With a longstanding commitment to delivering high-quality early education, Dr. Alejandra Barraza has led transformative efforts to bring research-based practices into early childhood classrooms, ensuring that theory translates into meaningful learning experiences. Prior to joining HighScope, she served the San Antonio Independent School District for eight years as a classroom teacher before advancing into district leadership roles for the next decade. As a principal, Dr. Barraza elevated the quality and standing of early childhood education through strategic initiatives, engaging curricula, and sustained professional development. Among her accomplishments in her leadership was establishing the San Antonio HighScope Network in partnership with the San Antonio Independent School District and Head Start.
As an educator and administrator, she inspires a culture of excellence by expanding what children believe is possible for themselves and their futures. She cultivates a shared vision in which high school graduation and post-secondary education are understood not as distant ideals, but as attainable and collective goals. Emphasizing the learning process rather than outcomes alone, Dr. Barraza advocates learning through play, even in educational settings where this approach is often undervalued in early childhood classrooms.
Dr. Barraza earned her doctoral degree in curriculum instruction, with a concentration in early childhood education, at the University of Texas at Austin. She continued to work full-time as she pursued her doctorate, which allowed her the unique opportunity to bridge theory and practice. As part of her doctoral work, she interned at the U.S. Department of Education. This experience gave her the opportunity to understand education policy at the national level.
Dr. Barraza holds a master’s degree in education and a bachelor’s degree in business administration. She is the author of several articles on the importance of play in early childhood education and issues of diversity and equity in early learning settings.