Starting July 1, 2016, Dr. Benjamin Churchill will take over as superintendent of the Carlsbad Unified School District (CUSD). He will replace Dr. Suzette Lovely, who announced her retirement last January. Churchill currently serves as the chief academic officer for the Community School District in Algonquin, Illinois that has about 21,000 students.

His career in education began after spending six years teaching English in China and since then has worked as an assistant superintendent of teaching and learning, high school principal, associate principal of curriculum and instruction and a high school English teacher.

“For the students who don’t choose to go to college,” Churchill said. “I’d like to help them find a viable career path so that they can feel good about what they’re doing after high school.”

In terms of technology, Churchill has experience from his current position that he hopes to bring to the community of Carlsbad. The school district he’s coming from started one-to-one pilots with iPads and Chromebooks a few years ago at the high school level and are currently planning to expand into the elementary and middle schools.

“Large-scale technology deployment is something I have experience in,” Churchill said. “I’m enthusiastic to see what’s going on in Carlsbad.”

Churchill, his wife, and their two school-age daughters are planning to relocate to the Carlsbad area this summer. His daughters are going into 1st and 5th grade.

“My wife and I had identified early on that if we had the opportunity to come San Diego County or Southern California, we would take it,” Churchill said. “I feel very fortunate to have been chosen by the board to be a part of this school district.”

Something very important to Dr. Churchill is the need to ensure that students remain very well-rounded in their education. As someone who used to be involved in school plays and the marching band, Churchill appreciates the community’s continual support of the arts and athletics.

“I want to help students find more ways to get more involved with the community, aside from just going to school,” Churchill said. “We really need well-rounded leaders as we talk about preparing for the future.”