Dr. Gladys I Cruz
District Superintendent of Questar III BOCES
Over a 30-year span, Dr. Cruz has established a distinguished career as a teacher and education leader. Since joining Questar III in 1998, Cruz has served in a number of leadership positions including Chief Operating Officer / Deputy Superintendent, Assistant Superintendent, Director of School Improvement and BETAC Specialist. She began her career as a teacher in Puerto Rico and her education experience ranges from K-12 schools to universities in New York State and Puerto Rico. Cruz holds a Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction and a master’s degree in Curriculum Development and Instructional Technology from the State University of New York at Albany. In addition, she holds a master’s degree in Bilingual Education and a bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education and English from La Universidad del Turabo in Puerto Rico.
Jessa Waterhouse
Resource Specialist
Jessa joined the RBERN staff in January 2015. She was a Spanish teacher for seven years in the Capital District and holds a professional certificate in Spanish 7-12 and ESOL. Jessa works extensively with district administrative teams on programmatic and regulatory considerations. She has presented on best practices for ELLs at the regional, national and international level for NYSEC, NCTE, NYSTESOL, NABE and TESOL International. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Spanish from SUNY New Paltz, her master’s degree in Adolescent Education from the College of Saint Rose and her ESOL certification from Mercy College.
Sandy Strock
Resource Specialist
Sandy joined the Capital District RBERN in July 2017 as a Resource Specialist. Previously, she served as an ELA Specialist for Questar III School Improvement, bringing over two decades of secondary and post-secondary experience in cross-content literacy and secondary English to her work with English Learners. In addition to her ongoing regional work, she has presented on English Learner strategies for multiple state and national conferences including NYSEC, NCTE, NYSTESOL, TESOL International, and NABE. She holds a master’s degree in English, a Bachelor of Arts in English Education, and an AGC in TESOL, all from the State University of New York at Albany.
Chris Casey
Data Analyst
Chris joined Questar III BOCES as a data analyst in 2014. He supports the work of the Capital District RBERN as well as working with a number of local districts and on other Questar initiatives. Chris earned an undergraduate degree in History from SUNY Geneseo, an MSEd from SUNY Cortland, and a Graduate Certificate of Advanced Study in Program Evaluation from The College of Saint Rose. When not at work, you can find Chris writing and recording music and exploring the outdoors with his wife and three young children.