PASC Pathway Graduates

Administrative credential (PASC) pathway comes to fruition for new Ed.D. Grad

Big things have been in motion lately for Dr. JR Walker. As an Ed.D. program graduate, Dr. Walker was able to complete his doctoral degree and his Preliminary Administrative Services Credential (PASC) concurrently and advance his career path to becoming an administrator. That’s three major changes in a short time, and Dr. Walker is excited for the forward momentum this has brought to his career goals.

They won’t care about what you did. But they will care about the outcomes you influenced, and how you made them feel.
~ Dr. JR Walker

As a teacher for 11 years, Dr. Walker saw the good he was able to affect in student’s and family’s lives each year. Over time, he saw that he wanted to affect change on a broader scale, working to help 500 students and families each year, not just the 25 he helped in the classroom. To achieve this goal, both the Ed.D. program and the PASC pathway were the perfect fit to propel Dr. Walker to Assistant Principal at Cambridge Elementary School in Travis Unified School District this summer.

When asked about why he chose to pursue his doctorate, Dr. Walker says. “I was talking one day with a former colleague, and she told me she wasn’t sure I would be able to finish a doctorate degree. That was my spark. I thrive well when I’m told I can’t do something, and so I set myself on the path to show myself I could.” Dr. Walker was already focused on this achievement, but the conversation helped push him forward to take on the administrative services credential as part of the PASC program.

As Dr. Walker looked into the program further, he discovered he would already be doing a heavy lift of the coursework for the credential in preparing for the qualifying exam all program candidates must pass. This made everything a natural fit, not only did the cycles required for the credential process fit the work preparing for the qualifying exam, but he was also able to align with his passion for working on policy around African-American suspension rates in schools.

Dr. Walker notes his progress through the Ed.D. program was part of what set him up for success in the credential work. The courses were helpful, the exam was rigorous, and the challenge helped prepare him for the road ahead. “Dr. Sarah Jouganatos especially was instrumental in helping me move through the PASC process. Having her and Dr. David Guitierez (alumni) as mentors was how I finished,” Dr. Walker recalls of the support the faculty and alumni played in his journey.

For future students, Dr. Walker recommends, “Plan ahead, go through each cycle and find a mentor you can connect with and relate to and keep you on track. Have a plan of attack, look at the cycles and figure out how to complete it. And make sure what you’re doing is your passion, this helped my writing be stronger and made everything else more enjoyable.”

“If you want to be an administrator, you have to get your credential. Without the PASC program, this would have been a lot harder as far as time and finances. This way everything was wrapped into the cost of the Ed.D. program. It was stressful, but it was worth it.”

Now that the education part is complete, his number one goal is to help students and families meet the vision of the district. Next is helping teachers advance as educators, helping them add instructional strategies, communications plans, and more to expand the tools they have to do their jobs. Dr. Walker is focused on equity, working to make strides in behavior equity and socio-economic equity. And above all else, be a character of integrity.

For Dr. JR Walker, the why is important to his journey. “They won’t care about what you did. But they will care about the outcomes you influenced, and how you made them feel.”