Tonia Causey-Bush

Dr. Causey-Bush has served in public education for 27 years. She earned a Ph.D. in Education from Claremont Graduate University with a concentration in school reform and quantitative analysis, a master’s in curriculum and instruction from Teachers College at Columbia University, a master’s in educational administration from California State University, San Bernardino, and a bachelor’s degree in anthropology from the University of California, Berkeley.

Most recently, Dr. Causey-Bush served as Director of Teaching and Learning with the Fontana Unified School District, which serves over 35,000 students. In that role, her supervisory responsibilities included elementary and secondary instruction; coordination of English Language Arts, mathematics, visual and performing arts, science professional development, and library/media services. Her leadership significantly contributed to the growth in the district's mathematics scores where 3 comprehensive high schools were among 30 statewide boasting an increase of 8% or more of students meeting or exceeding standards on the Smarter Balanced state assessments out of 580 high schools statewide. This academic growth was underscored by the development of a team-centered Professional Learning Community (PLC) approach and system to raise achievement. She also brought in two online curriculum programs to increase access to A-G courses for high school students resulting in a 12.2% increase in the College and Career indicator from the baseline year.

Equally notable are Dr. Causey-Bush’s achievements when she served as Director of Assessment, Research, and Evaluation in the Rialto Unified School District where she led the district to a 9.6% increase in high school graduation rates. In addition, Dr. Causey-Bush has served as a elementary school teacher, middle school dean, and university professor. As an elementary school principal, she worked to cultivate and sustain a data-driven school culture fueled by high expectations for student achievement. Under her leadership, Mango Elementary School became one of the first schools to implement NWEA MAP growth monitoring assessments leading the way for district-wide usage at the remaining 41 kindergarten to twelfth grade sites.

Dr. Causey-Bush is a member of several local and national professional organizations, a published author including a recent publication on cultural relevancy in the Association of California School Administrators’ (ACSA) Leadership Magazine. She has presented at numerous local, state, and national conferences and received several community honors: the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. Educational Leadership and Service Award, the ACSA Region 12 Annual Curriculum and Instructor Administrator of the Year Award, the Fulbright Memorial Fund Teacher Award to visit schools in Japan, and the Texas Tech University Chancellor’s Office for Outstanding Leadership and Service Award.

Dr. Causey-Bush currently serves as the Chief Academic Officer with the Banning Unified School District and will supervise the special education and education services departments. She is a mother to three including a daughter who is in her second year of medical school, a daughter who is a junior in college, and a son who is a sophomore in high school. Dr. Causey-Bush is a member of Immanuel Praise Fellowship in Rancho Cucamonga and resides in Fontana.