County Superintendent Announces Retirement, Accepts Position With AVID

After serving as the county’s chief K-12 public education officer for almost a decade, Riverside County Superintendent of Schools, Kenneth M. Young, announced Wednesday, that he will be retiring from his elected post on January 4, 2017, to assume the position of Chief Division Support Officer and California Senior Division Director for the international non-profit organization, AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination), the largest and most successful college readiness system in the country.

“In reality, the work I will be engaged in at the AVID Center is a national expansion of the college and career readiness focus for all students I have been advocating and supporting across our region as County Superintendent through the Riverside County Office of Education,” said Riverside County Superintendent of Schools, Kenneth M. Young.

Superintendent Young came to the Riverside County Office of Education in 2004 as Riverside County Deputy Superintendent of Schools after a number of assignments in the Lake Elsinore Unified School District between 1995 and 2004, including Deputy Superintendent of Schools. In 2007, he became the 11th Riverside County Superintendent of Schools in the 114-year history of the office when he filled the remaining term of previous Riverside County Superintendent of Schools, David Long. He was subsequently elected to the position in 2010 and 2014. His current four-year term expires in January of 2019. Preceding his employment in California’s public school system, he spent 18 years in the field of civil engineering construction—14 of which as president and CEO of a private engineering construction firm.

The AVID National Headquarters, located in San Diego, California, provides professional learning for educators to improve college readiness for all students, especially those traditionally underrepresented in higher education. Its aim is to eliminate the achievement gap by preparing all students for high standards, college readiness, and success in a global society. AVID's College Readiness System had its start at the secondary school level and now includes work in elementary, middle schools, and postsecondary institutions.

As both Chief Division Support Officer and California Senior Division Director, Young will be responsible for helping to build and expand high-performing AVID systems at all levels across the country.

Some of the countywide initiatives and accomplishments in Riverside County during Superintendent Young’s leadership since 2007 include:

• Increasing Academic Achievement – focusing educators throughout Riverside County on raising the graduation rate to 87.4%, third highest among comparable counties in California
• Innovative and Entrepreneurial Approach to Educational Programs and Services – Establishing seven Regional Learning Centers to provide alternative education options to students, launching the Comeback Kids Program to provide former dropouts with a second chance to earn a high school diploma, developing the School of Career Education to provide career and technical training to students beyond high school, establishing the Leadership Institute of Riverside County to grow and develop leaders among the 18,000 educators in the county, and launching campuses in Moreno Valley and Indio for the military-themed charter school, the Riverside County Education Academy (RCEA).
• Growing Community Engagement and Partnerships Focused on Student Success – Representing educators and students as a leader in the Coachella Valley Economic Partnership, Western Regional Council of Governments, and a wide variety of local, regional, and statewide boards and committees. Convening educators and community leaders through the Riverside County African-American Achievement Initiative to release an action plan to focus on the elimination of the achievement gap. Spearheading the efforts of the Riverside County Education Collaborative (RCEC) that was recognized in 2014 by President Obama for its efforts to proactively grow the college attendance and completion rate of area students.
• Advocating for Schools in Sacramento and Washington –With approximately 430,000 students, Riverside County has the 4th largest regional K-12 public education system in California—larger than the entire educational system of 17 states. Superintendent Young’s leadership on a variety of groups included, but is not limited to: Public Schools Accountability Act Advisory Committee, California Collaborative for Educational Excellence, California County Superintendents Educational Services Association, California College Guidance Initiative, Cal Baptist University School of Education Leadership Development Council, and the Cal State University San Bernardino Doctoral Advisory Committee.
• Leading the Riverside County Office of Education and the 23 Districts in Riverside County – Transitioning districts through the economic challenges of the great recession, expanding professional development opportunities for all educators—from new superintendents to beginning teachers, introducing the formation of the Center for Teacher Innovation, implementation of the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) and the Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP), introducing the new California State Standards curriculum, and leading the 1,600+ employees at the Riverside County Office of Education.

The elected Riverside County Superintendent of Schools serves as both the chief executive officer of the Riverside County Office of Education (RCOE) and the superintendent of schools for the county’s preschool through 12th grade segment of that system—the 4th largest in the state. The County Superintendent leads the 1,600+ employees at RCOE in working with each of the county’s 430,000 students, almost 18,000 classrooms, over 450 schools, and 23 school districts to help ensure all students receive a high quality education, graduating from high school well prepared for the workplace and for college.

– By Craig Petinak, Office of the Riverside County Superintendent of Schools