School & District Management News in Brief

L.A. Selects Homegrown Candidate as New Superintendent

By Corey Mitchell — January 19, 2016 1 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

Michelle King, who has spent her entire career in the Los Angeles school district, was named the new superintendent of the nation’s second-largest school system last week.

King, 54, becomes the first woman in more than 80 years, and the first African-American woman, to lead the 650,000-student district. Her selection marks the end of a nationwide search that began last fall.

“Ms. King has experience as a teacher, administrator, and top district leader, and is known for her collaboration with parents, teachers, and the community,” school board President Steve Zimmer said in a statement.

Michelle King

She succeeds Ramon Cortines, who retired this month, and had led the district since his departure, as well as serving as top deputy for him and his predecessor, John Deasy.

King’s deep knowledge of the district will come in handy as she works to stabilize the sprawling, financially challenged district. The school system’s budget deficit is expected to rise above $300 million within two school years. She’ll also work under an activist school board with often competing interests.

A Los Angeles native and product of the school system, King decided on a teaching career while majoring in biology at the University of California, Los Angeles.

She began her 31-year career in the district as a middle school math and science teacher. From there, she rose from assistant principal to principal, chief administrator of secondary instruction, local district superintendent, the superintendent’s chief of staff, senior deputy superintendent, and chief deputy superintendent.

Related Tags:

A version of this article appeared in the January 20, 2016 edition of Education Week as L.A. Selects Homegrown Candidate as New Superintendent

Events

This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Classroom Technology Webinar
How to Leverage Virtual Learning: Preparing Students for the Future
Hear from an expert panel how best to leverage virtual learning in your district to achieve your goals.
Content provided by Class
English-Language Learners Webinar AI and English Learners: What Teachers Need to Know
Explore the role of AI in multilingual education and its potential limitations.
Education Webinar The K-12 Leader: Data and Insights Every Marketer Needs to Know
Which topics are capturing the attention of district and school leaders? Discover how to align your content with the topics your target audience cares about most. 

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

School & District Management Explainer What Does a School Principal Do? An Explainer
Learn about the principal workforce, what makes principals effective, and how schools can retain the best leaders.
Image of staffing.
Andrii Yalanskyi/iStock/Getty
School & District Management Running for a School Board Seat? This Is the Most Powerful Endorsement You Can Get
New research shows that this endorsement in school board races is more influential than any other, with virtually no downside.
5 min read
People in privacy booths vote in the midterm election at an early voting polling site at Frank McCourt High School on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City on Nov. 1, 2022.
People in privacy booths vote in the midterm election at an early voting polling site at Frank McCourt High School on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City on Nov. 1, 2022.
Ted Shaffrey/AP
School & District Management High Pace of Superintendent Turnover Continues, Data Show
About one in five large districts lost a superintendent last year, researchers found.
2 min read
Image of exit doors.
pavel_balanenko/iStock/Getty
School & District Management Finding the Source of PCB Contamination in Schools Just Got Easier
Researchers say they have found a promising method to determine where in school buildings the PCB contamination is greatest.
7 min read
Image of a brick wall and glass blocks.
iStock/Getty