Santa Ana School District Gets 1st Latino Chief

Rudy Castruita, who rose from a limited-English El Monte kindergartner to earn a doctorate at USC, was named Tuesday as the first Latino superintendent in the heavily Latino Santa Ana Unified School District.

The board chose Castruita, 44, to succeed Edward S. Krass, who submitted his resignation last week for health reasons. Krass, 58, is recovering from knee replacement surgery last month and is scheduled to undergo the same operation on his other knee in March.

Castruita came to the district 3 years ago as assistant superintendent of the secondary division, was promoted to associate superintendent last year and had been serving as acting superintendent since Krass’ operation.

His 3-year contract specifies a yearly salary of $85,000.

Until his retirement June 30, Krass will serve as adviser to the board.

According to district officials, the Santa Ana Unified School District serves 40,000 students who speak 40 different languages and dialects. About 75% are Latino. The district has the largest enrollment in the county, the ninth largest in the state.

‘A Great Opportunity’

“I’m anxious, I’m nervous,” Castruita said. “It’s a great opportunity. I just feel extremely positive about it.

“The challenge ahead is to provide schools for the overcrowded situation in Santa Ana, to provide good instruction and teach kids self-esteem.”

Born in Monterey Park, Castruita was raised speaking Spanish by his grandparents in El Monte, he said.

He received athletic scholarships to Utah State University in Logan, and earned a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in education. In 1981, he earned a doctorate in education administration from USC.

He worked as teacher and administrator in the El Monte Union High School District and was principal of Los Alamitos High School before joining the Santa Ana Unified School District.

Last year he was appointed to the state superintendent’s Advisory Committee on Hispanic Affairs, and was chairman of the Santiago District of the Boy Scouts in Santa Ana.

Castruita lives in Hacienda Heights with his wife, Jean, an English teacher in a La Puente parochial school, and their two children, Chad, 16, and Natalie, 12.

Education is the key to success, he said. “I believe I serve as a role model to all kids whether they’re Hispanic, Black or Asian.”