Dr. Aresa Allen-Rochester

With twenty-eight years of experience in education, Dr. Aresa Allen-Rochester (Dr. Roc.) has served as a classroom teacher, District level administrator, University professor, educational consultant and principal for the last fourteen years in the second largest school district in the United States, Los Angeles Unified School District. Now in her current role for Aspire Public Schools, Dr. Roc oversees the Region’s instructional program and curriculum design. Dr. Roc is the professional development lead in the area of instruction, and is the supervisor to school site administrators and Academic Program Managers. Dr. Roc’s expertise has defined her as a leading practitioner in transformational
leadership and has been sought out nationally as a speaker, strategist, trainer, reformer and transformer. A focus on research-based instructional practices, Dr. Roc is guided by a core mission to ensure that the curricula, pedagogy and assessment authentically meets the needs of students and supports staff in doing so. As a principal of two low performing schools, Dr. Roc transformed both into highly recognized and achieving schools; noted as having the highest growth rates for Black students in both ELA and math and as a winner of the 2022 California Pivotal Practice Award. Dr. Roc brings her experience and sheer love for education to her role at Aspire Public Schools with enthusiasm and dedication.

Dr. Roc is the CEO of Solution Based Consulting and specializes in educational reform/transformational educational practices from a social justice lens. Dr. Allen-Rochester holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology and Africana studies from San Diego State University, Masters degrees in Multicultural Education and Educational Administration from California State University, Dominguez Hills, and a doctorate degree from Azusa Pacific University in Educational Leadership, K12 with a focus in Urban Education. Dr. Roc’s research interests and areas of expertise include African-centered educational practices, culturally and linguistically responsive teaching, urban educational leadership, social justice educational reform, new teacher preparation, parental involvement and engagement, and effective infusion of youth culture into the curriculum.

Gifted with the art of the pen, Dr. Roc has allowed life to lead her to her passions…writing and education! Dr. Roc has published work in Childhood Education, as well as her study, Voices Within the Village: A Phenomenological Study of African American Parents’ Experiences With Culturally Relevant and Responsive Education. Additionally, Dr. Roc is a poet and playwright.

Dr. Aresa Allen-Rochester (Dr. Roc.) is a wife to William and mother to Ashanti, as well as a proud member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.