Guadalupe Guerrero
Guadalupe Guerrero | |
|---|---|
| Superintendent of Portland Public Schools | |
| Assumed office August 11, 2017 | |
| Preceded by | Bob McKean |
| Assistant Superintendent of the San Francisco Unified School District | |
| In office 2010–2017 | |
| Personal details | |
| Alma mater | University of California, Los Angeles Harvard University |
Guadalupe Guerrero is the Superintendent of Portland Public Schools in Oregon.
In 1992, Guerrero earned a BA degree in History at UCLA. He later earned two master's degrees from Harvard University, one in School Leadership and Principal Certification and one in Educational Policy and Management.[1] Guerrero's first position was as a bilingual elementary school teacher in San Francisco.[2][3] He was principal of Dever Elementary in Dorchester, Boston from 2002 until 2008, a school the Boston Post described as a "school in crisis" in 2002. While principal, he introduced a new math curriculum, and increased outreach to parents. However, in 2008, just 8 percent of fourth graders were proficient in math, with similar results in English proficiency.[4] While in Boston, he also worked as a "cluster leader," training other principals.[5] In 2008, he began a doctorate at the Harvard School of Education, but was terminated from the program in 2014 when he failed to finish his dissertation.[6] In 2010, he became assistant superintendent of the San Francisco Unified School District, working out of Mission High School to better connect with schools in his target area. He held the post for two years.[4] In 2012, he became Deputy Superintendent of instruction, innovation and social justice in the San Francisco Unified School District.[7][8] He applied for the superintendent position of the Boston public schools in 2015, but was not hired.[9]
Guerrero was appointed Superintendent of Portland Public Schools on August 11, 2017. He announced at a press conference that he would focus on equity, supporting struggling schools, and preparing students to graduate.[2] In October 2017, Guerrero proposed to disperse ACCESS Academy, a school specifically for highly gifted students, whose needs cannot met by neighborhood schools, between eight neighborhood schools. This plan was met with criticism, including student protests at both the PPS central office and at the Rose City Park School,[10] causing Guerrero to apologize for not having "co-constructed a conversation" with ACCESS families.[11][12] In December 2017, Guerrero also proposed he would relocate students at Pioneer, a school for children with behavior problems and disabilities, which was met with further protest.[13] Guerrero subsequently backed off this plan as well, and on May 30, 2018 (notably, one week before the end of the school year),[14][15] Guerrero and the school board voted to split the school in half, situating grades 1-5 at Vestal Elementary School and grades 6-8 seven miles away at Lane Middle School.[16] This move was promised to be "temporary," and Guerrero and the school board gave assurances that reuniting ACCESS Academy would be a priority in their next round of school balancing.
References
- ^ "PPS Board names Guadalupe Guerrero as next superintendent". Portland Public Schools. 11 August 2017. Retrieved 12 January 2018.
- ^ a b "Portland Public Schools names Guadalupe Guerrero of San Francisco as next superintendent". KATU. 11 August 2017. Retrieved 8 January 2018.
- ^ Wagner, Venise (8 October 1995). "Cutting Edge Classrooms". SFGate. Retrieved 11 January 2018.
- ^ a b Vaznis, James (1 March 2015). "Guadalupe Guerrero is on a mission to turn things around". Boston Globe. Retrieved 11 January 2018.
- ^ Slovic, Beth (11 August 2017). "Portland Public Schools announces new superintendent pick". Portland Tribune. Retrieved 11 January 2018.
- ^ Vaznis, James (27 February 2015). "Harvard ejected Boston superintendent finalist from doctoral program". Boston Globe. Retrieved 12 January 2018.
- ^ Vaznis, James (February 27, 2015). "Harvard ejected Boston superintendent finalist from doctoral program". Boston Globe.
- ^ Barnes, Bethany (11 August 2017). "Portland Public Schools picks deputy San Francisco superintendent to lead district". The Oregonian. Retrieved 8 January 2018.
- ^ Monahan, Rachel (11 August 2017). "Portland Public Schools to Hire First Latino Superintendent". Willamette Week. Retrieved 12 January 2018.
- ^ "ACCESS Academy protest gets PPS attention". KOIN.com. 2017-10-17. Retrieved 2020-08-15.
- ^ "Portland superintendent reveals new site for Access gifted program; high-needs special ed school would have to disband". Oregonlive. Nov 28, 2017.
- ^ Guevarra, Ericka Cruz (18 October 2017). "New PPS Head Apologizes For Moving Quickly On ACCESS Proposal". OPB. Retrieved 8 January 2018.
- ^ Manning, Rob (6 December 2017). "A School District Dilemma: How To Transform, While Rebuilding Trust". OPB. Retrieved 8 January 2018.
- ^ "Access, da Vinci parents concerned as PPS decision looms". KOIN.com. 2018-05-02. Retrieved 2020-08-14.
- ^ "Parents react to PPS decision on ACCESS". KOIN.com. 2018-05-31. Retrieved 2020-08-14.
- ^ Darland, Jessie. "ACCESS Academy will be co-located this fall". Retrieved 2020-08-14.