As a District and School Improvement Facilitator with WestEd’s Quality Schools and Districts team, Patricia Dienz is dedicated to building the capacity of K–12 educators to improve schools and ensure equitable outcomes for all students.
Dienz provides professional development, coaching, and technical assistance with a focus on equity through research, evidence-based instructional strategies, job-embedded coaching models, and aligned standards-based curriculum. Dienz also provides leadership coaching to site leaders. Most recently, Dienz developed distance teaching and learning systems to support the schools and districts with which she works.
Before joining WestEd, Dienz spent 34 years in teaching and administration positions in both urban and rural high schools and in private Montessori education. She taught high school mathematics and all levels of Montessori education. She served as principal of a large, comprehensive high school with a diverse population of Hispanic and Native American students, where she and her staff significantly improved reading and math scores. Dienz also served as the Director of High Schools for a large urban district of 10 comprehensive high schools and several alternative high schools.
Dienz has co-authored and presented at numerous conferences during her 45 years in education. Her most recent presentations include: Supporting English Learners in Secondary Mathematics; Transformative Leadership for Equity: A Leadership Implementation Guide; Teachers Coaching Teachers Through Plan, Observe, Debrief (POD) Cycles; and Building Limitless Instructional Capacity.
Dienz has an MEd in educational leadership from Northern Arizona University and a BS in physical education/mathematics from the University of Texas-Pan American.