Biography
Reverend, Dr.
Duneen De Bruhl
Dr. Duneen
De Bruhl has been an educator and an educational administrator for thirty –six
years. She is a licensed and ordained minister who was ordained in 1989 and pastored
Psalm of Agape Christian Fellowship with her husband Pastor Michael
De Bruhl for nine years in Chino, California.
Currently, she is the Assistant Superintendent of Educational Services for the Victor Valley Union High School District;
and, is an author, visual and performing artist, and a sought after speaker at local, state, national and international education
and Christian conferences.
Dr. De Bruhl acquired her Bachelor
of Arts Degree in Liberal Studies from the prestigious Scripps College in Claremont California in 1974. She completed a Masters Degree specializing in Elementary and Secondary Education with an emphasis in Curriculum
and Instruction at Claremont Graduate University in 1976. After twelve years
of teaching, she attended the University of LaVerne to complete a Doctorate in Educational Administration in 1993. Dr. De Bruhl
began her career as a teacher in the Los Angeles Unified School District in 1973 and taught in the Fullerton Union High School
District in 1975.
In 1976, she
returned to Los Angeles to teach. In 1978, at twenty-six years old, she was selected
as the first female Principal of Grace Lutheran K-8 School, and was the only African American administrator in the Lutheran
Education system. In 1981, Dr. De
Bruhl married Reverend Michael De
Bruhl and moved to Fontana, CA where she taught kindergarten and second grade for five years. In 1987, she was promoted to Staff Development Specialist. She trained hundreds of teachers and administrators throughout San Bernardino County, became a national
trainer and conference speaker, and worked directly with internationally famous education consultants Dr. Madeline Hunter,
the Lesson Design Guru, and Dr. David and Roger Johnson the authors of Cooperative Learning.
In 1991, she became an Adjunct Faculty member for Cal State San Bernardino and taught in the Masters Program until
2003.
In 1994, after
working as a Vice-principal at Serrano Middle School and Dr. Martin
Luther King Academy
in San Bernardino, Dr. De Bruhl
was selected as the Principal of Rio Vista Elementary School with a population of 50% African American and 40% Hispanic American. Low-test scores, gangs, drugs, blight, and violence plagued this school and community. Dr. De
Bruhl marshaled the staff and the community including the mayor, police department, San Bernardino
County Gang and Drug Task Force, government, businesses, and social agencies to form the Rio Vista Community Partnerships. The results were a 75% reduction in crime, increased test scores, attendance, and
parent involvement; a State County Award entitled “Youth the Heart of the Community and a United States Department of
Education Award for a “Safe, Disciplined and Drug Free School.
In 2000, Dr. De Bruhl was promoted as the first
Director of Elementary Curriculum in the Colton School District. Millions of
dollars of grant funding for technology and specialized programs including the NASA Explorer Schools Program and the Even
Start Family Literacy Program were acquired and implemented successfully during her tenure.
Dr. De Bruhl was promoted to Assistant
Superintendent in the Victor Valley Union High School District in 2006. Since
that time, she has implemented high school reform efforts that have raised test scores every year, achieved national recognition
for Silverado High School and Victor Valley High School Smaller Learning Communities, supported University Preparatory Academy
to achieve a National Title I Achievement Award and a California Distinguished School Award, and brought millions of dollars
in grant funding to the district.
Dr. De Bruhl joined the NAACP Youth
Chapter at fifteen years old and was the Chapter President. Several of her family
members are lifetime members of the NAACP. She has always been an advocate for
children, youth, and a pioneer in education who has helped to make a difference in the lives of countless students, educators,
and families of color for more than three decades. In 1998, she was awarded the
NAACP Pioneer in Education Award by the San Bernardino Chapter of the NAACP and the San Bernardino Black Culture Foundation
Educator of the Year Award. In 2009, Dr.
De Bruhl was recognized in the Cambridge publication “Who’s Who Among
Professional Women” in the United States.
Dr. De
Bruhl is the mother of three adult children, Michael, a teacher in the Victor Valley Union High School District; James, an
Executive for the Target Corporation; Charity, a substitute teacher and an employee of Wells Fargo Bank; and, the grandmother
of three beautiful little girls: Alexa, who is five years old; Zoe and Jayla,
who are both two years old.
