Sally Coughlin, 65; L.A. Unified Official Pushed School Clinics

Sally Coughlin, 65, a veteran administrator in the Los Angeles Unified School District who helped establish a network of school-based health clinics, died June 10 of ovarian cancer at her San Pedro home.

Before her retirement four years ago, Coughlin was an assistant superintendent who oversaw student health and human services for the district.

She encouraged the growth of the campus-based clinics, which now number more than 30 and annually serve as many as 100,000 students.

She aggressively sought partnerships with medical provider organizations and was always concerned about “how health played into the ability of kids to learn,” said John DiCecco, director of the district’s student health partnerships program.

Coughlin taught school in Peru as a member of the Sisters of Charity before joining L.A. Unified in 1970 as an elementary teacher. By 1981, she was principal of Fries Elementary School in Wilmington.

Coughlin was promoted to assistant superintendent in 1985 and associate superintendent in 1986, when the district was grappling with overcrowded classrooms, and she helped devise solutions that included year-round operation of many campuses.

She later supervised schools in the San Fernando Valley and oversaw elementary education.