Shawn Arévalo McCollough

Shawn Arévalo McCollough is the President and Chief Executive Officer of the American Board for Certification of Teacher Excellence (ABCTE). His appointment as CEO in March marks an unprecedented step for ABCTE, as Shawn’s front lines experience and credibility in K-12 public schools, will undoubtedly help transform the organization into the premier alternative teacher certification provider in the nation.

Shawn is the former Superintendent of the Nogales Unified School District (NUSD), located on the Arizona and Mexican Border. Upon arrival at NUSD in 2008, Shawn made comprehensive organizational reform the top priority by restructuring district operations and establishing ambitious strategic goals. With a simple recipe of hard work, accountability, and no excuses; NUSD was able to quickly reduce a bloated budget without laying people off, increase test scores across 80% of the entire district, and make Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) in 90% of its schools.

Shawn transitioned to NUSD from Greene County Schools in Georgia, a high poverty, predominantly African American district, where he helped lead a dramatic turn-around effort as their superintendent. The district was in crisis, as it was struggling with some of the lowest test scores in Georgia and had recently come under sanction by the State Department of Education because of a multi-million dollar deficit. Shawn established accountability targets, slashed spending, reduced personnel, and even lowered taxes. After just two short years, he led the district out of probation, built a budget surplus, and implemented a standards-based curriculum that resulted in some of their highest test scores ever.

He saw similar success as a principal at Gainesville Elementary School in Georgia, where 90% of the students were minority and lived in poverty. However, after only one year, over 90% of the students passed the yearly state test. Going even further, the school did it for a second consecutive year and was named one of the few 90-90-90 schools (90% minority, 90% poverty, 90% achieving) in the entire country. While their success was celebrated nationally, Shawn was most proud because it provided undeniable proof that every single child can achieve excellence.

Nationally, Shawn's leadership has been featured by the New York Times, USA Today, ABC World News Tonight, CNN, Fox News Network, PBS, National Public Radio, American School Board Journal, Associated Press, and Atlanta Journal Constitution. In fact Margaret Spellings, the former US Secretary of Education was quoted describing Shawn as a “Warrior for our Kids.” He was named by 2007 Georgia Trend Magazine as one of the “Top 40 under 40 Best and Brightest”. In 2005, Shawn was one of only five recipients in the US honored with the National HEROES Award from the Hispanic Council for Reform and Educational Options. And in 2004, he was recognized on CSPAN at the National Press Club by then US Secretary of Education Rod Paige.

A trailblazer, Shawn was the first ever Hispanic Superintendent of Schools in Georgia and has received the Outstanding GA Citizen Award from Secretary of State Cathy Cox, the GA Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Annual Special Recognition Award, and the National Society of Hispanic MBA's Special Recognition Award for Education. Further, Shawn has held leadership appointments on a number of national and state boards including the Boys & Girls Clubs of America National Advisory Committee for Family Support, the Coalition for Accountability in Education Advisory Board, the Governor's Latino Education Committee of GA, the Executive Board for the League of United Latin American Citizens of GA, and the University of Georgia Latino Advisory Council.

Powerful, passionate, and credible; Shawn is a highly sought keynote speaker who has inspired thousands of educators at national conferences across the country. Working as a consultant to school districts in seventeen states, Shawn has helped educators improve failing schools by focusing on transformational leadership and outcomes-based organizational reform.

But if you ask him, Shawn will say “None of it matters without exceptional teachers. ABCTE is going to transform the way career changers become teachers. Kids deserve the very best teachers and we are going to find them!"