Dr. Randolph E. Ward was hired as the Executive Director of Teach For America in October 2018. At TFA San Diego, he has led the team in a strategic shift to accelerate the impact of the organization. He also consults with the California Collaborative for Educational Excellence (CCEE) as a systems coach for school districts in distress.
Dr. Ward retired as the San Diego County Superintendent of Schools in November 2016, after having served since August 2006. At the San Diego County Office of Education (SDCOE), Dr. Ward led the organization in completing its first formal Strategic Plan. As part of that planning process, he and the SDCOE staff worked with educational and community leaders throughout the county to cra the specific elements of the new Strategic Plan. Areas of emphasis included digital literacy, leadership development, closing the achievement gap, and ensuring global workplace readiness for all students.
Prior to being named San Diego County Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Ward was the state-appointed administrator of the Oakland Unified School District, from June 2003 until 2006. Under his leadership, student test scores in Oakland Unified increased significantly, with the largest increase in the Academic Performance Index (API) of any unified school district in the state. In addition, drop-out rates in Oakland Unified declined, attendance increased district-wide, enrollment in Advanced Placement courses and the University of California and California State University-required course sequence increased, and school crime decreased significantly. He was credited with closing a multi-million dollar budget shortfall, as well as generating unprecedented community involvement in the school system. During his tenure in Oakland the district passed a $430 million facilities bond measure, gaining 77 percent of the vote.
Prior to his tenure in Oakland, Dr. Ward was the state-appointed administrator in the Compton Unified School District from November of 1996 until June 2003. In Compton, Dr. Ward is credited with restoring fiscal and academic solvency to the struggling school system. Compton Unified was $20 million in debt and had the lowest test scores in California when Ward was appointed. Under his leadership the district’s infrastructure was rebuilt from the ground up. Student test scores increased five consecutive years, administrative overhead was reduced, and new alliances with the community were formed. In June, 2001, Compton Unified made history by becoming the first school district taken over by the state to repay its bankruptcy loan. Prior to the Compton position, Dr. Ward served as an elementary school principal and then an area superintendent for the Long Beach Unified School District in California.
Ward’s education career began in the fall of 1978, as a preschool teacher in his hometown of Boston. Fluent in Spanish and English, he has also taught in Colombia and Venezuela.
Dr. Ward has a B.S. from Tus University in Early Childhood Education and Mental Health, an Ed.M. in School Leadership from Harvard and another in Educational Administration from the University of Massachusetts. He also has an Ed.D. in Policy, Planning and Administration from the University of Southern California, Los Angeles.