LAUSD Hires New Superintendent During Special Closed Session

05Jan
by La Comadre

The Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) has a new Superintendent.  After a lengthy and grueling search, Alberto Carvalho, a celebrated educator and Superintendent from Miami-Dade Unified in Florida, was hired by the LAUSD Board of Education during a special closed session meeting on December 9th. The vote was unanimous, which means the incoming Superintendent will be entering with full support from the board. Carvalho will replace Austin Beutner as leader of the 2nd largest school district in the United States, serving 600,000 students from K-12. LAUSD encapsulates more than 1,000 schools, including 200 independent charter schools, within its 720 square mile territory.  

Carvalho led the Miami-Dade Unified School District, the 4th largest in the US but half the size of LAUSD, for 13 years. He comes in highly credentialed and decorated. In fact, Carvalho was knighted earlier this month by Spain on December 13th. In 2013, he was named Superintendent of the Year for his work in Miami-Dade. He also ran for Congress at one point.

Overall, Carvalho has been very popular in Florida. 

The question is, how will he lead in the very challenging position as LAUSD Superintendent? It appears that Carvalho maintained a decent relationship with the teachers union in Miami-Dade. It will be interesting to see what unfolds here in Los Angeles and whether he’ll accomplish the same. 

Other questions on our minds are what his plans will be for addressing the ongoing pandemic, the student mental health crisis, and the very real learning gap that has been mostly ignored.  

Time will tell if Carvalho will succeed as a leader in Los Angeles. So far, there have been mixed opinions about him on behalf of the education community in LA.  We will be paying close attention as Carvalho transitions in as Superintendent. 

Comadres, click here to learn more about Alberto Carvalho’s recipe for education.

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La Comadre

We are Moms, Tias, Ninas and Play-Tias who love children in our lives and we want to help every child succeed in school. Navigating schools and education—from preschool to college—is hard. We want to help each other with this. We are all in this together with you. We want to be a resource for you and for all of the children you love. Whether you need some info or you have info to share, you know where to go…LA Comadre.

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