'The right person'

BCSD appoints an alum – and a CSUB alum – its next superintendent

By California State University, Bakersfield

March 25^th, 2021

Teachers in the Bakersfield City School District had a huge impact on Mark Luque as a child.

At Mount Vernon Elementary School and Sierra Junior High, teachers believed in him and encouraged him to dream big. Their support was particularly impactful because his parents, while also supportive, didn’t make it to college.

“I grew up with a tight-knit group of friends. Not all of them have been as successful in their lives,” Luque said. “I really attest a lot of my success to my teachers.”

That story makes all the more poignant – and no doubt informs -- Luque’s appointment Tuesday night as superintendent of BCSD, the largest K-8 school district in California.

The triple CSUB alum assumes the role July 1 unless current Superintendent Harry “Doc” Ervin, who is headed for the San Bernardino City Unified School District, leaves early.

The BCSD board elevated Luque from deputy superintendent without even conducting a search.

The combination of his prior administrative experience at the district, record of collaboration with board members and staff, and support for teachers made him the right choice, said Pam Baugher, the BCSD board president and a retired classroom teacher.

“We really felt he was in a position to step up and move into the superintendent role, and that it would help provide a good flow, especially in these crazy times we’re in with the pandemic,” Baugher said.

Bakersfield Elementary Teachers Association President Steven Comstock also praised the appointment, including the decision to forgo a search.

“If you have the right person and they’re already on board, why wouldn’t you?” Comstock said. “He knows the landscape. He’s helped build it.”

Luque got his start in education after earning his bachelor’s degree in history from San Diego State in 1998. He taught first through third grade in the Delano Union School District for five years before promoting up, first to vice principal at La Vina and Cecil Avenue middle schools and then, in 2006, to principal of Albany Park School.

Then he moved over to the Delano district office, starting as director of academics in 2010 and assistant superintendent of educational services in 2012. BCSD hired Luque as director of curriculum and standards in 2014 before elevating him to assistant superintendent of educational services in 2016 and deputy superintendent in 2020.

Along the way, Luque earned credentials in 2001 and 2005 and a master’s degree in education in 2004 from CSUB, making it possible for him to move up in administration.

“It was a really, really positive experience,” he said. “The professors did a great job of engaging us, working with us and supporting us through our program.”

At BCSD, Luque has been a “huge advocate” for several important district initiatives and for preserving academic freedom for teachers, said Comstock, the teachers union president.

He’s championed the Family and Community Engagement Department, which includes wellness centers that promote physical, mental and emotional health, and Parent University, which offers parents classes and other opportunities to get more involved in their kids’ education.

And Luque supported maintaining educational freedom for teachers during implementation of Common Core standards, which outline what students should know when during their academic journey, he said.

“Veteran teachers went from no standards to ‘97 standards to Common Core,” Comstock said. “He was really good at bridging the divides.”

BCSD includes 34 elementary, seven middle and two junior high schools plus a children’s center and community school, according to its website. It has nearly 23,000 elementary school students and about 8,100 junior high or middle school students.

Almost 90 percent of its students are socioeconomically disadvantaged, according to the site, and 25 percent are English learners.

So it’s big and has a lot of challenges.

Luque said his most immediate challenge and opportunity will be transforming instructional programs post-pandemic, “recognizing we have an opportunity to do school differently, recognizing that our kids are going to venture into adult life differently than we did.”

BCSD plans to phase in in-person instruction for all students who want to come back throughout April.

Longer-term, Luque is excited to build on ongoing initiatives to promote STEM instruction and connect students to local job opportunities, with the hope they will stay in Kern County.

“And how are we addressing the needs of the whole child, making sure we have a balance between the need for instructional programs and ensuring kids have solid mental health and social-emotional support?” he said. “Those are our challenges.”