PASADENA, Calif.—The Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA), Pasadena Chapter, welcomes the appointment of Dr. Brian McDonald as Superintendent of the Pasadena Unified School District (PUSD), and congratulates him on his appointment. The Pasadena ANCA board has in the past worked closely with Dr. Brian McDonald on the Genocide Education Project as well as matters concerning Armenian American students in PUSD, and will continue to do so in the future.
The Pasadena Unified School District (PUSD) Board of Education voted 7-0 to appoint Interim Superintendent Brian McDonald, Ed.D., as Superintendent at its Nov. 20 meeting.
Since joining PUSD as Chief Academic Officer in Oct. 2011, Dr. McDonald spearheaded the district’s magnet school program, oversaw the closure of the achievement gap in the cohort graduation rate, expanded the district’s popular dual language immersion programs, led the early implementation of the new Common Core State Standards and placed a strong emphasis on research-based professional development for all employees. Dr. McDonald has been serving as PUSD Interim Superintendent since Aug. 1, 2014.
Dr. McDonald has a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from the University of Houston-Downtown, Texas, and a Master’s in Education Administration from Texas Southern University. He earned a certification in principalship from Harvard Graduate School in 2002, and a Doctorate in Educational Leadership from Sam Houston State University in 2010.
Dr. McDonald replaces Jon Gundry who departed PUSD to become Superintendent of the Santa Clara County Office of Education on July 31, 2014.
The ANCA, Pasadena Chapter will be looking forward to evolving their relationship with Dr. McDonald and would like to wish him every success as superintendent.
