Seeking Justice in San Francisco

This article discusses the life of Carlos A. Garcia, superintendent at the San Francisco Unified School District. Garcia was born in Chicago, but his parents shortly thereafter moved back to their homeland of Mexico for a few years. When Garcia was almost 5, his family moved to Los Angeles, where his parents worked in factories and Garcia was immersed in the barrio, a tough neighborhood that had high poverty and crime. His potentially rough life started to change when he was in seventh grade at Wilmington Junior High School. Student government advisor Rita Steele saw potential in him and told him he was a leader, pointing out that he was friendly with everyone, from "tough kids" to special education students. Prior to his post in San Francisco, Garcia had been a school superintendent for 11 years in other districts. In 2005, he left district leadership and became vice president of National Urban Markets at McGraw-Hill Education. His job was designed to help large school districts improve student performance through excellence in instruction, curriculum and assessment. In July 2007, Garcia became SFUSD's chief, returning to the district where he had been a middle school principal two decades ago. He says "To be honest, I like the fight; I like the stress; I like the challenges; I like solving problems. And I'm a big believer in social justice." By "social justice," he means racial equality. He points to AP or honor classes and how there are more Asian and white students in those classes compared to minority students.