After a unanimous 5-0 vote of the Anaheim Elementary School District Board of Education (AESD), Christopher Downing has been selected as the District’s next Superintendent, effective July 1. Downing currently serves as Local District Superintendent for the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) in the southern region of the city.
“This is a special moment for me and I am thankful to the members of the AESD Board for their confidence,” said Downing. “While I will miss my LAUSD families and colleagues, I am excited for the work ahead and look forward to serving the Anaheim community.”
Downing’s appointment follows an extensive and highly competitive recruitment process which garnered significant interest from across the state yielding 44 applicants, including several sitting Superintendents.
“This is an exciting day for our District,” said AESD Board President Jackie Filbeck. “While the candidate pool was extremely impressive, Mr. Downing’s experience is the match we were looking for. The Board’s recent visit to LAUSD only confirmed our belief that he is the right person to lead Anaheim Elementary School District.”
Downing began his career with LAUSD in 1989 as a classroom teacher and has served in various site and district level leadership roles including Principal, Instructional Director, Administrator of Parent and Community Services and Coordinator of Specially Funded Programs. He was recently named 2018 Superintendent of the Year by the Association of California School Administrators Region XIV.
“On behalf of the L.A. Unified family, I want to congratulate my dear friend and colleague Local District South Superintendent Christopher Downing on his selection as Superintendent of the Anaheim Elementary School District,” said Los Angeles Unified School District Interim Superintendent Vivian Ekchian. “Mr. Downing has served our District, our students and families for nearly 30 years as a consummate educator and an inspirational leader. As the superintendent of ‘Super South,’ he has focused on early literacy, personalized instruction and parent and community engagement programs that have become models for success. He also has established high quality learning opportunities to ensure that our graduates are prepared for college and 21st century careers. Mr. Downing’s abilities, leadership and indomitable enthusiasm will be missed by his students, parents, colleagues and friends. We all join together in wishing him the very best in his new position. I know he will be a superstar for the Anaheim school community.”
Downing earned his Bachelor’s degree from the University of California, Los Angeles and his Master’s Degree in Educational Leadership from Pepperdine University. He is currently pursuing his Doctorate in Educational Leadership from the University of Southern California.
