A steady insider steps in: Andres Chait leads LAUSD amid federal scrutiny

When the Los Angeles school board placed Superintendent Alberto Carvalho on leave last week after federal searches of his home and office, the sudden leadership vacuum at the nation’s second-largest school system raised immediate questions about who would steady the district.

The board turned to Andres Chait, a longtime district insider who began his career as a kindergarten teacher and rose through the system to oversee its daily operations.

Now serving as acting superintendent...