Los Angeles

Students and Colleagues Remember Former LAUSD Leader Michelle King

What to Know

  • The former schools superintendent died Feb. 2 at age 57
  • She began her education career as a teacher's aide and ascended to the top spot at the Los Angeles Unified School District
  • The public service is scheduled for 10 a.m. Friday

Funeral services were held Friday for Michelle King, who began her education career as a teacher's aide and ascended to the top spot at the Los Angeles Unified School District in January 2016, becoming the first black woman to lead the nation's second-largest school district.

King went on medical leave in September of the following year, then announced in January 2018 that she was battling cancer and would not be returning to her job. She died on Feb. 2. She was 57.

A public memorial service for King took place at the Trinity Baptist Church Friday at 2040 W. Jefferson Blvd. in Los Angeles, where former students and colleagues celebrated the life of the district's first black female superintendent alongside family.

"She was the consummate professional," LAUSD school board President Monica Garcia said of King. "Her door was always open to the children and the adults who served them."

Copyright CNS - City News Service
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