Q&A Profile: Meet ABC School Board Candidate Cindy Yen Chen

Editor's Note: Cindy Yen Chen is running for the two-year seat left vacant by earlier this year by Cerritos City councilmember Mark Pulido. The candidates looking to fill this spot include Mansour Meisami, Cindy Yen Chen, Lynda Johnson, and Soo Yoo. 

Get to know your ABC School Board candidate Cindy Yen Chen a little more through Patch's Q&A session:

Name: Cindy Yen Chen

Age: 51

Educational background: B.A. degree in Economics

Current job/career: President of Zen Continental Co., Inc., an international shipping company

Married? Children? Married with one daughter

What city do you live in? Cerritos

What is your favorite book? October Sky

What is something unique the public doesn’t know about you? I enjoy singing and dancing, and played the forward position on my university basketball team.

What seat are you running for in the Nov. 8 ABC School Board election? I am running for the 2-year term.

Why are you running for a spot on the ABC School Board? I enjoy serving in the community, and education has been my passion. I also feel that I can contribute my experience and expertise to the .

You are already very involved in the community, how will your other obligations affect your responsibilities to the school district should you be elected to the board? Once elected to the School Board, I will resign my current positions as the City of Cerritos Parks & Recreation Commissioner, and ABCUSD Student Transfer Committee member. I have been managing my time well which has enabled me to be an involved volunteer throughout the community.

What is your personal experience or personal ties you have with the ABC School District? 

• I am currently serving on the ABCUSD Student Transfer Committee
• I was a Board member of Foundation from 2004-2010, and as Chairperson in 2007-2009
• I have been an active ABCUSD PTSA member
• I have taught at ABC Unified School District’s federally funded language program
• I have been a volunteer in the RISE/APPLE program
• I was an instructor at ’s Cluster Program
• I have helped facilitate the Student Government Day program
• I have hosted Japanese visiting students
• I have helped various schools with their carnival and cultural events (e.g.  Cultural Festival, Chinese New Year Celebration)
• My daughter graduated from Whitney High School in June 2010

Being so involved in other areas of the community, why did you decide to make a run for the ABC School Board? I feel that I am already serving the community with bits and pieces here and there. Since the majority of my involvement is related to what I care about most - EDUCATION - I feel that I can contribute more if I can serve on a bigger scale. I also feel that my experience in both education and business management will be beneficial to ABC Unified School District.

In your opinion, what is the most critical problem that the district faces? Balancing the budget during these difficult economic times by looking for new funding sources and cutting unnecessary expenses.

How do you feel about the district’s push to hire specialized and professionally trained individuals, such as counselors? Is this a necessity? It is necessary to have specialized and professionally trained individuals in some areas such ascounselors and special education teachers.

Should the district have to undergo another round of budget cuts, where should the cuts in funding be made? I would look at ways of increasing the funds first.

Here are some things that can be done:

• Increase student enrollment by expanding the current magnet school program
• Increase student attendance by promoting healthier kids and offering encouragement or incentives for higher attendance
• Rent out school classrooms, auditoriums, and sports fields during non-school hours
• Host fee-based summer academies for local, out-of-state, and foreign students

If there is still not enough funding, I would first look at cutting expenses by asking each department and each school to come up with their suggestion on how to cut their administration expenses to a certain percentage.

What is your stance on implementing more career-oriented and technical study courses in the school curriculum? Since not all students choose to continue college education, I support implementing more career-oriented and technical study/practice courses in the high school curriculum. According to recent reports, though the unemployment rate is high, there are needs for mid-level employees. We can train our high school students to be ready to work after finishing 12th grade. Currently we have ‘college prep’ classes, and we need to have ‘career prep’ classes too.

What sets you apart from the other candidates? I have extensive and profound involvement in the community including Board of Director experience, knowledge and relationships with other agencies and officials, business/management/leadership expertise and teaching students from ages 4 to adults.

If elected, what will you do to make a difference in the ABC School District? Set up an effective volunteering system for parents and community members to help in the classrooms as well as with school activities.

If anything, what needs to change in the district? Bullying problems in schools. We need to take proactive and preventive measures to educate our children not to bully, & more importantly, not to become a victim.

For more information on Chen and her school board campaign visit www.cindyyenchen.com.