On July 3, 2007 Dr. Richard Vladovic was sworn in as a
School Board Member for the Los Angeles Unified School District. Board Member Vladovic serves in LAUSDÕs
Board District 7 which spans from Jefferson High School South to San
Pedro. Dr. Vladovic is also proud
to represent the independent cities of Lomita, Gardena, Carson in his board
district.
Dr. Vladovic and his wife Kathy, a Special Education
Assistant in San Pedro, are parents of two children who are teachers in the Los
Angeles Unified School District.
Dr. Vladovic has made education his lifeÕs work. His focus has been on increasing
student achievement in the Los Angeles Unified School District.
Dr. Richard Vladovic has been involved in the education of
children since the late1960s. He started out as a Social Studies teacher at
Stephen White Junior High School in Carson, CA, where he also coordinated the
schoolÕs Gifted and Talented program and taught in the Leadership and
Opportunity Room. From White Junior High, Dr. Vladovic moved on to become the
General Secondary and Gifted Advisor for grades K-12 in the Los Angeles Unified
School DistrictÕs Region A office. In this position, he was able to coordinate
and support 70 K-12 schools, as well as supervise curriculum development,
budget review and the disbursement of funds for the Region office.
After a couple of years as an advisor, Dr. Vladovic accepted a position as
principal of AngelÕs Gate Continuation High School – the first of several
administrative positions he has held in schools facing special challenges. He
then became Principal of three other schools including Locke High School in
South Central Los Angeles. In each of these positions, he focused on academic
excellence and implemented innovative educational programs tailored to the needs
of his populations. These programs included the establishment of school wide
reading programs, the creation of a Career to Work program for at-risk students
and the creation of a Wall of Fame to recognize distinguished Alumni. The
teachers and staff at Dr. VladovicÕs schools were also supported, with programs
like a New Teachers Academy and ÒClassified RecognitionÓ to let everyone know
they were important.
As an administrator in the LAUSD Narbonne/San Pedro Cluster, Dr. Vladovic
continued his quest for excellence working closely with school and district
personnel to improve student achievement. While an administrator with the
District Professional Development Program, he helped to develop a new Emergency
Credential and Special Education Teacher Training Academy. A pioneering
achievement during his tenure with the LAUSD was the implementation of data
driven monitoring to assist Clusters in effective instruction. Through the use
of data, he was able to facilitate the effective monitoring and redesignation
of ELL students to mainstream English programs for which he received a State
commendation.
In July of 2000, Dr. Vladovic was selected to head the newly formed Local
District K made up of 72 schools serving almost 70,000 children. He immediately
began building on the foundation of previous successes by implementing
significant reform in the critical areas of professional development, reading
and math achievement. These reforms, coupled with overall accountability at all
levels, allowed the children of District K to accelerate their achievement in
unprecedented ways. When District K was formed, many students were performing
below the national average in all subject areas on standardized tests. Three
years later, almost all elementary students were achieving within the expected
range for their grade level – and many well above!
Of course, test scores are only one of the many measures of success. Under Dr.
VladovicÕs guidance, District K had several schools recognized at both the
state and national level; over 70 National Board Certified Teachers;
outstanding Arts programs that brought professionals in every artistic genre to
classrooms and allowed children to showcase their talents; and perhaps most
importantly, the support, trust and goodwill of parents and the community at
large.
In 2003, Dr. Vladovic was named Superintendent for the West Covina Unified
School District. In this capacity, he reported directly to the five member
Board of Education and was directly responsible for all aspects of leadership
and management required to run a district with 14 schools, 11,000 students and
an operating budget of $70 million. Dr. VladovicÕs unwavering commitment to
children resulted in almost half of the schools in the district becoming
California Distinguished Schools, National Blue Ribbon Schools, or Title 1
Achieving Schools.
A hallmark of Dr. VladovicÕs career has been his willingness to implement
innovative, effective programs and strategies that enhance both the quality and
quantity of learning within the schools he supervises. During his tenure at
WCUSD, he worked with teachers implementing structured reading programs,
instituted benchmark assessments for student learning in English Language Arts
and Math, and increased the number of students taking AP Exams by ten percent.
The result of these measures was that the district as a whole achieved the
highest growth rate in Los Angeles County on the Academic Performance Index
(API) in 2004.
Dr. Vladovic also proudly served in the Army and retired from the United States
Army Reserves at the rank of Infantry Major. During his time in the military,
he also served as a Commander, Brigade Race Relations Officer, and Staff
Officer.
Throughout his career, Dr. Vladovic has been primarily
concerned with student progress. To this end, he worked to establish effective
partnerships with elected officials, business and community-based organizations
in order to improve educational programs at school sites. Dr. Vladovic honestly
cares about children and strongly believes that all the adults in an
educational community, from teachers and parent, to faculty and staff to the
Superintendent and School Board, bear the responsibility of ensuring that our
students are really learning: that they are growing, thinking, and stretching
the boundaries of their abilities every single day as we help them along the
path to meeting their full potential.