M. Magdalena Carrillo Mejia was recently named the superintendent of California’s Sacramento City Unified School District, making her the first woman and Latino to lead the 51,000-student system.
Ms. Mejia, 55, is currently the superintendent of the 35,000-student Montebello Unified district, also in California. She will begin her new job in January.
The details of Ms. Mejia’s Sacramento contract were being worked out this week.
She will succeed Jim Sweeney, who resigned from the $215,000-a-year job in June. He is now serving as a superintendent-in-residence for the Mill Valley, Calif.-based Stupski Foundation, which works with school districts to improve student achievement.
Rebecca A. Palacios has been elected to serve as the vice chairwoman of the board of directors of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards.
Ms. Palacios, 50, who is a bilingual prekindergarten teacher at the 650-pupil pre-K-5 Lorenzo de Zavala Special Emphasis School in Corpus Christi, Texas, began her three-year term last month.
The Arlington, Va.-based NBPTS is an independent, nonprofit organization that offers a national credential to teachers who undergo a certification process to demonstrate that they have met the board’s standards for professional performance.
Marcia L. Knutson recently became the director of government relations for the National Education Knowledge Industry Association.
Ms. Knutson, 55, was formerly the director of federal affairs for the Washington-based Association of Public Television Stations.
The Washington-based NEKIA provides support to educational researchers, entrepreneurs, and service providers.
—Catherine A. Carroll
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