Carlos A. Garcia

Watch an interview with Carlos Garcia

Carlos A. García was named Superintendent of the San Francisco Unified School District in July 2007. Prior to his appointment, he served for two years as Vice President of National Urban Markets for the McGraw-Hill Education Group. Before joining the private sector, Mr. García was an experienced superintendent. He served as superintendent for five years of the 5th largest and fastest growing school district in the nation, Clark County School District located in Las Vegas, Nevada. Under his leadership, the district grew by over 12,000 students a year and he averaged opening a new school every month. Mr. García was raised in Los Angeles and is proud to be a product of Los Angeles Unified School District. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from Claremont Men's College in Claremont, California. He earned a master's degree in education from Claremont Graduate School and an administrative credential in educational administration from California State University at Fullerton.

Prior to his superintendency in Las Vegas, Mr. García's experience was centered in California where he taught in Rowland Unified School District, La Puente, CA and Chaffey Joint Union High School District, Ontario, CA. He also worked as a principal at several schools in Pajaro Valley Unified School District, Watsonville, CA and San Francisco Unified School District. While in San Francisco Unified School District, he had the privilege of serving as the principal of a National Blue Ribbon School, Horace Mann Academic Middle School. Additionally, Mr. García served as the superintendent of Sanger Unified School District and as the area superintendent and then the superintendent of Fresno Unified School District. Carlos has been married for 28 years and has two children.

Mr. García’s return to the superintendency in San Francisco, after serving two years in the private sector, clearly demonstrates his commitment and dedication to education. Mr. García’s self is illustrated by the action of serving kids. He returns with a passion to assure the success of all children and to make educational systems responsive to their needs.

Mr. García is known for being a student advocate who truly believes that his job is to work for kids. He has been a K-12 educator for 30 years and has a reputation of being a catalyst for change. Wherever he has worked, he has always instituted major changes that have resulted in increased student achievement. He serves on numerous boards and foundations and is aggressively sought after as a speaker known for his innovative ideas on change theory and education. In 2005, Mr. García was recognized as the State of Nevada's Superintendent of the Year for his outstanding leadership in unifying the entire K-12 community under one statewide educational master plan.

Mr. García believes that the achievement gap is the greatest challenge facing American education and therefore instruction and curriculum must be the driving force to address achievement, access, and accountability.