San Diego Unified names 2 finalists for superintendent job

Speaker 1: (00:00)

Two finalists have been selected in the search for a new superintendent for the San Diego unified school district. The names of the finalists were announced at last night's school board meeting, Dr. Lamont Jackson, who's been serving as interim superintendent is now in the running for the permanent position and an educator from Washington state. Dr. And Enfield is in consideration for the post. The two will face a wide open community examination as part of the final selection process. And joining me as KPBS education reporter mg Perez and mg. Welcome back. Good to be here. How long has San Diego unified been without a permanent superintendent? Well, you

Speaker 2: (00:40)

Will remember, uh, that Cindy Martin was the superintendent and in may of this year, she was appointed to the Biden administration. So at that point, that is when Dr. Jackson stepped in as interim. So since may, basically, although they had been planning for this before that, so this old process has been going on probably since early, uh, earlier in the year, like February,

Speaker 1: (01:05)

The position of San Diego school superintendent is one of the most important education jobs in the state. Isn't it? It

Speaker 2: (01:11)

Is because of the size of it. We are the second largest, uh, school district in the state. And just so much that is going on here in this community and being close to the border and the, the, the element that, that adds, uh, to education and so forth. So people look to San Diego, um, when it comes to education. So this position is very important and Dr. Jackson, uh, has been with the district for a long time. And, uh, it was exciting to see that he has, uh, been named one of the finalists.

Speaker 1: (01:40)

Yeah, he has been with the district for a long time. Can you tell us how he came through the ranks?

Speaker 2: (01:45)

He started as a student. I don't think you can get more veteran than that. Uh, having graduated as a student, he, uh, also had the position of a teaching assistant. He was a coach and, uh, of course in administration, he has been principal of Montgomery challenger and Wagonheim middle schools. Uh, and then he also worked in, in the administration office and human resources. So most recently he was an area superintendent before being named interim. So he has a pedigree of over 30 years, uh, with this district.

Speaker 1: (02:16)

And Dr. Susan Enfield has a different resume. Her career has taken her through school districts in the Pacific Northwest.

Speaker 2: (02:23)

What they both have in common is that they were teachers. And I think that's an important talent to have is the, the ability to have said I've been in a classroom and been with these students. Uh, Dr. Enfield was a high school teacher in English and journalism. And, uh, she also has been an interim superintendent for the Seattle district at one and point.

Speaker 1: (02:45)

And she's named superintendent of the year by the Washington association of school administrators.

Speaker 2: (02:50)

Yes, she does have a list of awards and, uh, has been very involved in school administration, which is very important obviously for this position.

Speaker 1: (02:59)

But one big difference is the, the size of the school district that she's been superintendent of and the size of San Diego unified.

Speaker 2: (03:09)

So San Diego unified, uh, generally has about 120,000 students. And the district that Dr. Infield represents only has thousand. So that is quite a difference. What will be interesting is to find out what it is that the search committee found about her interview that impressed them enough to have her come and be a finalist.

Speaker 1: (03:32)

And what are some of the biggest challenges facing the next San Diego school superintendent?

Speaker 2: (03:37)

It's all about the COVID, um, as you know, uh, masks, no masks, uh, the mandate that is coming up is, uh, scheduled to technically go into effect at the end of January, which is the beginning of the next semester. And the question will then become those students who don't meet that mandate will have to go to virtual learning. But as we know, there's a shortage of teachers and virtual learning, and the academy has already been short staffed. So that will be a big, um, challenge for the superintendent.

Speaker 1: (04:07)

And you're talking specifically about the vaccine mandate.

Speaker 2: (04:10)

That's correct. And that vaccine mandate is for eligible students 16 and up, and they have to have been fully vaccinated by the start of the second in January. And had they followed the guidelines, the second shot of the vaccine would've had to been taken by the end of this week. And

Speaker 1: (04:28)

The public will get a chance to question both of these finalists before the selection. Tell us about

Speaker 2: (04:33)

That. Oh yes, they will. And this is unusual. It is going to be a January 10th, a Monday, and it's to be a full day of public input and questions, it'll start at a breakfast meeting and then they will, uh, name a couple of school sites where both candidates will appear and will be open to questions. Uh, and then it will all end in the evening with a, uh, community forum, uh, with both of the candidates, again, speaking to a wide audience.

Speaker 1: (05:00)

I, and when is the San Diego unified school board hoping to name a new superintendent shortly

Speaker 2: (05:06)

Thereafter, uh, the state of the district speech is scheduled for January 18th, and we expect that the new superintendent will deliberate

Speaker 1: (05:15)

And mg. I don't wanna let you go before I ask you a question about this news today that San Diego unified student are gonna get, I don't know, what can you call it a curious holiday present from the school district before they leave for the holiday vacation?

Speaker 2: (05:29)

Actually, that is true up to 98,000 students will be provided a kit of, uh, two COVID 19 antigen rapid test that they will take home for the holidays. And then they will have to be to test themselves, obviously to check their status before returning to a school. These tests are being provided by the California department of public health and will be distributed this week, uh, before break, uh, to

Speaker 1: (05:54)

All schools. I've been speaking with K PBS education reporter mg Perez mg. Thank you. Thank you.

Speaker 3: (06:09)

I.