Lydia Acosta Stephens is a proud product of the Los Angeles Unified School District, attending from Kindergarten through twelfth grade (Roscoe ES, Byrd MS, Polytech, San Fernando SH). She was an English Learner when she began school and still considers herself as such. Lydia attributes the caring teachers she met in her schooling as positive forces who helped her recognize and achieve her potential.
She has worked for the District for over thirty years as a teacher assistant, teacher, assistant principal and principal of two different schools. For her first principal assignments she was given the honor of opening a brand new primary center. Her second assignment was leading a large year round school where she was highly successful at improving student achievement of English Learners, Standard English Learners, and Special Education students as well as the school culture and climate. The community often commented on how she provided a warm welcoming school environment.
Lydia was a bilingual teacher until the passing of Proposition 227 and all her experiences have been in schools with larger English Learner populations. After leaving the school site, Lydia worked in Human Resources in various leadership positions and then joined the Multilingual and Multicultural Education Department (MMED) as Administrator of English Learner services before becoming Executive Director.
Lydia is honored to hold this position because the work around English Learners and Standard English Learners is of paramount importance to her. She believes that as a department during these unprecedented times we must take the time to listen, learn, and reconnect to our beliefs and values. There is always more work to do. As we know, regeneration and healing happen after much effort, time, and care. We must now do the work to lay the foundation in our homes, schools and communities for the creation of a more just and equitable world.
She strives every day to live by her guiding motto “Be of service, Be the solution, Be the light”.
“When we create the opportunity for our youth, our little ones to tell their story. It opens up their humanity. It allows them to connect to who they are, understand who they are and to be active listeners of who others are. We must know ourselves to know others.“
– Lydia Acosta Stephens