LAUSD District 5's Man Behind the Scenes

David Estrada lives in and works for the east side of Los Angeles. He serves as Senior Policy Advisor to newly elected Los Angeles Unified School school board member Bennett Kayser. Elected in July, Kayser represents LAUSD District 5 which includes parts of Echo Park.

The child of teachers, Estrada chose not to be an educational practitioner despite the family ties. After studies at Occidental College and USC, he headed for the policy side of things. However, he says that teachers and policy makers alike “all come back to the same goal--student achievement.”

Estrada calls Echo Park a “microcosm of LAUSD.” He sees a neighborhood that is diverse, grappling with keeping its enrollment up, improving performance and occupied with the discussion over charter schools. Keyser’s own experience as both a teacher and resident of the neighborhood informs his work on the school board.

The school board may not always stir up interest, but Estrada points out that the LAUSD touches every city resident in some way. From construction of new schools to test scores, the results of educational policy matter. “It’s  important to know who your member is,” he says. Voting is vital. It affects how tax dollars are spent. Home values can depend on the quality of the schools. “It’s as local as it gets,” Estrada comments.

For those with children in the schools, Estrada encourages further involvement. Citizen participation is important and “we don’t want to see the same ten faces” at every meeting.

In Echo Park, he says, one can “see the fruit” of educational policy changes. Estrada himself is aiming to put down roots and buy a home in one of the northeastern neighborhoods of the city. He enjoyed proximity to the Silver Lake Reservoir, especially. And he cannot help but add that citizens should know who their school board member is “and hold that person accountable.”