“As the “CEO” of the Downey Unified School District, Dr. John Garcia sets the tone, charts the course and works closely with the board of education to continue to keep our school district on its level of excellency that administrators, teachers, parents, students and the community have come to expect.  

While being mindful of all the demands his position entails, Dr. Garcia is ultimately guided by his clear vision for the district.  He can often he be heard saying, “Our children deserve the best.” 
 
Under his leadership, Downey Unified School District has been visited by numerous teachers from outside communities to see how they can instill DUSD’s practices into their programs. DUSD has been featured on PBS for their “Character Counts” program, and just last week Google visited Lewis Elementary to show our students their new Google Expeditions AR Pioneer Program. When Google comes to visit your schools, you know your Superintendent is doing an amazing job!

Dr. John Garcia grew up in Downey and is a product of our local schools. He has a bachelor’s degree from Cal State Long Beach; elementary teaching credential with a bilingual teaching authorization in Spanish from Cal State Dominguez Hills; a master’s in education from Cal State Fullerton and an Executive Masters of Business Administration and his Doctor of Philosophy from the Claremont Graduate University.
 
It truly is my honor to present Dr. John Garcia, Jr. with the Mayor’s Healthy Heart Award for his commitment toward improving the health, well-being and future success for the students of the City of Downey.