David L. Brewer III
David L. Brewer, III | |
|---|---|
Navy Achievement Medal | |
| Other work | Superintendent, Los Angeles Unified School District |
David L. Brewer (born May 19, 1946) is a retired vice admiral of the United States Navy and former superintendent of the Los Angeles Unified School District. The 35-year veteran of the Navy was the captain of USS Mount Whitney from April 3, 1991 – December 5, 1992,[2] commanded Military Sealift Command from August 2001 until his retirement in March 2006, and served as Vice Chief of Naval Education and Training from 1999 to 2001.[3] As Vice Chief of Naval Education and Training, he is known for helping to develop the Navy College Program and negotiating contracts with 11 colleges, universities and community colleges to provide bachelor and associate degree programs to more than 300,000 sailors. As Commander of Military Sealift Command, he is known for overseeing the massive Military Sealift Command (MSC) partnership with the private sector shipping contractors operation in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom which involved moving over 20,000,000 square feet (1,900,000 m2) of equipment to the Persian Gulf in less than four months. He is also known for leading the Military Sealift Command's disaster relief efforts after Hurricane Katrina.[4]
His flag command posts included
Early life
David was born to David L. Brewer, Jr., and Mildred S. Brewer in
At age five, Brewer moved with his family from Farmville, Virginia to Florida, and he attended elementary and secondary schools in Orlando, Florida. Later, he earned a Bachelor of Science in biology at Prairie View A&M University where he also was a member of the Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps (NROTC). He later earned a Masters of Arts in National Security and Strategic Studies at the Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island.
In October 2006, Brewer was unanimously selected by the
Brewer served as superintendent until December 2008 when his contract was bought out by the district prior to the end of his four-year term. According to figures reported on August 4, 2009, the dropout rate in the Los Angeles Unified School District declined almost 17% under Brewer's leadership. Specifically the dropout rate for the 2007–08 school year came in at 26.4%, down from 31.7% for the previous year and among the largest improvements in the state of California. The Los Angeles Unified School District still trails all other large urban school systems in California except the Oakland Unified School District.
These results highlight the achievements of Brewer, who was forced out in December 2008 despite rising test scores. Brewer, reached by the Los Angeles Times, credited Debra Duardo, a onetime dropout who began the district's dropout-prevention unit, as well as district
Brewer heads The David and Mildred Brewer Foundation, a family foundation that provides scholarships for African American students. It is named in honor of his mother, a retired school teacher, and his late father, who taught at Brewer's high school for more than 33 years.[7] Brewer currently serves as a Benchmark Practitioner with Benchmarking Partners in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Personal life
He is married to Richardene "Deanie" Brewer,
Their daughter, Stacey, graduated from Hampton University in 2002 as a distinguished scholar. She went on to receive her
Decorations
His decorations and awards include the
Navy Distinguished Service Medal
Defense Superior Service Medal
Legion of Merit with two Gold Stars
Meritorious Service Medal
Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal
Joint Meritorious Unit Award
Navy E Ribbon
Navy Expeditionary Medal
National Defense Service Medal
Humanitarian Service Medal- Navy and Marine Corps Sea Service Deployment Ribbon
- Navy and Marine Corps Overseas Service Ribbon
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References
- ^ "PN1016-1 — Navy". U.S. Congress. June 15, 1994. Retrieved June 19, 2020.
- ^ Priolo, Gary. "USS Mount Whitney (LCC-20)". Navsource Naval History. Navsource Naval History. Retrieved November 12, 2019.
- ^ "David L. Brewer III named to lead L.A. School District". Johnson Publishing Co. 2006. Retrieved August 26, 2009.
- ^ Nathan Hodge (August 4, 2009). "Private Sector Aided Massive Sealift Operation, Says Admiral". Access Intelligence, LLC. Retrieved August 27, 2009.
- ^ "United States Navy Biography – Vice Admiral David L. Brewer, III Commander, Military Sealift Command". United States Navy. Retrieved August 26, 2009.
- ^ Blume, Howard & Song, Jason (August 4, 2009). "Dropout rate declines almost 17% in L.A. schools". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved August 27, 2009.
- ^ "Vice Admiral David Brewer, Superintendent of Schools Los Angeles Unified School District". The 5 Million Kids Initiative. Archived from the original on July 24, 2011. Retrieved August 26, 2009.
External links
- Biography on David L. Brewer, III Archived 2007-12-10 at the Wayback Machine
- U.S. Naval Education and Training Command Archived 2009-08-25 at the Wayback Machine