Alberto Carvalho’s resignation as superintendent closes a turbulent chapter for Los Angeles Unified schools, but it does not necessarily mean the nation’s second-largest school district is about to change course.
After more than four years in which Carvalho made academic recovery the pillar of his leadership, he leaves behind a complicated legacy: rising test scores and attendance gains, a federal investigation that overshadowed his final months, and a district already facing declining enrollment, budget pressure and calls for more collaborative leadership.
Interviews with education experts, labor leaders and community advocates suggest Carvalho’s resignation is unlikely to dramatically change the LAUSD’s direction in the near term.
Instead, the bigger question is whether the district will stay on the path Carvalho set and whether the next superintendent will lead differently.
In his resignation statement, Carvalho sought to define his tenure around academic progress. He pointed to gains in state assessment scores, graduation rates, Advanced Placement participation, nationally recognized magnet programs and reductions in chronic absenteeism. Those achievements, he said, belonged to students, educators, staff and communities.
Education experts said the district is unlikely to abruptly abandon that work.
Julie Marsh, a professor at USC’s Rossier School of Education, said Monday the board had already begun shaping the district’s direction during Carvalho’s leave by putting fiscal plans in place, moving ahead with labor agreements and other policies she believes it is likely to maintain.
“I think there are signs that the board is committed to continuing with some of the existing policies,” Marsh said. “It seems to me the board wouldn’t want to pick someone who’s going to come in and make a lot of big changes right now in a time of such fiscal uncertainty.”
Pedro Noguera, dean of USC’s Rossier School of Education, said Carvalho’s main strength was his ability to communicate the district’s priorities internally and externally, creating a sense of coherence across a massive system. But he said the LAUSD’s progress was never the work of one person alone.
“It’s a big system; it’s never one person that’s responsible,” Noguera said, adding that he does not expect the district to retreat from the work already underway or the progress it has made.
That view was echoed, in different ways, by people who praised Carvalho and those who criticized him.
Yolie Flores, a former LAUSD board member and president and CEO of Families in Schools, said Carvalho brought “discipline,” “focus” and “intentionality” to the district’s work, particularly for students furthest from academic progress.
She said the next superintendent should preserve the rigor in teaching and learning, Carvalho’s emphasis on family engagement and his willingness to publicly defend immigrant students and families.
“What I would hope remains, and what his legacy can be, is modeling that kind of leadership, so that all students make progress,” Flores said.
Flores said she regretted Carvalho’s departure and said it appeared the board had already begun moving on during the months he was on leave. But she said the district should not “slide back” from the academic momentum in recent years.
Flores was not alone. Our Voice: Communities for Quality Education, a nonprofit that advocates for Latino and Indigenous immigrant families, also praised Carvalho’s outreach to immigrant families, saying he “protected learning conditions for children” and gave Latino and immigrant parents a greater voice in district decision-making.
Others described Carvalho’s tenure more critically, saying the next superintendent should keep the academic focus but change the way the LAUSD is led.
Maria Nichols, president of Associated Administrators of Los Angeles/Teamsters Local 2010, which represents LAUSD principals and other school administrators, said Carvalho brought a needed focus on instruction as students returned from the pandemic and introduced a strategic plan emphasizing academic excellence, family engagement and operational effectiveness.
But she said administrators experienced his leadership as top-down and overly centralized, with too many initiatives imposed at once, contributing to heavy workloads and leaving principals with little autonomy.
Nichols said the structures Carvalho put in place are likely to continue, but she expects principals and school leaders will be given more flexibility and autonomy.
“I think the structures will continue because once you build structures, and they’ve been going now for five years, it takes time to undo them,” Nichols said. “But I think there’ll be more flexibility.”
She said the next superintendent will need to confront declining enrollment, resource realignment and possible school consolidation while rebuilding trust and collaboration with administrators and labor partners.
United Teachers Los Angeles, the union representing LAUSD educators, counselors and support staff, struck a similar note in a statement, saying Carvalho’s resignation “does not come as a surprise” after months of uncertainty.
The union urged the school board to choose a superintendent committed to public education, partnership with educators and families, and investment in schools and classrooms rather than outside contracts.
Rachel Wagner, an LAUSD parent and co-leader of the advocacy group Parents Supporting Teachers, said the next superintendent should rebuild trust by improving transparency around district spending and involving parents more meaningfully in decision-making.
While she acknowledged improvements in areas such as literacy and attendance during Carvalho’s tenure, she said parents in her group remained concerned about budget transparency and how the district decides where to invest its resources.
“All they want to see is more transparency and really around the budget, and they want just more clarity on how the district is spending the money on the positions,” Wagner said.
The next superintendent will inherit a district confronting declining enrollment, fiscal uncertainty, labor pressures and a long-term fiscal plan that projects thousands of position cuts and the possibility of school closures or consolidations.
It must also decide whether to launch a national search or select an internal candidate, including whether to choose acting Superintendent Andrés Chait.
Noguera described Chait as “a very seasoned, reliable administrator who knows the system well” and said he believes the district is “in good hands.”
Marsh said the board’s next decision will be consequential not only because of who is chosen, but because of the moment that person will inherit.
“This is a big event for our city and for the community,” Marsh said. “I think the board has an important role ahead in deciding who they’re going to select for the superintendent and for the future of our school system.”