LOS ANGELES (CNS) - Funeral services will be held today for Michelle King, who began her education career as a teacher's aide and ascended to the top spot at the Los Angeles Unified School District in January 2016, becoming the first African American woman to lead the nation's second-largest school district.
King went on medical leave in September of the following year, then announced in January 2018 that she was battling cancer and would not be returning to her job. She died on Feb. 2. She was 57.
A public memorial service for King will take place at the Trinity Baptist Church this morning at 2040 W. Jefferson Blvd. in Los Angeles. , where former students and colleagues are expected to celebrate the life of the district's first black female superintendent alongside family. The service will begin at 10 a.m. and be live-streamed at www.lausd.net. It will also be re- broadcast on KLCS TV on Feb. 17 at 7 a.m.
Her funeral will be immediately afterward at Inglewood Park Cemetery, 720 E. Florence Avenue, in Inglewood.
``She was the consummate professional,'' LAUSD school board President Monica Garcia said of King. ``Her door was always open to the children and the adults who served them.''