NGUOI VIET
GARDEN GROVE, Calif. ― Gabriela Mafi had the advantage that many incoming school district superintendents don’t have: working directly under her mentor for almost five years, learning from a respected, proven leader and seeing for herself just what it takes to do the job.
Gabriela Mafi. Photo from Garden Grove Unified School District.
But that’s just what Mafi, the new superintendent of the 48,000-student Garden Grove Unified School District did, training under Laura Schwalm, who announced her retirement early this year effective at the end of the 2012-13 school year. Schwalm had worked in the district for 40 years, serving as the superintendent the past 14.
“I learned so much from [Schwalm] than I can hold in my head,” Mafi said. “She … balanced many aspects in the district and made Garden Grove a special place to be.”
Schwalm left big shoes to fill, indeed. It was, after all, under her leadership that Garden Grove won the $500,000 Broad Prize for Urban Education in 2004, which recognizes the most outstanding urban school district in the U.S. in terms of improvements in student achievement while reducing gaps in achievement among ethnic groups and between high- and low-income students.
Confident in Mafi’s ability to take over for Schwalm, the board of education of the Garden Grove district moved quickly to appoint Mafi. At the time of her appointment last February, Mafi was serving as assistant superintendent of secondary education ― a position she had held since 2009.
“Gabriela has the knowledge and passion to work in this district and to support the success of our students,” said George West, president of the board of education. “The board carefully followed its prescribed succession plan and thoughtfully listened to a variety of viewpoints in selecting the best leader to guide this district as it builds on the strengths and accomplishments of the past and faces the challenges of the future.”
Mafi started with the district in 2002 as principal of Rosita Elementary School, then transitioned to director of personnel. She also served as director of 7-12 instructional services. She left the district for a year to serve as executive director of the education doctorate program at USC’s Rossier School of Education.
Other members of the school board agreed that she was the best choice for the job.
“We are honored that Gabriela is our superintendent as she is the right person for role. She has the experience of leadership to help this district succeed,” said Bao Nguyen. He said Schwalm “may have set the bar, but Gabriela will reach that bar and has the expectations to raise that bar even higher.”
“Gabriela has what it takes to fit the role,” said Lan Quoc Nguyen, vice president of the board of education. “There isn’t anyone else we had in mind but Gabriela to help with the board’s goals.”
Mafi will be in charge of overseeing the district’s modernization, with an emphasis put on improving technology. She also wants to concentrate on keeping the district’s test scores high, especially as a new standardized state test comes next spring.
“With high test scores, the students will be most likely to succeed in their future education and careers,” Mafi said. “Our main focus is to keep students on the right track with their personal goals and to support them whenever we can.”
She also intends to listen to the community and the board to learn about their wishes for the district’s direction. She said she knows she got a good head start with assistance from Schwalm, who tutored Mafi from the time of Mafi’s appointment until she officially assumed the role on July 1.
“I will take what I learned from Laura and combine it with my knowledge to help this district to reach our annual goals,” Mafi said.
A native of Los Angeles, Mafi received her bachelor’s degree from Cal State Long Beach and her master’s and doctorate degrees in Urban Educational Leadership from USC. She and her husband, Eugene, have two children.
The district has 70 schools and serves most of Garden Grove and portions of Anaheim, Cypress, Fountain Valley, Santa Ana, Stanton and Westminster.
Nguoi Viet 2 staff writer Tam Nguyen contributed to this report.
