Andrea Castañeda, Salem-Keizer Schools' New Superintendent: Hopes and Challenges for Our Students

Andrea Castañeda, Salem-Keizer’s new school superintendent, returns to Oregon where she was raised in some of the small towns of southern and central Oregon. She now leads Oregon’s second largest school district with approximately 39,000 students. She follows Christy Perry who retired after seven years as superintendent. Andrea’s educational experience of 20 years includes state and district cabinet-level administrative responsibilities. She served for 15 years as Deputy Commissioner in the Rhode Island Department of Education. For the last five years she served in the cabinet of the Tulsa, Oklahoma public schools. Andrea graduated from Brown University with a bachelor's degree and earned a master’s degree from Harvard’s Graduate School of Education. She continues to participate in national programs for aspiring and talented educational leaders. From her comments and interviews Superintendent Castañeda believes in the power of public education and its ability to help lift students and communities to a more equitable and just society. Besides fielding questions from Salem City Club members, Superintendent Castañeda will be speaking about her assessment of where our schools are and where they need to be.