Azusa Unified leader is LA County Superintendent of the Year

Azusa Unified School District leader Dr. Linda Kaminski (pictured at right) is the first school district leader to be honored with the new Los Angeles County Superintendent of the Year award presented by the County Office of Education. Kaminski heads the 8,700-student Azusa Unified School District.

Los Angeles County schools chief Debra Duardo presented the award at the annual Superintendents Professional Collaborative Conference held in Pasadena. “This new award pays tribute to the talent and vision of our district leadership,” said Duardo, superintendent of the County Office of Education. The award recognizes an individual’s leadership for learning, excellence in communication, professionalism and dedicated community involvement.

Kaminski was chosen from a field of 21 nominees submitted by school and district administrators and
governing board members from across the county. She was nominated by Norma Camacho, principal of Azusa USD’s Clifford Murray Elementary School.

“Dr. Kaminski has demonstrated an incredible ability to lead our district toward improving student
achievement,” Camacho wrote in her nomination. “Her expertise in English Learner Development has driven our efforts to improve learning outcomes for some of our most disadvantaged students.”

Kaminski joined Azusa USD as its superintendent in 2012. Her accomplishments include establishing
college and career pathways at secondary schools in Health Science, Engineering, Early College Education and International Baccalaureate. During her tenure, Azusa Unified has developed annual initiatives and goals to expand implementation of the California Standards and increase academic rigor. She has played an active leadership role at the state level, currently serving as vice president of the Association of California School Administrators. She is also the only school superintendent on an advisory group to the State Board of Education tasked with developing a single, coherent local, state and federal accountability system.

Kaminski began her education career in 1984 as a bilingual classroom teacher at Pasadena USD. She
later served as chief academic officer in the Santa Ana and Santa Monica-Malibu school districts and as assistant superintendent in Upland USD.