Carlos J. Sam was named the interim superintendent of the East Baton Rouge Parish School System in February 2012. A native of Plaisance, La., Mr. Sam received a Bachelor of Science degree in Secondary Education from Southern University in 1989. He completed his Master of Education in Educational Administration and Supervision in 1992 and earned 30-plus hours of postgraduate work at Louisiana State University and Southern University in 2001.
Mr. Sam’s teaching career began as a Physical Education and Social Studies teacher at Dufrocq Elementary School (now known as The Dufrocq School) in 1989. Six years later, his administrative career began to flourish when he was promoted to assistant principal at Park Forest Middle School. In 1997, he was named the principal of Park Forest Middle School and served in that position until 2003. Mr. Sam earned the distinction of being named as “Principal of the Year” in 2001. He was promoted to the position of Director of Magnet Programs in 2003.
This was a pivotal time for Mr. Sam to be named the director of Magnet Programs, because the East Baton Rouge Parish School System was attempting to end its 45-year-old desegregation lawsuit by developing and implementing a comprehensive settlement agreement. Since the Magnet programs were the foundation of the settlement agreement, he was instrumental in bridging the gap between the parties in the suit, federal court monitors, school administrators and the community. During this time, he also led numerous academic initiatives in the magnet program, including curriculum mapping for academic (at all levels) magnet schools, implementing research-based, nationally-certified programs such as MicroSociety and Project Lead The Way (PLTW). He also established numerous community partnerships and became a liaison for the school district between the arts community and the Greater Baton Rouge Association of Realtors.
Mr. Sam has extensive public relations skills, which is a necessary element in ensuring the district achieves its strategic goal of improving community involvement and public confidence in our schools. Under his management, the Office of Magnet Programs has had success achieving this goal through its Magnet programs and numerous parental involvement activities.
In 2007, the Board voted to move the Gifted and Talented Program under Mr. Sam’s supervision and renamed the office the Innovative & Specialized Programs Department. Since then, Mr. Sam was instrumental in developing ways to identify students who qualify for Gifted and/or Talented services, such as the annual Gifted Screening Blitz and the Gifted Assessment Team (GAT), whose membership’s primary role is to ensure students are identified in a reasonable amount of time and that the district can meet deadlines for these services as established by the Louisiana Department of Education (LDE).
In addition, Mr. Sam is the facilitator for district-endorsed professional development programs, such as Model-Netics®, a comprehensive management series. He also served as a district mentor for the Louisiana Educational Leaders’ Induction (LELI) Program that focuses on instructional leadership principles, school improvement and data analysis techniques to develop qualified administrators.
Mr. Sam serves on the Board of Directors for the Louisiana Teachers’ Retirement System (TRSL District 3) and the Recreation and Parks Commission for the Parish of East Baton Rouge (BREC). He also serves as a Member-at-Large for the Magnet Schools of America.
Mr. Sam is married to Dana (Guillory) and has three sons: Ethan, Isaiah and Aiden.
