end of her 34-year career with the district<\/a>, officials said.<\/p>\n\u201cThe decision to retire has not rested lightly with me because there is so much more to do,\u201d Baker said in a video statement. \u201cAt the same time, I hold deep trust in those who are here and those who will come next. I have confidence in the strength of this community, and I know that the Long Beach Unified School District is a place that continues to grow stronger with time.\u201d<\/p>\n
Board of Education President Diana Craighead commended Baker\u2019s career.<\/p>\n
\u201cDr. Baker has led Long Beach Unified with integrity, vision, and deep humanity,\u201d Craighead said in a written statement. \u201cHer commitment to students, staff, and community has strengthened our District and positioned us well for the future.\u201d<\/p>\n
Baker said she began her career with the district as a teacher at Burnett Elementary, now Bobbie Smith Elementary, in 1992.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat amazing class of students taught me every bit as much as I taught them,\u201d Baker said. \u201cMost of all, they reinforced my view of education and the power of belonging, representation and excellence for young people \u2026 Through each professional shift, I have drawn on my first year classroom experience with students.\u201d <\/p>\n
Baker went on to serve as principal, assistant superintendent and finally superintendent.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile the responsibilities of each position have changed, the importance students hold in my life and work has never changed: Students at the center with each decision,\u201d Baker said. \u201cFor over 34 years, I have loved, held pride in, and worked hard for the Long Beach community.\u201d <\/p>\n
Baker will serve as superintendent through the end of the 2025-2026 school year. <\/p>\n
\u201cMore information regarding transition planning and opportunities to honor her service will be shared in the months ahead,\u201d district officials said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"LONG BEACH, CA \u2014 The superintendent of the Long Beach Unified School District plans to retire at the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":142256,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[131,133,132],"class_list":{"0":"post-142255","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-long-beach","8":"tag-long-beach","9":"tag-long-beach-headlines","10":"tag-long-beach-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/142255","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=142255"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/142255\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/142256"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=142255"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=142255"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=142255"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}