LAUSD and Zacarias Made Way Together

Deputy Supt. Ruben Zacarias is the Los Angeles Unified School District’s No. 2 official and its highest-ranking Latino.

The 67-year-old Chatsworth resident boasts a 30-year career in the nation’s second-largest school district that began with a teaching job in his childhood neighborhood of Boyle Heights. And most recently his name has been pushed by Latino activists as the successor to retiring schools Supt. Sid Thompson.

Zacarias’ grandmother raised him after his mother died of pleurisy and his father returned to Mexico to work in the family movie production business. His grandmother stressed education as a priority, but first Zacarias would have to master English, since Spanish was his first language. He eventually succeeded, going on to college at USC where he earned a film degree and, years later, a doctorate in education.

Zacarias started his career with L.A. Unified as an elementary substitute teacher at Breed Street School, the same Eastside school he attended as a child. He later returned as its principal.

In 1993, Zacarias lost a bid to take the helm of the school district when Thompson was named superintendent. After Thompson announced plans to retire last year, Zacarias’ name entered the discussions as a prime candidate for the job.

Latino activists have aggressively promoted Zacarias as the obvious choice to lead a district whose student population is 67% Latino, threatening to protest if he is not selected.

Zacarias currently is among those being discussed for the superintendent post.