Executives

Dr. Silvia Ybarra

Dr. Silvia Ybarra began her career in education as a physics and chemistry teacher at Roosevelt High School in Fresno. Her grant writing efforts were instrumental in the school being awarded a $4,000,000 grant to develop a laboratory school, with her as director, with the goal of increasing student achievement. She next became principal of Wilson Middle School in Exeter, which under her leadership became a prestigious Blue Ribbon School. Silvia was then named Assistant Superintendent of Coalinga-Huron School District. Her focus progressed from helping one classroom to helping one school to helping an entire district.

Silvia's desire to do even more led her to co-found DataWORKS Educational Research with the single focus of improving how students are taught, especially students from low income families. She believes the solution for poverty is to educate low income students to turn them into high income wage earners. Through Silvia's commitment and strong work, the company expanded to 50 employees working with teachers across the United States including California, Washington DC, Arizona, Alabama, Texas, Arkansas, and South Carolina.

Silvia played a crucial role in re-defining educational research. Under her guidance, DataWORKS went where no educational research company had gone before…into the classroom. Led by Silvia, DataWORKS uncovered what is now referred to throughout the field of education as the Instructional Gap. The company's unmatched analysis of 2 million student assignments and observations of 25,000 teachers discovered that students, especially low-income students, were being taught two to four grades below grade level. To combat the Instructional Gap, Silvia developed techniques that analyze and improve teaching in the classroom to provide an equal opportunity for success to all students. Silvia is in demand as a speaker and presents DataWORKS innovations that help students learn more and learn faster to thousands of teachers every year.

Silvia co-founded DataWORKS Educational Research, located Fowler, CA, to improve learning for low-income and minority children. Each year, by helping thousands of teachers improve how they teach, Silvia's company is helping millions of students learn more and learn faster. By giving all students an equal opportunity to learn, Silvia, through her company, is not only bridging the Instructional Gap but she is narrowing the gap between poverty and middle class. Through improving education, DataWORKS is breaking the cycle of poverty. Silvia is helping millions of low-income students become high-income adults.

Silvia has been recognized as one of the Top Ten Professional Business Women of the Year by the Marjaree Mason Center, a local non-profit organization dedicated to the elimination of domestic violence and homelessness through prevention and intervention, including education, counseling and shelter.

Silvia has increased parent and community involvement in schools through the implementation of the DataWORKS No Parent Left Behind Program. This program encourages local businesses, community leaders, and parents to become more involved in schools so students can become more successful in learning and in life.

As co-founder of a business, it is also important to Silvia to ensure that her company is involved in the local community. At the end of each year, DataWORKS purchases several hundred toys for local low-income school children in the Fowler, Malaga, and Parlier area. DataWORKS employees wrap the gifts and dress up as Santa to pass out the toys. Silvia also collects food items for Christmas Gift Baskets and the Fowler Food Bank that her company passes out to families in need.

Although these charity efforts provide a toy or a meal to a child for one day, Silvia's real contribution is her relentless focus in improving the education of low income children, benefits that last for a lifetime, not just one day. Whether it's her unmatched research, her cutting edge school reform programs, or her generous heart, Silvia contributes to her community in every way she can. As a young girl growing up in El Salvador, Silvia saw first hand the differences in opportunities between the well-off the less well-off. This early experience set in place her ideals of using education as a method to provide equal opportunity for all.

At the age of 11, when Silvia's family arrived in the United States, she entered the Los Angeles School system without being able to speak English. Through her self discipline and desire to succeed, Silvia became one of the top students in her class. Silvia's success is a beacon to all English Learners, giving them hope and encouragement and showing them that it is possible to climb over the language barrier. Though her family did not have the money to fund her schooling, Silvia did not let that stand in the way of her education. She took out student loans and held a job, while caring for her infant son, in order to attend college. Later on, she took out additional loans and attended school at night and on weekends to earn her Doctorate in Education. Success was not handed to her. Silvia had to work hard for it, and working hard has become a way of life for her.

Not just a positive role model for women, not just a positive role model for minorities, Silvia is a positive role model for anyone who has a vision or a goal or who dreams of making life better for the less fortunate.