Monrovia School Link Preview ~ Number 129 ~ July 23, 2005
Well, it's moving into election season, and we've got another candidate for the school board, Nick Laushkin. Unless an incumbent decides not to run, that's four people running for two seats, so far. I wouldn't mind a couple more to give some nice options. Anyway, I chatted with Laushkin to see what he's like. That report is below, along with a letter. Talk to you soon.
~ brad@sacklunch.net
Back in the olden days when dinosaurs roamed the earth and I attended Monrovia school board meetings regularly, each year brought a new student representative to the board. The best of these during the four years I was there, I thought, was Alex Laushkin. He was always dapper, articulate, with a clear voice, and had something intelligent to say when it came to his turn to speak. I remember once, before the meeting, he came down and greeted everybody in the audience with a handshake, all seven of us. What's he running for? I thought. So, anyway, when I learned that his father, Nick Laushkin, is running for school board this year, it didn't exactly surprise me (like son like father?), but it interested me. So, to learn a bit more, I met with Nick Laushkin at a coffee shop to hear why he thought he should be on the board.
First a bit of background. Laushkin is 53 and has lived in Monrovia for 20 years. He grew up and attended schools in Arcadia and Claremont. He's a project manager at his family's company, Linc Western Air, which does air conditioning work on construction projects of up to about $75 million. Recently, when his son was at Monrovia High, he was involved in the Parent Student Association at MHS. He said his mother was a teacher at Rio Hondo Community College and he has long had a passion for education. His wife, he said, works at Methodist Hospital in Arcadia, and, as I mentioned, his son Alex was something of a star at Monrovia High, being active in student clubs and serving in various offices in student government, including that of ASB president.
Since Laushkin is working, I wondered if he has time to do a good job on the board. It does, after all, involve a lot more than just attending the board meetings.
He said he works out of his home most of the week and has time available just about every day, and his company is supportive of his desire to be involved in community service. He said he waited until his son was in college before running for the board because when Alex was at Monrovia High he really *didn't* have time.
I asked him why he thinks he'd be a better board member than the two incumbents, Bruce Carter and Monina Diaz, who are (presumably) running again.
"I'm not running against anyone," he said, "I'm running for a vision."
Hmmm. I always wonder if these broad, general statements have feet under them, so I asked him to nail it down a bit, and he did.
His main concern seems to be Monrovia High. The elementary schools are doing great; the middle schools are improving nicely, but progress at the high school, he said, is pretty flat, though, he adds, that's not just a local problem, it's national. The solution, he believes, is in the community. He said Monrovia is a good, friendly, volunteer community ("some people call it Mayberry," he said), and to make progress the district needs to get community groups more involved in education.
One of his main concerns about the high school is SAT scores. He'd like the district to focus on moving students' SAT scores up so they can get into good colleges and vocational schools.
He said he'd do that by trying (with the help of the city government and community groups) to bring more colleges - trade schools like Mt. Sierra College or extension campuses of USC or UCLA - to town. The advantage of that, he said, is that the students at these schools would be nearby and could be recruited as tutors or classroom assistants to help in their areas of expertise.
Also, he said (still on the SAT front, I think), there needs to be more emphasis in the district on English vocabulary, and on getting students to participate in clubs and groups in order to raise their involvement in the schools.
Next, he said, the district needs to improve its teacher recruitment process so that it gets really outstanding teachers. And once it gets them it needs to keep them. As a way to make the district a more attractive place to work, he suggested pinching pennies in other areas so the district can pay teachers more.
But in addition to money, he said more personal attention to teachers' concerns would go a long way. He suggested a "Welcome Wagon" for teacher candidates. In other words, have someone show them around town, help them out however possible and generally make them feel comfortable and welcome in Monrovia. He'd even have board members personally spend time with top candidates, and he'd like to get city and community groups involved. How? Well, he said, even little things would be nice: maybe community groups could provide muffins and doughnuts in the morning for teachers, or help sponsor teacher appreciation days, things to make the district a pleasant place to work.
Okay, that's how he would try to attract and keep good teachers, but - let's see how he does on tact - on the flip side, what would he do about bad teachers?
Well, he said, he hasn't really met any bad teachers. Some have been better than others, he said, but none really bad. And sometimes, he said, the problem is situational, meaning that a child and his or her teacher just aren't clicking. In cases like that, he said, he'd encourage the parent to have the child transfered to a different teacher.
To wrap up, here are some of Laushkin's other ideas:
- The district needs to work more closely with the Monrovia Library. Laushkin said evening tutoring could take place at the library after the schools have shut for the day, and the tutors could be college students - who would be more abundant if the city can lure more colleges to town.
- Junior colleges have computer-based programs for remedial learning that should be brought down to the high school level. After all, he said, these programs were developed to teach entering college students the lessons they should have learned in high school, so they ought to work for high school students as well.
- Expand the internship program, for both vocational and college bound students. He said Monrovia is home to a lot of notable companies (See Beyond and Trader Joe's, for instance) and the district should try to work with those firms to provide opportunities for students to get real world experience.
Finally, how about other community involvements? Rotary? Kiwanis? Other service groups? Church? No service groups, he said, though he was a deacon at First Presbyterian Church, and is currently involved at Vineyard Church in Arcadia.
Hmmm. Okay, so what do I think? Well, I'm not a great judge of character, but I was pretty impressed. Laushkin seemed to have a good knowledge of the state of the district, and, as you can see, he has ideas, and the ideas don't involve big budget programs that in the state's current financial situation are virtually impossible. My feeling is that there's little point in having grand ideas if they won't happen. Also, he's relaxed and friendly, which surprised me just a bit because I thought he was going to be a bit formal. He's been in town a long time and seems to know the community, though it would have been a feather in his cap, I think, if he had a bit more community involvement. But still, if he walks the walk the way he talks the talk, I think he'd be a very good board member. But the election season is still young, let's keep our eyes open and see what happens.
So, what do you think? Write me back with your thoughts. And I think I'll impose the Alex Zucco rule here (she has been urging this upon me for some time), and require that any comments about him that you want published be signed. In fact, I think I'd like to impose that rule from now on for any comments about specific individuals.
LETTER: MY HERO ~ WOW!!! Thank you Brad, for publishing Clare's letter. And thank you, Clare, for expressing my personal views so succinctly. You are my hero! The School Board needs you, as does Monrovia, if only to represent the voice of reason in a city (state/country) where many decry the role of personal responsibilty in society. - Karen Amagrande
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