Biography

Jill Baker, Ed. D.

Superintendent of Schools
Long Beach Unified School District

Dr. Jill A. Baker, Superintendent, Long Beach Unified School District

Dr. Jill Baker has served as the superintendent of the Long Beach Unified School District (LBUSD) since August 2020. With 34 years in LBUSD, Dr. Baker worked 28 of those years as a successful teacher, principal, and central office administrator before becoming LBUSD’s first female superintendent.

Dr. Baker’s appointment occurred during the earliest months of the global COVID-19 pandemic, and LBUSD went on to become the first large school district in California to reopen campuses for in-person learning. As part of the District’s recovery work, Dr. Baker led the development of LBUSD’s Learning Acceleration and Support Plan, bringing together state and federal recovery funds to provide the best possible learning opportunities for students. In support of this work, the Board of Education adopted an Excellence and Equity Policy and implemented the Black Student Achievement Initiative. Dr. Baker also guided the restructuring of Board of Education meetings to align them more closely with student outcomes. She launched the Superintendent’s Student Advisory Committee (Raising Student Voices and Participation), resulting in student voices being elevated in settings traditionally occupied by adults. This work led to the introduction of an elected and paid student board member position in 2022.

Additional accomplishments during her tenure include the passage of a $1.7 billion facilities bond in 2022, the launch of LBUSD’s 2024–2029 strategic plan: Creating A Better Future Together, and the opening of the Center of Black Student Excellence in 2025. Dr. Baker has also overseen the District’s transition to structured literacy in all elementary schools; expansion of dual enrollment, dual language programming, and college-and career-readiness initiatives; and the development of an English Learner Master Plan.

Prior to becoming superintendent, Dr. Baker served six years as deputy superintendent of schools. She led the implementation of the principal supervisor learning community, a multi-year effort focused on educational excellence and equity through improved coaching and support for principals. Her leadership development work has been recognized nationally, and she has been credited with helping to build a high-quality leadership pipeline that will benefit local schools for years to come. She has also authored several nationally published articles on LBUSD’s work, particularly on leadership development.

Earlier in her career, Dr. Baker held various assistant superintendent positions and served as the District’s chief academic officer, overseeing major system improvements including increased elementary promotion standards; a collaborative K–12 walk-through process for school visitations; refinement of standards-based report cards; the launch of Transitional Kindergarten; and co-leadership of the principal evaluation system development team.

Dr. Baker began her career in 1992 as a teacher at Burnett Elementary School (now Smith Elementary) before serving as principal of Garfield Elementary School from 1998 to 2005. She then spent 14 years as a central office administrator. A teacher at heart, Dr. Baker continues to spend much of her time in schools, maintaining a strong in-the-field perspective and close connections with teachers, students, and administrators.

Dr. Baker has earned numerous awards and accolades, including the Education Champion Award from the Mayor’s Fund; the Distinguished Alumna Award from the CSU Long Beach College of Education; and the Secondary Education Award from the Long Beach Branch NAACP. In 2025, she was nominated for Los Angeles County Superintendent of the Year. She is also a recipient of the Golden Apple Award for Administrators from the Teachers Association of Long Beach and the Woman of Distinction Award from Soroptimist International. She currently serves as secretary on the Council of Great City Schools executive board.

Dr. Baker completed her fellowship in the Broad Urban Superintendents Academy in 2005. She earned her doctoral degree in educational leadership from the University of Southern California in 2004, her master’s degree in school administration from California State University, Long Beach in 1998, and her bachelor’s degree in sociology from the University of California, Irvine in 1991.

Dr. Baker was born at Beale Air Force Base in Marysville, California. Her parents met in Japan while both were working on a U.S. Air Force base. Her mother was a teacher for the Department of Defense, and her father was an Air Force officer. They later settled in Santa Cruz, California, where Dr. Baker was raised until she left for college.

She is the proud mother of an LBUSD graduate, and she is married to Trevor Baker, also an LBUSD graduate.

Updated November 12, 2025