SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO : Fleming Honored as a Top U.S. Educator

Capistrano Unified School District Supt. James A. Fleming has been named one of the 100 best school managers in the country, according to the upcoming issue of Executive Educator, a national magazine for school professionals.

A national panel of school experts and administrators selected Fleming based on his leadership and professional achievements.

The Executive Educator 100 list, which honors administrators whose programs and philosophies have made significant differences for students, is similar to the Fortune 500 or the Forbes 400 for business and industry.

There are about 300,000 school executives in the country, according to the magazine.

Fleming joined the Capistrano Unified School District in 1991.

He previously worked for 28 years in Florida’s Dade County public school system, where he started as a teacher before moving through the ranks to become associate superintendent.

During his first year in Capistrano Unified, he helped reverse a bitter relationship between district officials and the teachers’ union, negotiated the settlement of a gender discrimination lawsuit that threatened the district’s federal funding and developed a long-range facilities plan.

More recently, he helped involve hundreds of parents, teachers, students and residents in developing a long-range mission guide called “Capistrano 2000,” which is in its final stages.

Five other school administrators from California were honored on the list.