Episode 13: Tavga Bustani

Tavga Bustani has championed equity and excellence throughout her 25-year career as a teacher, transformational principal, and central office executive in the San Diego Unified School District.

As a former principal, Ms. Bustani worked with instructional leadership teams to create rigorous academic learning experiences for all students and improve instruction to help children meet high expectations successfully. Under her leadership, Edison Elementary’s academic performance improved dramatically, meeting the National Center for Urban School Transformation’s criteria for the America’s Best Urban Schools Award.

As the Chief of Leadership and Learning, Ms. Bustani oversees all of the district’s academic programs and all professional development opportunities. In this role, Ms. Bustani leads with a clear vision, expectations, and an insistence that schools and instructional programs be designed with students at the center. She set the vision for various initiatives and leads her team in the design of systems and structures that build the capacity of school leaders to significantly improve teaching, foster learning, and promote a transformative school culture.

Many of the initiatives she has led have been recognized by Linda Darling Hammond in a study in partnership with UCLA titled  Positive Outlier District: Districts Beating the Odds. Ms. Bustani is a highly qualified instructional leader who leads with urgency, strategic thinking, and a clear vision for continuous improvement.  More importantly, she has an uncompromising love for all children and a relentless commitment to serving the most vulnerable learners.