History

New York City ADASA co-founders, Milady C. Baez and Eduardo Genao (both former superintendents for the Department of Education) initiated this association in 1999. During the spring of 1999, Milady C. Baez, who at that time was principal of Public School 149 in Queens, met with a group of colleagues to discuss the possibility of forming a Dominican-American association of supervisors and administrators. Among those at the meet up were Martha Madera, Felix Polanco, Rosa Escoto, and Domingo Martinez, who all met at Café con Leche on 110th Street to discuss the potential endeavor.

This group of Dominican-American school principals sought to unite all supervisors working at the then, Board of Education. In 1999, they were able to identify fifteen principals of Dominican-American descent. Their common goal became to create an association that would offer them the opportunity to meet on a regular basis to network, interchange educational best practices and discuss issues confronting their school communities.

Later in the spring of 1999, Milady Baez met Eduardo Genao, a Dominican- American principal of South Bronx High School in the Bronx, who shared a similar interest of forming an association. It was through the efforts of both Milady Baez and Eduardo Genao that fifteen Dominican-American principals (in the elementary, middle and high school levels) met to have breakfast at the Crowne Plaza, in Queens on Saturday, June 12, 1999. It was a historical day for Dominican-American principals who finally met as a group for the first time in New York City.

During the next two years, this group of principals worked arduously to create the first and only association in New York City, dedicated to the development, building and strengthening of Dominican-American supervisors and administrators. In 2001, ADASA elected its first executive board and began to write its first bylaws. It was the vision of the co-founders and founding members that ADASA would grow into an association that would support its members through professional development, and constructive sharing of ideas and best practices. Members of ADASA quickly began to visit each others schools and conduct learning walkthroughs, building on each others successes and adapting one another’s best practices to their own schools.

Throughout the years, ADASA has grown and opened its doors to assistant principals and administrators. ADASA has participated in an exchange program with Hostos Community College and the Universidad Autonoma of Santo Domingo. Every school year ADASA holds an annual Gala and Scholarship Dinner to celebrate the success of its members and to award scholarships to high school students of Dominican-American descent who are entering college in the fall. The purpose of ADASA is to serve its school communities with honor, and promote excellence and equity in education to all students. The strength of ADASA is the unity of its members, in creating a cadre of high caliber educators who will always feel supported by their colleagues.

(Written by Milady C. Baez, Co-Founder of ADASA.)