The director of Long Beach Unified’s center for Black student success has been placed on administrative leave, days after a group of Black parents and community members sent a letter demanding the district fire her and recommit to Black students.
The district would not say why Norma Spencer was placed on leave but said it was “not connected to any single action or correspondence.”
Two years ago, LBUSD announced that Spencer would lead the center, which has provided academic support, extracurriculars and social and emotional learning since it opened the following year in May 2025. Some parents have been raising concerns about the center and Spencer’s leadership since then. In October, parents told the Long Beach Post that the center lacked a clear plan, had opened prematurely and offered programming that did not meet the community’s needs.
These concerns came to a head in the late-April letter sent to district leadership and signed by 16 parents, educators and LBUSD alumni. The letter alleged that Spencer had diminished parent input, undone progress and allowed friction to fester among the center’s staff.
Spencer’s decisions “mirror the very systems of exclusion, control, and disconnection that the District has publicly committed to dismantle,” they wrote in the letter, echoing a longstanding criticism from some that LBUSD’s commitment to equity has amounted to lip service.
The district did not respond directly to the letter’s accusations but said parent input has shaped the center and its offerings. “Over the last two years, Long Beach Unified has worked with and listened to the Black community to enhance the Center of Black Student Excellence and the services it provides to students, families, and staff,” said district spokesperson Eric Mitchell. “Our commitment, focus, and collaboration with the Black community remain unwavering,” he said.
Some parents told the Post that they have spent years pushing the district to bolster support of Black students yet have seen little meaningful investment or measurable progress.
Melissa Morgan, a Black LBUSD parent who signed the letter, said she became involved in efforts for Black student achievement when she observed, in district data, that Black students were disproportionately disciplined, tracked into programs for students with disabilities and not meeting graduation requirements. Despite those disparities, she said, the district was not focused on strategies she believed would improve student outcomes.
Action the district has taken — like opening the center and adopting an equity policy, which promises to center Black and disabled students — felt like “PR wins” because they were implemented without clear plans or accountability, Morgan said. “They talked as if they had the structure, but they didn’t have the meat on the bones,” she said.
Two days after sending the letter demanding Spencer’s removal, parents received an email from LBUSD, which said she would be “mov[ing] on to pursue other professional opportunities.” The district said a temporary leader has been installed until a new director is selected. Spencer did not respond to requests for comment.
One parent said that community members sent hundreds of additional letters to school board members, calling on them to reinstate events, programming and advisory committees focused on Black students. The letters also requested data to evaluate progress, or lack thereof, in supporting Black students.
In response, Board Member Erik Miller shared a statement on social media acknowledging the work community members have invested on behalf of Black students and the “perceived shifts in our commitment.”
“We do not view these efforts as just ‘symbolic’ or ‘optional,’” Miller said, adding that as the district navigates a large budget deficit and searches for a new superintendent, LBUSD’s commitment to equity is evolving rather than being dismantled.
Miller declined an interview with the Long Beach Post but wrote, “I stand by the letter shared with the community.”