President
David Ackerman

Dr. David Ackerman received his Ph.D. in Special Education at UCLA and was instrumental in developing many programs for Jewish children with disabilities, including the Tikvah Program at Camp Ramah. He served as the first educational director of the Pressman Academy of Temple Beth Am, and later as the Dean of the Fingerhut School of Education at the University of Judaism. Currently, he is the Director of Educational Services at the Bureau of Jewish Education of Greater Los Angeles. His interests in education include cooperative learning, children with special needs, models of schooling, spirituality, and the arts in education. Music is his primary avocation.

Dr. Ackerman is a member of the State Superintendent of Public Instruction's Private School Advisory Committee. He has served CAPSO as a board member and officer.

Secretary
Jerry Haddock

Dr. Jerry Haddock has served the Association of Christian Schools International (ACSI) since 1987. As director of the Southern California Region, Dr. Haddock gives leadership to over 550 member schools with an enrollment of more than 100,000 students enrolled in preschool through grade twelve. He is also a member of the State Superintendent's Private School Advisory Committee.

In his position, Dr. Haddock oversees the association's major services to Southern California member schools. These services include the design and implementation of conventions and conferences for teachers and administrators; a comprehensive student activities program, featuring more than 100 events annually; the ACSI school accreditation program; and consultation on legal/legislative & educational issues. The ACSI Southern California Convention is ACSI's largest event, attracting more than 7,000 Christian school educators annually.

Dr. Haddock is the co-author of Classroom Discipline: A Management Guide for Christian School Teachers, as well as a contributing author to several books and journals related to Christian school education.

Remarks offered by David Ackerman upon being elected President of CAPSO

I am honored by the confidence you have placed in me, and grateful for the foundation that Robert Teegarden has built as CAPSO president these past years. I'm also thankful to Rachel Klitzing for serving as Acting President these past months, helping CAPSO move forward, even in a period of transition. Walt Whitman wrote, "There was a child went forth every day and the first object he looked upon and received with wonder or pity or love or dread, that object he became... And that object became part of him for the day or for many years or stretching cycles of years."

When children "go forth every day" they usually go to school. That is where they look upon the world. We know that children carry their school experiences within them for a lifetime. CAPSO exists to safeguard the right of parents to choose the schools their children attend, and by extension, the "objects" schools put before them—the teachers, peers, curricular content, unspoken values, and even the facility itself.

Doris Kearns Goodwin's recent book, Team of Rivals : The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln examines the cabinet that Lincoln assembled when he assumed the presidency. Contrary to accepted tradition, he invited those he thought best suited to the job, regardless of political ideology or personal history (they were all opponents for the Republican nomination in 1860). The success of his government lay in no small measure to the diversity of opinion, experience, and personality within his cabinet. So, too, with CAPSO. Our diversity is our greatest strength, and is a resource to be nurtured as we continue to advocate for the best interests of our children. I look forward to continuing CAPSO's good work with you.