Mike Muñoz bears the lofty title of superintendent-president of Lengthy Seaside Metropolis School. However he nonetheless sees himself in a lot of his college students who’ve navigated hardscrabble lives to pursue increased training.
Muñoz, who grew up in Whittier and Anaheim, turned homeless at age 17 and moved 10 instances in 5 years trying to find a spot to dwell. He went with out meals or electrical energy at instances, scrapping to make ends meet with low-wage work. He turned a single guardian at age 20. Then, he got here out as a homosexual man and have become estranged from his father.
His experiences overcoming obstacles that impede faculty success have fueled his deep ardour to interrupt these limitations down.
“I see it as my superpower,” he stated of his struggles. “It permits me to be radically empathetic and radically compassionate to individuals who have had these experiences. It actually grounds me in my management.”
Uncover the changemakers who’re shaping each cultural nook of Los Angeles. This week we carry you The Disruptors. They embrace Mattel’s miracle maker, a contemporary Babe Ruth, a vendor avenger and extra. All are agitators seeking to rewrite the foundations of affect and governance. Come again every Sunday for one more installment.
Muñoz, 47, is nationally acknowledged for enhancing tutorial outcomes at Lengthy Seaside, one of many state’s largest group faculties. Two-thirds of its 34,800 college students are low earnings; Latinos make up 53% adopted by whites at 14%, Black college students at 13%, Asians and Filipinos at 11% and multiethnic college students at 8%.
Progress amongst Black and Latino college students is especially putting, with rising enrollments and persistence charges, which means extra college students continued their research after coming into as an alternative of dropping out. The variety of first-time Black college students in search of a certificates or diploma elevated by 30% in 2022-23 over the earlier yr. Persistence charges rose by 12%. The share of Black college students who accomplished their program or transferred to a four-year establishment stays low — 10% — however that’s up from 6% in 2017.
For Latinos, enrollment elevated by 21%, persistence charges by 5.8% and program completion charges by 27% in 2022-23 in contrast with the earlier yr, in accordance with faculty knowledge.
Muñoz has aggressively tackled obstacles to achievement since becoming a member of Lengthy Seaside in 2018, first as vice chairman of scholar providers, then superintendent-president in 2021. Earlier than that, he spent 13 years at Rio Hondo School and Santa Ana School in counseling, fairness and scholar success.
Muñoz is aware of firsthand that college students want help to succeed. He and his workforce have offered extra campus jobs utilizing unspent federal work examine awards; free after-school care for kids of scholar mother and father; a meals pantry, tutorial sources, a brand new Black scholar success middle and tailor-made helps for males of coloration, who’re at better danger of dropping out.
Lengthy Seaside was one of many first California faculties to offer its parking construction as a secure house for college students dwelling of their autos, as Muñoz did in earlier years. He was an early advocate of dropping placement checks for entry into transfer-level math and English programs, saying they have been biased in opposition to underserved college students; Black scholar completion charges of these English programs have soared from 9% in 2018 to 25% this yr whereas Latino charges grew from 12% to 35%.
At instances, his relentless push for change has drawn criticism. However Munoz says he views his status for upending the established order as a “badge of honor.”
