Joe Fresquez is principal of Hernandez Elementary School in Espanola. Mr. Fresquez received both a three-year fellowship from the Ford Foundation and a Leadership in Educational Administration Development Fellowship. As a result of his involvement with the Hispanic Culture Institute, Mr. Fresquez developed various bilingual cuentos, or "stories". The success of this project and another entitled Bilingual Cuentos in the Classroom have made Hernandez Elementary School a model. Mr. Fresquez was also a presenter on the subject in 1990 at the New Mexico Bilingual Education Conference. Mr. Fresquez advocates site-based management and has implemented this system in his school. "Parents, teachers, students and I are working within a centrachial system which requires and creates two-way communication, listening, consensus building, strategizing at all levels and team work," he says. "Together we get the job done."
1969 New Mexico Highlands University, B.A.
