CARLSBAD — After a nearly nine-month search, the Carlsbad Unified School District has appointed Andrea Norman as its new superintendent.
Norman officially assumed the role on June 16 and held a kickoff event with staff at the district office, where she introduced herself and outlined her priorities.
“It’s overwhelming how welcoming everyone has been,” Norman said during her first superintendent report at the June 18 board meeting. “People have been here a very long time – this is a very special place, and I feel so fortunate to be a part of it.”
Norman brings more than two decades of experience in public education. She spent the past six years at Oceanside Unified School District, serving first as director of human resources and then as associate superintendent of business services.
Her career began in 1997 as an elementary school teacher in the Los Angeles Unified School District, where she taught second through fifth grades for more than six years. She transitioned to school administration in 2001, working as an assistant principal and later as an elementary school principal in the Temecula Valley and Saddleback Valley Unified School Districts for over a decade.
She also served three years as director of K-12 curriculum and instruction for the Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School District.
Norman holds a doctorate in education from the University of Southern California, a master’s degree in educational administration from California State University, Dominguez Hills, and a bachelor’s degree in broadcast journalism from CSU Long Beach.
She is an active member of several professional organizations, including the Association of California School Administrators, the American Association of School Administrators, the California Association of School Business Professionals, and the California Association for Adequate School Housing.
According to the district, “Norman has established a track record of strategic leadership in TK-12 education and selfless service to students, staff and families.”
The Carlsbad Unified board voted to appoint Norman as superintendent in April. The district’s previous superintendent, Ben Churchill, left in December after eight years to lead the Poway Unified School District.
Rick Schmitt served as interim superintendent until Norman’s arrival. During a June 11 board meeting, Schmitt thanked district leaders for the opportunity.
“If you need a little help, you got my number,” he said.
