News Briefs | FYI
October 14, 2024
ALAS honors CA administrators at awards event
The Association of Latino Administrators and Superintendents recognized two administrators from California at its annual awards event Oct. 11.
Carlos Garcia is the recipient of the 2024-25 ALAS Lifetime Achievement Award and Los Angeles County Office of Education Superintendent Debra Duardo has received the Superintendent of the Year award.
The awards recognize individuals and organizations for their extraordinary education leadership and advocacy around issues impacting the education of Latino and other historically marginalized students. Winners were recognized during ALAS’ National Education Summit, which was held in Portland, Ore.
Garcia served as a superintendent for 16 years in four distinctive school districts: Sanger USD, Fresno USD, Clark County SD (Nevada) and San Francisco USD before retiring in 2012. In 2003, he was a founding member of the national ALAS, as well as the California Association of Latino Superintendents and Administrators. He served as an ALAS board member from 2003 to 2006 and as president elect in 2009, as president from 2010-11, and as past president from 2012-2013.
During his more than 37-year career in education, Garcia built a strong track record for boosting student achievement and narrowing the achievement gap through his work as a teacher, principal, central office administrator and leader in classroom instruction.
Garcia is the recipient of the 2005 Nevada Superintendent of the Year Award and ACSA’s 2010 Ferd. Kiesel Memorial Distinguished Service Award among many other awards and accolades.
Garcia has a passion for serving urban, underserved children. Growing up in a Los Angeles barrio himself, he made this his mission in education and in life. He is a transformational national leader and is a torchbearer for equity and social justice for all students and their communities.
Duardo serves as Los Angeles County Superintendent of Schools, leading the nation’s largest regional education agency, which oversees 80 K-12 school districts serving 1.3 million students across the country’s most populous and diverse county.
She is an unrelenting advocate for students and families and has a fierce passion for supporting students at every crossroad in their educational journey. Since her appointment in 2016, Duardo has focused on ensuring educational equity and access for all students; supporting at-promise students and their families; and providing the leadership and support superintendents and administrators need to help school communities learn, grow and thrive.
FYI
ACSA launches new networking groups
Ready to expand your network? ACSA is rolling out new networking groups for administrators to connect and share resources. To join, fill out an interest form at acsa.org/equity.
Classified grant award applications due Nov. 8
Classified grant awards of up to $4,800 per participant per year over the life of the grant, through June 30, 2026, are available to LEAs interested in securing grant funding to recruit and support classified staff who hold an associate or higher degree to complete a bachelor’s degree and/or earn a preliminary California teaching credential. The Classified Grant Program RFA is now available, and completed applications are due by 5 p.m., on Nov. 8, 2024. Visit https://www.ctc.ca.gov/educator-prep/grant-funded-programs/Classified-Sch-Empl-Teacher-Cred-Prog for more information.
Webinars train educators on news and media skills
The CDE is continuing to work with the News Literacy Project in conjunction with county offices of education in Santa Clara, Fresno, and San Diego and the California School Library Association to present a series of free virtual webinars with resources for educators to help hone their students’ news and media literacy skills. These webinars start at 3:30 p.m. and will be accessed through Zoom: Elections Specific, Using Current Events (Oct. 17); Is it Legit – 5 Verifications for Misinformation (Nov. 21); Artificial Intelligence Awareness and the Research Process (Feb. 20); Algorithms, Building Search Habits (March 20); and Making Sense of Data (April 17). For more information, email Jennifer Howerter, Education Programs Consultant, at jhowerter@cde.ca.gov.