GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. — Gwinnett County Public Schools has a new candidate to lead its 180,000 students, a New York City educator who built her career in some of the country’s most diverse classrooms.
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Dr. Alexandra Estrella, currently superintendent of Norwalk Public Schools in Connecticut, was named sole finalist for the top job at the largest school district in Georgia. Estrella would be stepping from a district of around 11,000 students into one 16 times larger.
She says the size of the job is not lost on her, and neither is what it demands.
“It is very important to me that all students, regardless of their background, have the opportunity to access high-quality education,” Estrella said. “Making sure that the system sets processes so that all students can excel and thrive. That is very front and center for me.”
She started as a science teacher in Washington Heights, founded a dual language school, and ran a district inside the New York City system before moving to Connecticut.
The Gwinnett County Board of Education conducted a national search and gathered input from thousands of students, parents, and educators.
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Board Chair Dr. Tarece Johnson-Morgan said Gwinnett’s achievement gaps made the priority obvious.
“We have gaps around our special needs population. We have gaps around our Black students and Hispanic students,” Johnson-Morgan said. “We were really focused on intentionally finding the right person who could really close the gaps that we have.”
Estrella said Norwalk became the highest-performing city school district in Connecticut during her tenure. Her tenure also included a budget shortfall that required city and state intervention, and the local teachers’ union reportedly issued a vote of no confidence in her leadership.
“When I came to Norwalk Public Schools, they had a declining graduation rate and we were able to turn that around and that was no easy feat given that I came in the midst of the pandemic,” Dr. Estrella said. “Like in any fiscal year where funding is limited, we had lost a lot of funding through the pandemic, and we needed to make some tough choices.”
Johnson-Morgan said the board hired an outside firm to vet the candidates and found no surprises.
“With her experience, her authenticity, and her honesty, we believe we can work together and move forward,” she said.
Georgia law requires a 14-day waiting period before the board can vote to formally hire her.
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