Juan Lopez
ESS Consultant
Education Support Services Group
Cell: (951) 662-2468
Juan M. López retired in 2015 as the District Superintendent for the highly acclaimed Val Verde Unified School District. Val Verde is a very successful school district serving 20,000 students in 21 schools. For 25 years, he served as an Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources in districts ranging from 5,000 to 60,000 students. In retirement, he has served as the Interim Superintendent in Coachella Valley (2), Redlands, Westminster, Colton-Redlands-Yucaipa ROP, West Covina and Fontana school districts.
Mr. López grew up in East Los Angeles as the youngest son of immigrant parents, he personally experienced how difficult it is to succeed in school while confronting the real issues that face second language learners. He believes that challenging students, caring for students, and teaching them to persevere - equals success.
Mr. Lopez completed 42 years in public education. He has served public schools as an Instructional Aide, Teacher, Assistant Principal, Principal, Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources and Superintendent. He believes the key to a District’s success starts with a leadership team made up of quality administrators who have integrity and are dedicated to working for the greater good of all children.
In 2007, he was awarded the Orange County Human Resources Administrator of the year. In 2009, he was recognized by the Association of California School Administrators as the State Negotiator of the Year. He has extensive experience in employee relations and collective bargaining. He was a lead negotiator for over 27 years and negotiated with employee unions on more than 55 occasions.
Professionally, Mr. Lopez passion has been the Transformation of School Culture, English Learners, Parent Engagement and serving as a Mentor/Coach. He has served on the Teacher Preparation Advisory Boards at Chapman University, Whittier College and UC Riverside, as well as the Administrative Leadership Advisory Board at Cal Poly Pomona. He has also been active as a Chairperson with WASC for over 20 visitations. He is a long-time member of the Association of California School Administrators (ACSA) and served on the statewide ACSA Urban Education Committee.
Mr. Lopez earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and a Masters Degree in Urban Education/School Administration from California State University, Los Angeles.
With Education Support Services Group, Mr. Lopez is “committed to developing the next generation of school leaders.”