Former PUSD teacher picked to head San Diego city schools

A former Poway Unified School District teacher has been named the new superintendent of the San Diego Unified School District.

Cindy Marten, who for the past decade has served as principal of Central Elementary School, was unanimously selected by the school board on Wednesday.

Marten, a Rancho Penasquitos resident, succeeds Bill Kowba, who announced Tuesday he will retire June 30 after completing a three-year contract with the district.

Marten began her career 25 years ago in the PUSD as a teacher at Los Penasquitos Elementary and two years later became reading specialist teacher at the school.

In 2002, Marten continued as a reading specialist as a Teacher on Special Assignment for the district’s Learning Support Services. She left PUSD in 2004.

“In our selection of a new superintendent we wanted an educator who is a visionary leader,” board President John Lee Evans said.

“We have found such a person in our own district, Cindy Marten, an educator for 25 years who started off as a teacher then became principal of one of our most challenging schools, Central Elementary, serving 850 at-risk youth, 99 percent of whom live in poverty and 85 percent of whom are English learners.”

Marten, 46, called being selected as superintendent by the school board “an incredible honor.”

“I believe in the hope and promise of public education in America, and I believe in doing the work to show Americans what public schools are all about,” Marten said.

Asked if she was up to the task of being the superintendent of the state’s second-largest school district, with an enrollment of more than 132,000 students, after being principal of a small elementary school, Marten replied, “It’s a team that’s going to be doing the work together. I’m ready for the challenge.”