蜜桃影视

Michelle King, who, as the first female African-American superintendent of the Los Angeles Unified School District, championed unity and collaboration among all public schools, has died of cancer at age 57.

King was 鈥渁 collaborative and innovative leader who broke down barriers to create more equitable opportunities for every student,鈥� the district Saturday in announcing her death.

Just weeks after her January 2016 appointment, King told a crowd of about 700 parents, teachers, and principals at a meeting that from the moment she was named, she wanted to find ways to share best practices among educators in traditional district schools, independent charter schools, and the district鈥檚 innovative magnet and pilot schools.

鈥淲e are all L.A. Unified school students,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t is unfortunate we have labels, saying that this one is better than that one. It鈥檚 not us versus them.鈥�

She announced she was meeting with charter school leaders to plan a forum to share strategies. 鈥淚 can鈥檛 do it alone. We need your help. We need all of us breaking down walls and barriers on behalf of kids and be working together. It doesn鈥檛 help to have battles over property.鈥�

Four months later, her 鈥淧romising Practices鈥� was sold out in advance and brought praise for King from charter leaders.

鈥淚鈥檓 so excited about what Michelle King is doing, because for the first time since I was on the board, we have a superintendent who is saying, 鈥楬ey, we can learn from each other,鈥欌�� Caprice Young, then-CEO of Magnolia Public Schools and a former L.A. Unified school board member, said at the forum at Sonia Sotomayor Learning Academies in Cypress Park.

Young Saturday, 鈥淪o very sorry she is gone. Not enough time to make the difference we all knew she could.鈥�

King a year ago that she was being treated for cancer and would retire at the end of the 2017-18 school year. She went on medical leave in September 2017 after feeling weak during a long school board meeting.

In a fall 2016 interview, King described herself as a district 鈥渓ifer.鈥� She spent her entire career in the district and attended its schools, even working as a teacher鈥檚 aide while a student at Pacific Palisades High School.

When she was to superintendent, she said, 鈥淚 want to be a role model for students who look like me.鈥�

King was L.A. Unified鈥檚 first female superintendent in 80 years. But she said she didn鈥檛 always aspire to that role. 鈥淚t鈥檚 something that just kind of evolved,鈥� she said.

King grew up in a largely middle-class and African-American neighborhood of South Los Angeles.

After graduating from UCLA, majoring in biology, she taught science and math at Porter Middle School in Granada Hills.

She was promoted to a coordinator for the math, science, and aerospace magnet at Wright Middle School in Westchester and then served as assistant principal and principal at Hamilton High School in Cheviot Hills.

She then joined the ranks of L.A. Unified administrators as head of the division of student health and human services, interim chief instructional officer for secondary education, and superintendent of a western and southwestern region of the district.

She was chosen by Superintendent Ramon Cortines to be his chief of staff. She served as deputy superintendent under John Deasy and was named chief deputy by Cortines in October 2014, when Cortines came back to the district to replace Deasy when he resigned under pressure.

As she moved up the ladder, she said, people began asking her if she had thought about becoming superintendent. Once her daughters graduated from school, she gave it more serious thought, though she imagined she might have to leave L.A. Unified to do so.

鈥淚 was as shocked as everyone,鈥� she said of being the board鈥檚 pick.

In her first year as superintendent, King visited about 100 schools on a 鈥渓isten and learn鈥� tour to hear from students, teachers, and parents.

On school visits, she was treated like a rock star, as students and staff asked to take selfies with her.

Steve Zimmer, who was then president of the school board, eight months into her tenure that teachers had more confidence in her than in any other superintendent he had worked with in his 17 years in the district.

鈥淵ou inspire trust amongst our ranks,鈥� Zimmer said.

King鈥檚 commitment to collaboration was seen in her in September 2016 with Myrna Castrej贸n, who was executive director of Great Public Schools Now, of up to $3.75 million that would be available in grants for high-performing district-run schools. After the teachers union objected to some programs receiving the funds, $1.5 million was spent to expand the programs of two South Los Angeles schools 鈥� Diego Rivera Learning Complex Public Service Community School and King/Drew Magnet High School of Medicine and Science. Both have had long waiting lists.

The schools鈥� programs were replicated at two other sites. When they opened last fall, University Pathways Public Service Academy and University Pathways Medical Magnet Academy collectively enrolled nearly 200 students.

Castrej贸n said when the grants were announced that replicating high-performing schools had not been attempted in Los Angeles before or anywhere in the nation at the same scale. She said the grants were possible after she and Great Schools staff worked with King in a collaborative and open process.

鈥淚 am excited about the opportunities to increase the number of high-quality choices for our L.A. Unified families,鈥� King said then. 鈥淲e have schools in every corner of the district where students are excelling. Investing in these campuses will allow more of our students to attain the knowledge and skills to be successful in college, careers, and in life.鈥�

Castrej贸n, who is now president and CEO of the California Charter Schools Association, said in a statement Saturday, 鈥淚 loved working with Michelle King.鈥� She called King 鈥渁 visionary leader who supported the replication of innovative schools and was focused on finding new ways to best meet the needs of each student. I respected her thoughtfulness and commitment to collaboration as a critical pathway to opening up opportunities for all kids.鈥�

In a 2016 , King said she learned that people have to be brought together 鈥渢o have dialogue and to be in each other鈥檚 face to work together to really start to break down some of these walls and barriers.鈥�

鈥淪ometimes in life, we don鈥檛 think that certain positions are available to us, particularly if you鈥檙e a youth, a minority, that job or that position or that role might not be for you because you don鈥檛 see many role models, you don鈥檛 see many folks in those positions,鈥� King said. 鈥淚 feel that the appointment has said to particularly young women that anything is possible.鈥�

At the end of her first community meeting, in March 2016, King said, 鈥淚 think some of you see the 鈥業 love LAUSD鈥� buttons we have on, and that鈥檚 what it鈥檚 about for me 鈥� it鈥檚 about being united.鈥�

Interviews and reporting for this article were conducted by Sarah Favot and Mike Szymanski.

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