Encyclopedia Dubuque
"Encyclopedia Dubuque is the online authority for all things Dubuque, written by the people who know the city best.”
Marshall Cohen—researcher and producer, CNN
Affiliated with the Local History Network of the State Historical Society of Iowa, and the Iowa Museum Association.
LAM, Diana
LAM, Diana. (Lima, Peru--). In July 1992, Lam was hired as the superintendent of the DUBUQUE COMMUNITY SCHOOL DISTRICT. She succeeded Dr. Howard PIGG. (1)
Lam worked her way up from being a teacher to the position of being one of Boston, Massachusetts district superintendents. She became the Chelsea, Massachusetts superintendent in 1989. At the time Chelsea, one of the state's three poorest cities, had a 52% dropout rate when it was taken over by Boston University as a ten year educational reform experiment. Lam, hired by the university as the district's first superintendent, stayed two years before campaigning to become the mayor of Boston. During her tenure, the dropout rate fell to 4%, teacher morale improved, student test scores improved faster than anywhere else in the state, and the number of students going to college doubled. (2)
In Dubuque, Lam established a number of initiatives including a task force to organize cooperative efforts between businesses and the schools; a plan calling for increased decision-making at the building level, improved student test scores, and promotion of cultural diversity; and “EXPEDITIONARY LEARNING.”
In 1993 amid controversy about her curriculum changes, the Board of Education voted 4-3 to renew Lam’s contract for another two years. In 1994, Lam announced that she had accepted an offer to be the superintendent of schools in San Antonio, Texas. Dr. Marvin O'HARE succeeded her as superintendent.
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Source:
1. Krapfl, Mike. "Board OKs Lam," Telegraph Herald, June 5, 1992, p. 1. Online: https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=aEyKTaVlRPYC&dat=19920605&printsec=frontpage&hl=en
2. Ibid.