Evelyn G. Alemán is a native Angeleno who is founder and CEO of Our Voice: Communities for Quality Education, a nonprofit organization that advocates for Latino and Indigenous immigrant families in LAUSD.
The sudden resignation of Supt. Alberto Carvalho earlier this week is a significant loss for the Los Angeles Unified School District, especially its immigrant families.
Much of the media coverage of Carvalho’s exit has focused on the FBI raid in February that resulted in him taking an administrative leave. But among the families served by Our Voice, the nonprofit I founded advocating for Latinos and Indigenous immigrant parents in public education, there were only expressions of deep sadness, including text messages with weeping emojis.
At a time when immigrant communities have come under attack by the Trump administration, the most vulnerable families in L.A. Unified lost a superintendent who gained their trust and made their safety his priority. Now, the district must work to preserve the bonds that Carvalho built.
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The former superintendent’s announcement came as a surprise, because just last March, he asked the Board of Education to reinstate him. Many parents had hoped his absence would be temporary.
For immigrant families who saw Carvalho as a fearless advocate willing to protect them from a federal government determined to extract them from their communities, the resignation has done two things: quiet the voice of a strong supporter and serve as a reminder of what could happen to those who dare to speak up in their defense.
In January 2025, ahead of the June raids on immigrant communities by federal authorities, families with Our Voice met with Carvalho to share concerns about impending threats to their safety and make recommendations on how the district could protect their children on campus.
Carvalho put aside his superintendent hat and spoke to the families as an immigrant himself. Upon learning of their fears and lived experiences, he vowed to keep their children safe at schools that would remain protected learning environments.
Mariel Garza
Parents left that meeting with something truly special: trust in their superintendent. Trust is hard-won among immigrant populations who often fall prey to fraud and misinformation, and Carvalho overcame those barriers. Now, without Carvalho’s strong advocacy at L.A. Unified, families are worried about what the future may hold for their children amid continued, amped-up federal action. Many wonder how this might affect their children’s sense of safety and ability to learn.
Still, there’s hope. The school board quickly appointed Andrés Chait, a longtime district official who has filled in for Carvalho since February, as the new superintendent. Our Voice families have interacted with Chait extensively through the various important roles he’s had at the district, from teacher to acting superintendent.
As an advocate of immigrant families, I’ve personally reached out to Chait regarding challenges parents face within their local school communities, including immigration, student bullying, special education and other issues. I’ve always found him not only responsive, but more importantly able to address these challenges and follow through.
After he was named acting superintendent, Chait immediately reached out to and met with Our Voice to sustain the relationship with parents initiated by Carvalho and continue to receive feedback about our areas of concern. This was a great sign that gave us hope.
Paul Thornton
As a parent of two LAUSD alumni and an advocate, I’ve experienced the work of 12 superintendents. Each had their distinct style and approach to the work. However, in all of these years, Carvalho was by far the best at engaging, supporting and openly advocating for immigrant families. This was and is meaningful given the fact that 74% of the children who attend district schools are Latino, and families continue to be deeply concerned by the federal government’s anti-immigrant actions. Chait has vowed to continue supporting immigrant families, and this will be critical moving forward.
In Carvalho’s absence, LAUSD will do well to heed the concerns and challenges faced by these families – in other words, listen to their voices. While his departure creates a void, it also provides an opportunity for the district to prove that its support for immigrant families reflects its values as an institution and not just those of a single leader. Chait can now build on Carvalho's hard-won successes.
As for our families, they are resilient and will move forward as long as there is leadership willing to engage them.
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