CONTACT:
Shannon Haber, communications@lausd.net
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 9, 2021
Los Angeles Unified School Board Announces Alberto M. Carvalho as the Next Superintendent of Schools
LOS ANGELES (December 9, 2021) – In a unanimous vote, the Los Angeles Board of Education announced today its selection of Alberto M. Carvalho as the next Superintendent of Schools of the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD). In a special meeting, the Board authorized District staff to enter negotiations to finalize a contract with Mr. Carvalho, which will be voted on by the Board on December 14.
Mr. Carvalho has served as the Superintendent of Miami-Dade County Public Schools (M-DCPS), the fourth largest school district in the country, since 2008. During his thirteen years as Superintendent, M-DCPS has seen sustained growth in student achievement as well as a commitment to equity and historically underserved students. Mr. Carvalho garnered local, state, national and international recognition. His honors include Florida’s 2014 Superintendent of the Year; the 2014 National Superintendent of the Year; the 2016 winner of the Harold W. McGraw Prize in Education; the 2018 National Urban Superintendent of the Year; the 2019 National Association for Bilingual Education (NABE) Superintendent of the Year Award.
Mr. Carvalho has a story not unlike many of the students in L.A. Unified. He grew up in poverty in Portugal and was the first in his family to graduate from high school. He emigrated to the United States shortly after high school and supported himself through higher learning as a day laborer and busboy. After graduation, he started his career as a science teacher in Miami-Dade County, where he has also served in several roles including assistant principal and chief communications officer.
“It has been the privilege of my life to serve as Superintendent of Miami-Dade County Public Schools,” said Superintendent Carvalho. “For the last three decades, I have selflessly dedicated my professional career to the children of Miami’s diverse community, and I am hoping to bring that same passion, compassion and commitment to the students and families in L.A. Unified.”
“Alberto Carvalho brings the deep experience we need as an educator and leader of a large urban district to manage L.A. Unified’s ongoing response to and recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Board President Kelly Gonez. “As the longtime Miami-Dade Superintendent, he established a clear record of positive student outcomes and has relentlessly worked towards greater equity for historically underserved communities. I know he will continue that focus in Los Angeles, and he is ready for the challenges and opportunities ahead of us.”
“I join all of my colleagues in welcoming Alberto Carvalho to Los Angeles,” said Board Vice President Nick Melvoin. “With a long-tenured, proven track record in Miami and deep knowledge of teaching and learning, he is the right person to lead L.A. Unified students out of this pandemic into a better future. We have no doubt that he will continue to lead with empathy, bringing his personal history as an immigrant and English learner to bear, and work alongside parents, students, teachers, and the broader community to realize a vision of success for all students.”
“We are fortunate to have an experienced career educator with a proven history of successful leadership for several years in a large culturally diverse urban district resulting in improved student achievement and organizational stability,” said Board Member Dr. George J. McKenna III.
“Superintendent Carvalho has a track record of being an ally for students and a leader that removes barriers and inspires change for greater equity, access and justice in schools,” said Board Member Mónica García. “LA’s families demand courageous leadership to act with urgency on behalf of our children and we stand ready to work with our next Superintendent.”
“I am happy to welcome our new superintendent, Alberto Carvalho, to the Los Angeles Unified School District as its new Superintendent of Schools,” said Board Member Scott M. Schmerelson. “Mr. Carvalho has the qualities that our parents and community as well as the teachers and administrators, asked of the new superintendent. He is a true educator who served as a teacher and administrator. His work in the Miami-Dade School District, a large urban district very similar to our own Los Angeles Unified School District, was exemplary. I believe that our Board of Education has made the right choice.”
“I am overjoyed at the selection of Alberto Carvalho as the next Superintendent of Los Angeles Unified School District,” said Board Member Jackie Goldberg. “As the community survey indicated, we unanimously chose an individual who has been a teacher, principal, and superintendent of a major school system in Florida. I look forward to his leadership as he works with the superb employees of this district, and with the scholars and families we serve.”
“Superintendent Carvalho brings unparalleled instructional leadership to our system, giving me the utmost confidence that we will improve outcomes for our students and conditions for our classrooms, especially in our highest-need neighborhoods,” said Board Member Tanya Ortiz Franklin. “In a time of extended uncertainty and loss, I am hopeful and inspired that Mr. Carvalho’s leadership and our collective efforts will strengthen our school communities academically, social-emotionally and fiscally.”
“On behalf of the entire Board, I want to sincerely thank Interim Superintendent Megan K. Reilly for her leadership of our District during an extraordinarily challenging time,” Board President Gonez continued. “Superintendent Reilly has successfully overseen a return to full in-person learning, managed the emergence of the Delta variant, implemented an employee vaccination requirement, and overcome unprecedented challenges as we continue to respond to the pandemic and its effects. I hope to continue working alongside her in partnership.”
Mr. Carvalho’s full biography
Mr. Carvalho has been selected by the Los Angeles Board of Education to serve as the next Superintendent of Schools. He has served as Superintendent of Miami-Dade County Public Schools (M-DCPS), the nation’s fourth largest school system, since September 2008. During his tenure, Mr. Carvalho garnered local, state, national and international recognition. His honors include Florida’s 2014 Superintendent of the Year; the 2014 National Superintendent of the Year; the 2016 winner of the Harold W. McGraw Prize in Education; the 2018 National Urban Superintendent of the Year; the 2019 National Association for Bilingual Education (NABE) Superintendent of the Year Award; and recognition by Scholastic Administrator as one of “The Fantastic Five” educators making a difference in America. He currently serves on the National Assessment Governing Board, to which he was appointed by the U.S. Secretary of Education. He also serves as a committee member for the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine, and as an Advisory Committee Member to the Harvard Program on Education Policy and Governance. Mr. Carvalho is a dedicated member of the National Board of Directors for Common Threads as well as the Posse Foundation.
Under his tenure, M-DCPS became one of the nation’s highest-performing urban school systems receiving systemwide accreditation from AdvancEd in 2014. M-DCPS was named as the 2014 College Board Advanced Placement Equity and Excellence District of the Year, as well as the 2012 winner of the Broad Prize for Urban Education.
An instructional leader at heart, Mr. Carvalho is also the proud founder and principal of the award-winning iPreparatory Academy that has become a model of robust 21st century learning in the age of innovation and technology. He is recognized by his peers as a national voice for equity in education.
Mr. Carvalho has been awarded many honorary degrees including a Doctor of Public Service by Florida International University; Doctor of Humane Letters by both Barry University and Florida Memorial University; and a Doctor of Pedagogy, Honoris Causa from Nova Southeastern University. He has been honored by the President of Portugal with the “Ordem de Mérito Civil”, by Mexico with the “Othli Award” and will be awarded the Official Cross of the Orden de Isabel la Catolica (Order of Isabella the Catholic) on behalf of King Felipe VI of Spain on December 13.
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