Dr. Simone Charle, Ph. D.
Instructional Leader
Dr. Simone Charles is a high school principal in Los Angeles who has recently undertaken the responsibility of being the ACSA Region 16 State Member Representative on the Equity Committee and serves as the ACSA Region 16 Cultural Proficiency Director. Working on educational committees and championing students is illustrative of the core beliefs and values Dr. Charles holds and is part of her life’s work as an educator and advocate for children. As one capstone of her work, Dr. Charles was recognized in 2022 when her peers honored her as Option Schools Principal of the Year for ACSA Region 16 for her work with students in the alternative educational setting.
The lasting impact of a solid education is paramount to Dr. Charles. Drawing on her own experiences in school as a minority female, Dr. Charles is familiar with the challenges many students face. Continuing her life’s work to support diverse students, Dr. Charles focuses on racial and gender inequality within Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM). Her goal is to expand the trajectory of females of color in STEM and enable them to pursue higher learning opportunities. As such, Dr. Charles acquired the status of Future Ready Certified to prepare herself for the technological changes and advancements within education and society. This certification in conjunction with her Project-Based Learning Certification along with her doctoral studies affords Dr. Charles a unique perspective.
Dr. Charles holds a B.A. in Communications and an M.A. in Bilingual Multicultural Education from California State University Dominguez Hills and is currently completing her doctorate in Educational Leadership and Policy (ELAP) at Pepperdine University. Dr. Charles was honored as one of Councilman Curren-Price’s 2017 Hero’s for her accomplishments working with minority students and she presided over the Council of Black Administrators (COBA) as president from 2016-2018. She received recognition from the Foundation for Korean Language and Culture in the USA (2014) for her collaborative work with the Korean Community and for bringing a Korean Language Study Program to her school site. A committed educator for close to 30 years, Dr. Charles’ achievements include serving as a Spanish language bilingual and primary language classroom teacher, mentor teacher, grade-level chair, and demonstration and mentor teacher. Her dedication to students culminated early in her career when she was Hawthorne School District Teacher of the Year.