The Los Angeles Unified School District has been on the hunt for a new Superintendent following Austin Beutner’s decision to not renew his contract after it expired June 30.
Alicia Montgomery, Ed.D. Executive Director Center for Powerful Public Schools and Elmer G. Roldan, Executive Director, Communities In Schools of Los Angeles (CISLA) have some recommendations for traits to look for when selecting the new head of the State’s largest school district.
Choosing a new LAUSD superintendent is no simple task. With applications due on November 5, and nearly 30,000 parent and community surveys submitted to date, the LAUSD Board has a lot to consider.
Prospective superintendents should be excited about coming to LA. This city is home not only to the second-largest public school district in America, but also to a thriving ecosystem of public, nonprofit, and philanthropic education institutions. With new rounds of education funding on the horizon, this is a chance to be part of an unprecedented journey of transformation.
But there are still many challenges, especially in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. We need a leader who will rise to those challenges while building bridges along the way. LAUSD’s next superintendent must be a relationship-builder, willing and able to unite all facets of LA’s complex educational landscape.
Read their full statement in The Eastsider.