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Fresno Unified, the state’s third-largest school district, named interim superintendent Misty Her to the permanent role Wednesday, ending more than a year-long, contentious process to select a leader for a school system that many say needs to improve student outcomes and rebuild trust in the community. 

The board voted 6-1 in closed session to select Her, keeping her at the helm of the 70,000-student district with over 15,000 employees. Trustee Susan Wittrup who cast the sole “no” vote said Her does not have a “proven track record of action, urgency and accountability with accelerating academic achievement.”

Late last school year, the school board picked Her, who was then a deputy superintendent in the district, to lead the district on an interim basis while the search for the permanent position went on. The board will approve Her’s contract at the April 30 meeting.  

“We are not waiting for change to happen,” Her said after her selection. “We are leading it, and I am proud to be the leader at the helm of this critical work.” 

As interim superintendent, Her established two district-wide goals: improving student outcomes and achieving operational excellence, “recognizing that our district was not progressing because we lacked focus and clarity districtwide,” board president Valerie F. Davis said.

In January, the school board expanded on those by setting five-year student achievement goals to:

• Increase the percentage of first graders proficient in literacy
• Support elementary and middle school students with underachieving reading test scores to accelerate their reading skills and close achievement gaps
• Raise the percentage of students graduating from high school who are considered college and career ready
• Build and equip students with essential skills, such as communication, collaboration and critical thinking

Moving forward, the district will align its actions with those board-set goals, monitoring programs’ and initiatives’ “academic return on investment,” Her told EdSource during an interview in early April. 

So far, Her’s own plans have included implementing, measuring the effectiveness and monitoring the progress of the district’s recently-launched Every Child Is a Reader literacy initiative to achieve first-grade reading proficiency for students, two years before third grade, when future success is predicted. 

Also a part of her tenure, Fresno Unified gathered state, district, school and student data to identify and prioritize ways to enhance learning for each child while also focusing on historically underserved student groups, such as English learners and students with disabilities, who have significant achievement gaps compared to other groups. 

This school year, educators have been able to adapt teaching and leadership strategies based on real-time data via a district dashboard, including data-informed and data-driven instruction. 

But Her has had to hand down a tough decision by deciding to eliminate a nearly $30 million program that provides additional instruction to students but shows inconsistent results. 

‘I am this district’

Her’s entire 32-year career has been in Fresno Unified where she’s held many positions, including a bilingual instructional aide, teacher, school administrator, districtwide leader and deputy superintendent in 2021.

She became the nation’s highest-ranking Hmong education leader as deputy superintendent, then as interim superintendent — and now as superintendent.

“I know this district because I am this district,” Her said. “My story, like so many of our students, began in hardship, but it is fueled by hope.” 

Born in a prisoner-of-war camp in Laos, Her’s family escaped to a refugee camp in Thailand after the end of the Vietnam War before eventually coming to the United States and settling in Fresno when she was a young child. Both her parents worked as custodians cleaning Fresno Unified classrooms where she, as a student, later “learned to read, to dream and to lead.”

“As an immigrant who overcame language and cultural barriers,” according to the district, “Misty understands the challenges many of our students face and is committed to ensuring every student has the opportunity to succeed.” 

Of the more than 92% of Fresno Unified students who are from ethnic minority groups, around 6,500 are Hmong. Behind Spanish, the Hmong language, which was only developed in written form less than 75 years ago, is at over 10%, the second most common home language of Fresno Unified’s English learners. 

“My lived experience — the struggles, the barriers, the perseverance — are not liabilities,” Her said. “They are my greatest leadership strengths.” 

Wednesday’s selection concludes a long process

While members of the Hmong community thanked the board for its “care” and “diligence” in the search process and commitment to diversity with Her’s hiring, some criticized the board for making closed-door decisions without community engagement.

The search process in its early months was engulfed in community angst about an alleged lack of transparency and accusations that the process had been tainted by politics, EdSource reported.

Respondents to a Fresno Teachers Association survey of teachers and school staff indicated that they’ve lost trust in the school board, “not because of the person you chose but because of the process that you led,” said Manuel Bonilla, president of the teachers union.

“This isn’t just about process; it’s about trust,” Bonilla said. “It’s about a pattern of closed-door decisions.”

In January 2024, then-superintendent Bob Nelson announced his resignation to start a tenure-track position at Fresno State after his last day on July 31. 

The school board considered both internal and external candidates in the search for a new superintendent — only after weeks of community outrage. 

On March 20, 2024, the board’s 4-3 decision to interview internal candidates before deciding how to proceed with the search process sparked community anger. Details of the closed session were leaked to the media, pushing the board to reverse course on April 3 and postpone already scheduled interviews. 

In May 2024, to avoid rushing the search process, the board named Her to the interim role, to “maintain momentum.” 

Naming Her as interim superintendent wouldn’t restore community trust, Bonilla warned. 

“You had the chance to build public trust through transparency and inclusion,” he said. “Instead, you allowed what many people thought was a secretive process.” 

While the superintendent’s job description and criteria as well as other aspects of the search process were presented at public meetings where community members could comment, some people expected more participation in the search process, especially following last year’s alledged lack of transparency. 

The teachers union, for example, requested a community forum for finalists, which didn’t occur. Candidate applications and interviews have remained confidential behind closed-door sessions. 

In other places across the country, applications and interviews of those applying for a superintendency are open to the public because of state legislation. 

According to the district, the board in its national search accepted applications from candidates from several states, in which Her’s “depth of experience, unparalleled skills and dedication to the students of Fresno Unified make her the ideal person to assume the top leadership role for Fresno Unified.”

“This next chapter is not about politics,” said board president Davis during a press conference announcing Her’s selection. “It’s about our 70,000 students and their families. It’s about building on the progress we have made while boldly charting a new path forward: one that demands excellence out of every student, every classroom, every teacher, every school, every neighborhood we serve.”