Calvin E. Gross; Educator, Ex-New York City School Chief
Calvin E. Gross, who spent two controversial years as superintendent of schools in New York City, has died at his home in San Antonio, Tex., where he had been superintendent of a nearby school district.
His brother, Kenneth Gross of Solana Beach, Calif., said the nationally known educator was 67 and died Saturday of leukemia.
Gross’ tenure in New York City (1963-65) was marked by struggles toward integration. When the Board of Education asked for his resignation, board members were said to have concluded that Gross had failed to provide the type of leadership those trying years required. Civil rights leaders had complained that the integration process was failing to meet scheduled guidelines.
Gross, who held undergraduate and graduate degrees from UCLA, USC and Harvard, became dean of the School of Education at the University of Missouri-Kansas City after leaving New York, and in 1978 was named superintendent of Alamo Heights Independent School District near San Antonio.
Besides his brother, his other survivors include his wife, Bernice, a daughter, two sons and a sister.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
