By Terelle Jerricks, Managing Editor
On March 24, Los Angeles Unified School District board member Richard Vladovic honored his district’s best, brightest and often unacknowledged educators of the Los Angeles Harbor Area at Crafted in San Pedro.
The event reminded me of Random Lengths News’ Change Agent series, which I started several years ago. The series highlights people, groups and organizations contributing to the communities within our circulation area.
Vladovic’s Heroes in Education dinner was bigger and more grand. The dinner was close to a black tie and gown affair; all of the stops were pulled. It included a huge spread of delectable cuisine, live musical and choreographed performances by this district’s most talented students, as well as special words from LAUSD’s Superintendent Michelle King.
The unsung heroes included principals, teachers, cafeteria workers, other non-instructional employees, parents, volunteers and supporters of the district.
“I know it takes all kinds of heroes to help our students throughout the Los Angeles Unified District, and the folks recognized at this event represent all that is good about community and education,” Vladovic said. “This ceremony is an overdue thank you for all of their hard work.”
“Every day these heroes roll up their sleeves and engage in the transformative but challenging work of empowering our students to reach their full potential,” said King, the keynote speaker. “These heroes never seek recognition or credit, which is why it is so meaningful that we come here today to honor them.”
This wasn’t the first time Vladovic put on such an event. But ceremonies like this are rare and even rarer outside of District 7.
Looking around through the sea of students and their parents, educators and community leaders, I spotted a familiar face: Errol “Rod” Sanborn, a former RLn editor who left more than 10 years ago to follow his passion as a teacher.
I cautiously drew the man’s attention, “Hey Rod, is that you?” I couldn’t be absolutely sure it was Rod. After all, it had been like a decade since I’d seen him. He left and earned his teaching credential. He then went to work at Eagle Tree Continuation School.
When he turned to see who was calling him, he looked about as surprised to see me as I was to see him.
“Hey, Terelle, how are you doing?” he said smiling. “I see you’re still at the paper. I know because I still read the paper.”
As an editor, Sanborn was always one of the smartest people in the room, but his intellect was centered in warmth and grounded in the pure joy of learning and sharing it with others. Even then, he seemed better suited for the classroom than the newsroom, but the staff at Random Lengths News was happy to have him for the short time that we did.
I later found a program for the event, which included words from either the principal or a school’s committee of an peers as to why their honoree was chosen. The following is what was said of Sanborn:
It is with great pleasure that our school community recognizes Mr. Sanborn as a Hero in Education. As a teacher at Eagle Tree Continuation HS, he is instrumental in the credit recovery efforts for every student. With over 10 years of service to students and stakeholders at Eagle Tree, his leadership in the past two has propelled the school community in several school improvement outcomes. As a teacher of three core subject areas (LAUSD A-G graduation requirements), Mr. Sanborn has personally contributed to an increase in credit recovery rate and graduation rate, not just for students at Eagle Tree, but for students in the Carson HS Complex. Mr. Sanborn is absolutely a Hero in Education.
What struck me was the number of honorees with the warmth, generosity and love of learning that Rod Sanborn embodies.
Port of Los Angeles High School geography teacher, Jose Ongpauco, is one such example. The school nominators wrote a brief narrative about why they recommended him for the honor:
“Jose is a selfless, passionate, dedicated educator who not only excels in the classroom but volunteers more of his personal time than any other educator I have ever known.”
However, dig a little further, and you’ll learn that he’s not an ordinary educator. Ongpauco holds a bachelor’s degree in history and two advanced degrees in education and American history. If that weren’t enough, he is pursuing a graduate degree in policy studies at the Robertson School of Government while teaching. He is also member of several professional and academic associations, such as the American Historical Association.
I mention all of this because the description of his accolades suggests he spends a great deal of time getting to know his students’ career goals and connecting them to resources to help them fulfill those goals.
While teachers have a role to play in the furtherance of education, advisors play an integral role beyond the classroom. Adela Retana has taken that role to another level. At Phineas Banning High School, she helps to accelerate the academic achievement of English learners, low-income students and foster youth as the school’s target student population advisor. Her school had the following to say about her:
In addition to exceeding in meeting her job responsibilities, Ms. Retana also assists in creating opportunities for students’ success, supports and leads implementation of new programs and spends a considerable amount of extra time to assist with school needs.
The Heroes in Education dinner was a good reminder to honor the people that have touched our lives while they’re here with us in the here-and-now, instead of just relegating them in the dustbin of the fond memories and “do-you-remember-when conversations.”