Karla Estrada

Deputy Superintendent of Instruction, Los Angeles Unified School District

Karla V. Estrada, Ed.D. has spent over 25 years as an educational leader delivering on educational excellence and opportunity for all students. A proud graduate of Los Angeles Unified School District, she currently serves as the school district’s Deputy Superintendent of Instruction. In the second largest school district in the country, Dr. Estrada leads a team of committed district and school leaders focused on attaining the educational outcomes of the over 560,000 diverse students of the Los Angeles community. In partnership with families, students, and staff, she is responsible for the day to day and long term instructional efforts with the aim of boldly meeting the strategic goals set by the Superintendent and Board of Education that ensures students are Ready for the World!

Previously, Dr. Estrada was the Chief Academic Officer of the Council of the Great City Schools, a national organization supporting and advocating for the largest urban school districts in the nation. Dr. Estrada has also served as the Deputy Executive Director for the California Collaborative for Educational Excellence (CCEE), a statewide agency charged to lead instructional improvement and transformation support provided to school districts and charter schools, especially those addressing academic inequities among student groups. Dr. Estrada worked collaboratively with national content experts and other state agencies such as the California Department of Education, County Offices of Education, and Special Education Local Plan Areas. Before working at CCEE, Dr. Estrada served in Boston Public Schools as the Deputy Superintendent of Academic and Student Support for Equity Team (ASSET), which included the offices of the Opportunity and Achievement Gap, English Learner Supports, Special Education Services, Social Emotional Learning and Wellness, and Academics and Professional Learning.

As a daughter of immigrants, graduate of an alternative education program, and a student that once experienced homelessness, she believes deeply in the power access to educational excellence can have in ensuring all children attain their greatest potential.