Another top employee is slated to leave San Diego Unified in the wake of former Superintendent Terry Grier.
Arun Ramanathan, who came to San Diego Unified with former Superintendent Carl Cohn and became chief student services officer under Grier, is leaving the school district to lead the Education Trust West, an Oakland-based nonprofit focused on closing the achievement gap.
While in San Diego, Ramanathan spearheaded the effort to educate children with disabilities in mainstream classrooms instead of diverting them to separate classes. Here are more details from the press release:
Before coming to San Diego, Arun was the Research Director for the Office of the Independent Monitor in the Los Angeles Unified School District, where he oversaw the design and implementation of large-scale research studies, including work on the over-identification of African-American and Latino students in special education. He has worked as a general and special education teacher and paraprofessional and as a Volunteer in Service to America (VISTA) in rural Appalachia. He has published research on education policy and practice in several journals, including Teachers College Record and the Phi Delta Kappan.
Ramanathan will begin the new job in November. His exit will follow that of Grier and Deputy Superintendent Chuck Morris, who announced his resignation last month.