A new superintendent of instruction for the mayor’s Partnership for Los Angeles Schools has been recently appointed.Angela Bass, a top administrator in the San Diego Unified School District, was chosen by Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa to oversee the six campuses included in his partnership.In the last five years at S. D. Unified, Bass helped institute a district-wide math program, which raised math scores faster than Los Angeles.L.A. Unified is known for low proficiency scores among students in both English and math.”Without a strong command of expressive language at both the social and academic level,” explained Bass, “our students will continue to be challenged by high-level writing tasks, standardized testing and accessing entry into college-level classes.” Helping teachers, administrators and parents are all goals Bass has for L.A. Unified.”Our plan is to get to know members of the school community and work with schools to determine the effectiveness of current curriculum and instructional practice,” said Bass. For the majority of the last two years, Bass has headed a program that oversees teacher training and designs school-reform plans.”One crucial component to supporting teachers and staff will be to assist in the building of relationships,” said Bass.As far as English is concerned, S. D. Unified students outperform those in L.A. Unified. In her nearly 30 years of senior administration experience, Bass has “led a turnaround that others around the country are now trying to emulate,” said Villarigosa.Bass was once a principal known for turning around tough schools, which led to her success at supervising 21 elementary schools – including many of the district’s worst-performing campuses.”The skill I am most proud to bring to any educational context is my ability to build relationships that allow me to listen clearly to the school community in order to base social, emotional and instructional next steps from there,” said Bass.Her salary will be $185,000, and will be paid by the mayor’s fundraising efforts. Villaraigosa has raised more than $50 million for the Partnership for Los Angeles Schools.”She’s going to prove to be an extraordinary asset,” said Alan Bersin, a member of the state Board of Education.
