Biography

Alberto M. Carvalho has served as Superintendent of Los Angeles Unified School District, the nation’s second-largest school district, since February 2022. He was selected by the Los Angeles Unified Board of Education in a unanimous vote following a comprehensive community engagement process and a nationwide search.

During his 14-year tenure as Superintendent of Miami-Dade County Public Schools (M-DCPS), Superintendent 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; making him the most accomplished Superintendent in America’s history.

Superintendent Carvalho currently serves on the National Assessment Governing Board, 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. Superintendent Carvalho is a dedicated member of the National Board of Directors for Common Threads and 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 and the 2012 winner of the Broad Prize for Urban Education. He is now seeking to elevate LAUSD to the premier spot in American urban education.

Superintendent Carvalho has been awarded many honorary degrees. He has been honored by the President of Portugal with the “Ordem de Mérito Civil,” by Mexico with the “Ohtli Award” and was awarded the Official Cross of the Orden de Isabel la Católica (Order of Isabella the Catholic) on behalf of King Felipe VI of Spain.

Download high resolution photo

Welcome to the 2022-2023 School Year

Dear Los Angeles Unified Family,
 
It is with great enthusiasm and pride that I welcome you to the 2022-23 school year. I hope you had an enjoyable summer. It has been amazing to see the excitement of our employees as they prepare our school communities for the new year. 

While the new year is full of great excitement for many, some of our students and families may be experiencing first day nerves. The prospect of meeting teachers, new friends or being in a new school can elicit many feelings. I want you to know that we are here for you and that we are ready for your students.

One of the ways we have been preparing for students is by filling our classrooms with credentialed educators. On day one, we are fully staffed and every student will have a remarkable and credentialed teacher equipping them for success. That is a promise we made and a promise we will keep throughout the year. We have also ensured our buses are fully prepared to transport eager students on the first day. We have filled every bus route with a driver, upgraded all buses with wifi and updated our fleet with 11 new electric buses with many more to join the crew in the near future.

As we continue to provide a safe and healthy learning environment in our school communities, preparations for the new school year include maximizing physical distancing as much as possible; strongly encouraging the use of masks; continuing comprehensive sanitizing efforts, including frequent hand washing; upgraded air filtration systems; and requiring vaccines for employees. We encourage you to administer a rapid antigen test to your child. We also encourage all eligible students to get vaccinated. For more information on our safety protocols, please visit lausd.net, and keep an eye out for ongoing communications from your school. 

It has been an incredible privilege spending the last few months listening and learning from our community. Through school visits, conversations with partner organizations, students, employees, small group discussions, one-on-one dialogues and more, I have come to better understand not only the opportunities and challenges we face, but also the ways in which we can all come together to deliver a world-class education for our students. 

Much of what we’ve learned is reflected in the 2022-26 Strategic Plan—the guidepost for how we will position Los Angeles Unified as the premiere urban school district of choice. The Strategic Plan is a vibrant picture of success for Los Angeles Unified, and establishes a clear and inspiring vision for the future—not only the future of our District over the next four years, but the future of all of our students on their journey forward as lifelong learners. I invite you to learn more at http://achieve.lausd.net/strategicplan. 

In tandem with the plan, we have announced new products and offerings to coincide with critical areas the District will focus on over the next four years. They include the expansion of early education, dual language and arts and music programs, and the new Parent and Family Academy, among many other new products, initiatives and offerings. 

Our vision for the future requires talented and dedicated teachers, administrators and staff. It is our goal not only to be the district of choice for families, but for our employees as well. To do so, we must strengthen our commitment to our employees and provide competitive benefits along with robust professional development opportunities.

I look forward to meeting you along our journey. The Strategic Plan’s theme is “Ready for the World” which means our students will graduate with the skills and knowledge they need to live out their dreams. 

So, are we ready? I say resoundingly, Yes we are!

Sincerely,
 
Alberto M. Carvalho
Superintendent