LAUSD’s newest Superintendent is now one year into his tenure steering America’s second-largest school district out of the pandemic and into the next chapter of its history.
He came to Los Angeles after nearly 14 years as superintendent at Miami-Dade County Public Schools and now oversees more than 422,000 students at about 780 schools.
Upon arrival, he immediately busied himself launching a litany of new initiatives – Acceleration Days, iAttend Days, the Cultural Arts Passport, Everyone Mentors LA, Born to Learn, Narcan on all campuses, expanded tutoring services, evening buses and more.
These programs sought to address a range of pressing issues including chronic absenteeism, pandemic learning loss, declining enrollment and safety on campus and were all announced with charismatic speeches, bold promises and snappy photo ops.
But have they generated the results they have promised? Some stakeholders say yes, some say no, and others say it’s too soon to tell.
Superintendent Carvalho, for his part, said he’s proud of his early results, touting an 10% decrease in chronic absenteeism this academic year, a 12% increase in students using tutoring services, hiring more than 2,000 teachers and stabilization in the district’s student enrollment for the first time in more than a decade.
“I think it’s a compelling set of accomplishments for a short period of time, under a great deal of duress and under a great deal of stress considering the post-pandemic conditions,” he said in a recent interview.
School board members, for now, are largely reserving their judgment.
“The superintendent has been working hard this first year, and there is much to be done,” said Board Member Rocio Rivas.
“Over the past year, he has laid out a road map for success, with a clear, ambitious strategic plan, pandemic recovery efforts, innovative new programs, and a reorganization that better aligns district leadership with the focus areas we’re prioritizing,” said…
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