Overview
Members of the Board of Education are nominated by geographic sub-districts and elected by the entire school district for a term of four years.
Although each board member technically represents the entire school district, schools and members of the public in a particular sub-district commonly address issues to the board member nominated by that sub-district. For this reason, nominating sub-districts, along with schools geographically located within them, are listed below for each board member. However, you may contact any board member for any purpose.
| View sub-district boundary map. |
Katherine Nakamura| • | Board President |
| • | Term Expires: December 2010 |
| • | Bio/School Listing Handout  |
Katherine Nakamura was elected to the Board in 2002 and 2006. She holds a bachelor's degree from SDSU in Linguistics and English Literature, as well as a certificate in applied Linguistics for teaching English as a Second Language. She received her law degree from the University of San Diego, where she worked as a member of the administration. She has been a member of the Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges, the National Association of College and University Attorneys, Police Use of Force Task Force and served as Vice Chair of the Union of Pan Asian Communities, as well as serving on boards of other community organizations. In 1999, working with other parents and community members, Mrs. Nakamura started a foundation at her children's school, Hearst Elementary. In August 2002, five acres of grass playing fields were opened at Hearst, the result of a four-year collaboration with San Diego City Schools and the city's Department of Park & Recreation. It was the parents of this organization and other community members who asked Mrs. Nakamura to run for the Board of Education. She and her husband, Kotaro Nakamura, have two sons, one who attends school in the San Diego Unified School District. They have lived in the College Area for 25 years.
Schools in Nominating Sub-District B
| Elementary | ||
| Adams | Franklin | Kumeyaay |
| Angier | Gage | Marvin |
| Benchley/Weinberger | Green | Miller |
| Clay | Hancock | Miramar Ranch |
| Cubberley | Hardy | Normal Heights |
| Dailard | Hearst | Scripps, E.B. |
| Dingeman | Jerabek | Tierrasanta |
| Fletcher | Jones | Vista Grande |
| Foster | Juarez | Wegeforth |
| Middle & Jr. High | ||
| De Portola | Lewis | Taft |
| Farb | Pershing | Thurgood Marshall |
| Senior High | ||
| Henry | Scripps Ranch | |
| Hoover | Serra | |
| Atypical/Charter | ||
| Health Sciences H.S. | Language Acad. of S.D. | Learning Choice Academy |
| Momentum M.S. | Tubman Village | |
John de Beck| • | Board Vice President |
| • | Term Expires: December 2010 |
| • | Bio/School Listing Handout |
John de Beck was first elected directly from the classroom to the Board to represent District C in 1990. He served as Board President and Vice President during his first term. Reelected in 1994, 1998, 2002, and 2006, he has been an active delegate to both the San Diego County School Boards Association and the California School Boards Association. At the CSBA, he has served on numerous committees, including the School Safety Committee, the Nominating Committee and the School-to-Work Committee, and chaired the Urban Schools Task Force. He also served on the Governor's School-to-Career Advisory Council. Mr. De Beck is active in the Association of California Urban School Districts. On the national level, Mr. de Beck has served as the Board's representative on the Council of Great City Schools and is active in the National School Board Association. Mr. de Beck attended San Diego City Schools in Point Loma and he received his bachelor's and master's degrees in business from San Diego State University. He holds lifetime multiple teaching and counseling credentials and he taught for more than 36 years. He also served as a counselor, resource teacher and curriculum administrator, and he taught business at San Diego City College for 10 years. Mr. de Beck has served many California school districts as a consultant in vocational education. In the community, Mr. de Beck is a member of the Balboa Kiwanis Club. He has written 10 curriculum guides and a computer applications textbook. He and his wife have seven children, seven grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. Their Bay Park house was designed and built by Mr. de Beck.
Schools in Nominating Sub-District C
| Elementary | ||
| Barnard | Dewey | Ocean Beach |
| Bayview Terrace | Explorer | Pacific Beach |
| Bird Rock | Grant | Sessions |
| Cabrillo | La Jolla | Silver Gate |
| Carson | Linda Vista | Sunset View |
| Chesterton | Loma Portal | Torrey Pines |
| Crown Point | Longfellow | Washington |
| Middle & Jr. High | ||
| Correia | High Tech | Muirlands |
| Dana | Montgomery | Pacific Beach |
| Senior High | ||
| Cortez Hill | Kearny Complex | Mission Bay |
| High Tech | La Jolla | Point Loma |
| Atypical/Charter | ||
| Audeo | High Tech High Media Arts | Preuss (UCSD) |
| Charter Sch of S.D. | High Tech Middle Media Arts | Twain, Main & Beach |
| High Tech High International | Kipp Adelante | |
Luis Acle| • | Board Member |
| • | Term Expires: December 2008 |
| • | Bio/School Listing Handout |
Luis Acle was elected to the Board of Education in November 2004. Mr. Acle is a long time resident of San Diego since moving here in the early sixties from Northern California. He graduated from Edison High School and earned his AA degree from Stockton Junior College. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree from San Diego State College and a graduate degree from Stanford University. Mr. Acle has had a California Lifetime Teaching Credential for over 20 years and has taught Chemistry, Math, U.S. History, Government, Geography and Spanish at most of the District's high schools and several middle schools. He earned the highest certification in Spanish from the U.S. Department of State.
