LA’s Cortines speaks his mind
LA Superintendent Ramon Cortines
If Ramon “Ray” Cortines ever hesitated to say what he thinks, he seems, at age 78, to have lost any fear.
Friday, the head of the Los Angeles Unified School District spoke in Denver about lessons learned in a career in education that spans 50 years – from his first job in 1956 teaching 44 sixth-graders in a California classroom to heading five urban school systems, including New York City.
Cortines is no stranger to Colorado, having advised, in various ways, three Denver Public Schools superintendents – Jerry Wartgow, Michael Bennet and Tom Boasberg. He also preceded, and then succeeded, former Colorado Gov. Roy Romer in LA’s top schools job.
He has taught and been a principal at every level – elementary, middle and high school – but he described himself in an interview Friday with Education News Colorado as “more non-traditional than any non-traditional