skills through the AVID program.” (Academic Achievement Award Biography at CSU, Sacramento 2001)
The above captures the plans that Dr. Bradford had for herself upon completion of her Bachelor’s degree nearly one decade ago. Her projected accomplishments have come to fruition by completing her Ed.D. here at UC Irvine this past year. Prior to this, she had taught at schools in both Northern and Southern California catering to students living in underserved communities. Most recently, she has been honing her skills as an educational leader in the position of Assistant Principal at both the middle and high school levels.
Dr. Bradford’s work and passion for education is evidenced by the fact that she has been continuously engaged in the field, both personally and professionally, since her entry into kindergarten. She has had a desire to participate in the world of education policy ever since she was voted “Most Likely to be President” in high school. This summer she was afforded the opportunity to begin making this transition into policy. Dr. Bradford was invited to Washington, D.C. by the Maternal and Children’s Health Bureau to present her dissertation research titled: Patching the Pipeline: Identifying Salient Characteristics of Academic Intervention Programs that Increase the Number of Underrepresented Minorities Pursuing Graduate Level Biomedical Research. A case study: Minority Opportunities in Research (MORE) Programs. She is very thankful to her dissertation chair, Dr. Simeon Slovacek, for making it possible to have her research received by this audience of university officials and policy makers from around the country with an interest in diversifying the public health fields (Presentation).
Another recent career development is that Dr. Bradford was appointed as Assistant Principal at Ánimo Venice Charter High School. She wanted to work for the Green Dot Public Schools organization because of their mission, which is congruent with her own, to “transform public education in Los Angeles and beyond….” This goal to influence the nation’s education system is one that Dr. Bradford is working towards and hopes to accomplish via more active involvement in the educational policy arena in the near future.