Over the years, Mr. Acle has worked in the public sector as Finance Manager in the Office of the Secretary and Health, Education and Welfare; as advisor to a U.S. Senate committee and Associate Director for Public Liaison at the White House during the administration of President Ronald Reagan. In the private sector, he has been an international business consultant with Booz, Allen and Hamilton, working in ten different countries in industrial infrastructure.
Mr. Acle is the parent of three children, all of whom attend or attended schools in the San Diego Unified School District. The eldest went on to graduate from MIT and two currently attend high school.
Schools in Nominating Sub-District D
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Shelia Jackson| • | Board Member |
| • | Term Expires: December 2008 |
| • | Bio/School Listing Handout |
Shelia L. Jackson was elected to the Board of Education in November 2004. Ms. Jackson was born and raised in Smithfield, North Carolina, and graduated from Smithfield-Selma Senior High School. After graduation, she joined and served in the U.S. Navy for 21 years.
Ms. Jackson earned her Bachelor of Health Science from George Washington University. She received her teaching credential from Cal State San Marcos and a Masters Degree in Educational Leadership from National University.
Ms. Jackson taught at Bay Park Elementary School for eight years and served on various school and neighborhood committees including President of the School Site Council. Shelia Jackson served as Math Team Leader, Instructional Leader, and Institute Coordinator for the San Diego Math Project. She also coordinated the San Diego Math Olympiad for three years. Ms. Jackson is active in the community and is a member of the Coalition of Neighborhood Council, Bethel AME Women's Missionary Society, Clairemont Kiwanis and Fleet Reserve Association. Ms. Jackson serves on the boards of the San Diego Workforce Partnership and the San Diego Blood Bank.
Ms. Jackson lives in the Webster area with her daughter and enjoys reading and walking when time permits.
Schools in Nominating Sub-District E
| Elementary | ||
| Audubon | Hamilton | Paradise Hills |
| Bethune | Horton | Penn |
| Boone | Ibarra | Perry |
| Carver | Jackson | Porter |
| Chollas/Mead | Johnson | Rolando Park |
| Encanto | Knox | Rosa Parks |
| Euclid | Lee | Valencia Park |
| Fay (Sept. '08) | Marshall | Webster |
| Freese | Nye | Zamorano |
| Fulton | Oak Park | |
| Middle & Jr. High | ||
| Bell | Mann Middle School Complex | Monroe Clark |
| Senior High | ||
| Crawford Complex | Lincoln | Morse |
| Atypical/Charter | ||
| ALBA High School | Holly Drive L.A. | Nubia L.A. |
| Arroyo Paseo Charter H.S. | Keiller | SCPA |
| Darnall | Iftin | |
| Gompers | O'Farrell | |
Mitz Lee| • | Board Member |
| • | Term Expires: December 2008 |
| • | Bio/School Listing Handout |
Mitz Lee was elected to the Board of Education of San Diego City Schools in 2004. Mrs. Lee served as Vice President of the Board of Education for two years. She is a member of the San Diego County School Boards Association; has represented San Diego as a delegate to the assembly of the California School Boards Association and completed the organization’s Masters in Governance program. She has participated in conferences of the National School Boards Association and in Legislative Action conferences for the Council of Great City Schools in Washington, D.C.
Mitz Lee is a member of the Mira Mesa Town Council; on the advisory board of Mabuhay Alliance; a public member of the City Heights Community Development Corporation; on the Education Advisory Board to Congressman Brian Bilbray; and a member of the Clairemont Hills Kiwanis and Altrusa International. Her earliest civic contributions began with her children—Cub Scouts, Little League, Youth Soccer—and grew to include broader concerns with education, public policy and politics.
Mitz Lee, 52, was born in the Republic of the Philippines and became an American citizen in 1988. She and her family have been San Diegans for 21 years. She holds an MBA degree with an emphasis in financial management from National University. She is married to retired U.S. Navy Commander Jeff Lee. Together they have raised two sons, both of whom attended San Diego public schools and now attend colleges in California.
Schools in Nominating Sub-District A
| Elementary | ||
| Alcott | Hage | Ross |
| Bay Park | Hawthorne | Sandburg |
| Cadman | Hickman | Sequoia |
| Curie | Holmes | Spreckels |
| Doyle | Lafayette | Toler |
| Ericson | Lindbergh/Schweitzer | Walker |
| Field | Mason | Whitman |
| Middle & Jr. High | ||
| Challenger | Marston | Wangenheim |
| Kroc | Standley | |
| Senior High | ||
| Clairemont | Mira Mesa | |
| Madison | University City | |
| Atypical/Charter | ||
| ALBA Elementary | Mt. Everest Academy | San Diego Metropolitan Regional & Technical (MET) |
| ALBA Middle | Muir | Twain, Mesa |
| CPMA | New Dawn | |
| Del Sol Academy | Riley | |
Contact Information
Board of Education Office
San Diego Unified School District
4100 Normal Street, Room 2231
San Diego, CA 92103
Phone: (619) 725-5550
Email: board@sandi.net
Key Contacts
- Melissa Hudson, Assistant to the Board of Education II
