WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Affiliation of Latino Directors and Superintendents (ALAS) has named Carlos Garcia because the recipient of its 2024-25 ALAS Lifetime Achievement Award. Garcia was a founding member of ALAS and has additionally served because the affiliation’s president, amongst different roles. Garcia was acknowledged at a particular awards ceremony through the ALAS Gala Dinner Occasion being held October 11, 2024 on the Portland Marriott Downtown Waterfront on the ultimate day of the ALAS twenty first Nationwide Schooling Summit.
“We’re honored to acknowledge certainly one of our founding members with the Lifetime Achievement Award,” stated ALAS Government Director Ulysses Navarrete. “Carlos Garcia’s dedication and management in serving to traditionally marginalized college students, specifically Latinos, throughout his over 40-year profession is actually an inspiration to all within the subject. He demonstrates a “si se puede” perspective in all that he does and is a residing instance that if we wish to see change, we have to get off the bench and into the sport.”
Garcia served as a superintendent for 16 years in 4 distinctive faculty districts: Sanger USD (CA), Fresno USD (CA), Clark County SD (NV) and San Francisco USD (CA) earlier than retiring in 2012. In 2003, he was a founding member of the nationwide ALAS, in addition to the California Affiliation of Latino Superintendents and Directors (CALSA). He served as an ALAS board member from 2003 to 2006 and as President Elect in 2009, as President from 2010 – 2011, and as Previous President from 2012 – 2013.
Throughout his greater than 37-year profession in training, Garcia constructed a powerful observe report for enhancing pupil achievement and narrowing the achievement hole by way of his work as a trainer, principal, central workplace administrator and chief in classroom instruction. Along with his position as superintendent, he taught at Rowland Unified Faculty District (La Puente, CA) and Chaffey Joint Union Excessive Faculty District (Ontario, CA) earlier than occurring to function a principal for colleges within the Pajaro Valley Unified Faculty District (Watsonville, CA) and SFUSD’s Horace Mann Center Faculty.Â
Garcia is the recipient of the 2005 Nevada Superintendent of the 12 months Award and the 2010 Ferd Kiesel Memorial Distinguished Service Award amongst many different awards and accolades.
Garcia has a ardour for serving city, underserved youngsters. Rising up in a Los Angeles barrio himself, he made this his mission in training and in life. He’s a transformational nationwide chief and is a torchbearer for fairness and social justice for all college students and their communities.Â
The ALAS awards acknowledge people and organizations for his or her extraordinary training management and advocacy round points impacting the training of Latino and different traditionally marginalized college students. Different award recipients embody Superintendent of the 12 months Dr. Debra Duardo, Central Workplace Administrator of the 12 months Joanne Fimbres, Principal of the 12 months Carlos Ramirez, Advocacy Award winner Dr. LeAnne Salazar-Montoya, ALAS Scholar of the 12 months Dafnee Marquez Padilla and ALAS Affiliate of the 12 months Arizona ALAS.
The ALAS Nationwide Schooling Summit is the affiliation’s flagship management improvement and networking occasion for directors at colleges and districts that serve primarily Latino and different traditionally marginalized youth. The occasion focuses on addressing challenges within the training system, significantly these impacting Latino college students, and supplies a discussion board for contributors to interact in significant discussions and determine options that may be utilized all through the business. The theme of this 12 months’s Summit is “Embracing Tomorrow, Fostering Tradition, Driving Change, and Selling Collaboration.”
For extra details about ALAS, go to www.alasedu.org.
Concerning the Affiliation of Latino Directors & Superintendents (ALAS)
The Affiliation of Latino Directors and Superintendents [ALAS] is dedicated to offering a perspective to all aspiring faculty and district directors, together with superintendents, by way of packages, companies, advocacy and networks rooted in Latino experiences and tradition. Our Imaginative and prescient, Mission and Targets are to supply management on the nationwide degree that assures each faculty in America successfully serves the academic wants of all college students with an emphasis on Latino and different traditionally marginalized youth by way of steady skilled studying, coverage advocacy, and networking to share practices of promise for our college students and the communities the place we serve.
By the 12 months 2026, Latino youngsters will make up 30 p.c of the school-age inhabitants. Within the nation’s largest states – California, Texas, Florida, and New York- all of whom are ALAS State Associates – Latinos have already got reached that degree. It’s of significant curiosity to put money into the training of each little one, and the skilled studying of all educators who serve Latino youth.