Santa Barbara County Superintendent of Schools Susan Salcido says her best days on the job are when she is out in schools interacting with students. Salcido makes student voice a central part of her leadership, and it’s one of the reasons she is receiving this year’s Marcus Foster Memorial Award for Educator Excellence.
Salcido puts her focus on students
October 30, 2023
Name: Susan Salcido, Ed.D.
Award: Marcus Foster Memorial Award for Educator Excellence
Title: Santa Barbara County Superintendent of Schools
With an ability to make all those she interacts with “feel seen” and a natural gift for creating positive partnerships, Susan Salcido is a leader with warmth and conviction who places student voice at the center of her work.
Salcido has been chosen as the recipient of this year’s Marcus Foster Memorial Award for Educator Excellence, which is named in honor of the trailblazing education leader whose inclusive management style and willingness to reach out to students made him a skilled manager of change.
Salcido grew up in Santa Barbara County and attended the same local public schools she now supports as Santa Barbara County Superintendent of Schools.
Salcido said she was the kid that stayed at school for as long as she could each day. “If something was happening at school — you’d find me there,” she said. “School was a sanctuary for me — it provided stability, routines, extra-curricular activities, friends and support that was not always part of my home environment.”
After earning a bachelor’s degree in English and a master’s degree in education, Salcido began her education career as a high school English teacher. Once she entered administration, she served as an assistant principal and principal. In 2006, she joined the county education office as a director in the Curriculum and Instruction division, and later served as assistant superintendent for the Instructional Services division. From 2012-17, she was the county education office’s deputy superintendent. In 2018, she earned her doctorate from the University of Southern California Rossier School of Education, where she focused on organizational change, leadership and student equity.
Since 2017, Salcido has twice been re-elected the Superintendent of Schools for Santa Barbara County, where she supports 20 public school districts and 10 charter schools serving nearly 70,000 children throughout Santa Barbara County.
“It’s an incredible feeling to live and work in the place where I grew up, served as a teacher and administrator, met my husband (also a teacher) and now, we are raising our own children, both of whom attend public school here,” she said. “When I am out visiting schools across our county, I often find that students, families, school teams and educators are connected through one or two degrees of separation.”
This community has also faced more than its share of challenges together — fires, debris flows, COVID-19, torrential storms. Salcido’s leadership through these life-threatening emergencies has ensured a coordinated response that has kept school communities safe. Salcido’s office works with partner agencies to connect district leaders to timely and accurate information they need to make critical decisions about school operations. When debris flows shut down roads in January 2018, Salcido and her staff collaborated with community and business leaders to create alternative transportation routes so teachers and staff could get to schools.
Antonio Garcia, superintendent of Santa Maria Joint Union High School District, credited Salcido for helping district leaders in the county overcome disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“She secured direct lines of regular communication and support from the county and state Public Health Departments, coordinated her staff to realign their support services to the school districts, and created systems to ensure that diversified voices were considered, and needs were met,” Garcia said. “In the midst of all of this imminent responsiveness, Dr. Salcido always maintained her recognizable calm, reassuring demeanor with great professionalism and poise. Her communication and decision-making were and continue to be anchored to principles of student learning and well-being, and safety of students and staff, without losing sight of educational equity and access for all students.”
School leaders are under intense scrutiny right now, and some have denounced efforts to advance diversity, equity and inclusion in education. Salcido has been called “unflappable” in her commitment to equity work in this politically charged environment.
“I serve all children, students, families and schools through a lens of support and never through the lens of politics,” Salcido said. “There is a reason that the position of County Superintendent of Schools is non-partisan — and that is because political affiliations should have no bearing on how we serve children throughout our schools.”
Unafraid to use her voice, Salcido wrote an op-ed piece in 2020 on disrupting the anti-Asian rhetoric that followed the onset of the pandemic. She shared racism she and her parents have experienced and encouraged community members to take actions to stop Asian hate.
“That piece was written at a time when we were seeing many anti-Asian sentiments and vast misinformation proliferating across the media,” she said. “As a Korean-American, I felt compelled to speak out and attempt to help correct that false narrative. I hope that my story might have inspired others to do the same.”
Salcido speaks out, but also listens deeply — especially to students. In October 2022, she created the SBCEO Student Advisory Council to provide a unique opportunity for high school students to share feedback, experiences and perspectives on issues affecting them. The first group of students shared concerns about teen anxiety, vaping and schoolwork, leading to ideas on how schools can provide better social emotional support to students. Salcido called the council “one of the most important and valuable tools” for driving change.
“As adults, we often view things from our own unique perspectives, so hearing directly from students on how well we are serving their needs — and in what ways we can serve them better — has been illuminating and educational for me,” she said.
Her contributions to her community span from its youngest residents to some of its oldest: She serves on several boards, including First 5 Santa Barbara County, and leads Operation Recognition, which gives honorary diplomas to veterans — many in their 70s and 80s — who could not participate in graduation due to their service in the military.
She has also been involved with numerous professional groups, including ACSA, where she has served as a Region 13 board member and Curriculum, Instruction & Accountability committee member. In 2019, Salcido and the South Santa Barbara ACSA Charter co-planned a highly attended event that brought State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond to Santa Barbara County. Salcido facilitated a conversation that allowed local educational leaders to meet and engage with the new state superintendent and provided an opportunity for Region 13 members to learn more about state initiatives, as well as share educational issues in the region.
While she has many other plans for the future — “I’m always striving to do more and better” — Salcido enjoys getting out into schools to see the positive difference education has made in young people’s lives.
“The best days on the job are when I’m with students, visiting schools, and engaging with innovative practices that make a genuine difference for youth,” she said. “I’m proud and feel fulfilled by the work and impact we have made in public education; proud of the team at SBCEO, and the work we do and the way in which we carry it out; proud of the talent and hard work of our district leaders, educators, school staff, and especially students; and grateful when I hear from a former student who says I made the difference in their life when it really mattered.”
Salcido enjoys getting out into schools to see the positive difference education has made in young people’s lives.
Salcido grew up in Santa Barbara County and attended the same local public schools she now supports as Santa Barbara County Superintendent of Schools.
Salcido leads Operation Recognition, which gives honorary diplomas to veterans — many in their 70s and 80s — who could not participate in graduation due to their service in the military.
Since 2017, Salcido has twice been re-elected the Superintendent of Schools for Santa Barbara County.