Norwalk-La Mirada Unified School Board Member Sean Reagan seen with his wife Cheyann Montiel Reagan and his daughter during a recent interview with Hews Media Group-Community Newspaper.
By Kristin Grafft
The newest school board member may look young, but he is ready to tackle the real issues and raise his voice on the Norwalk La Mirada School Board like a seasoned professional.
Sean Reagan didn’t plan on becoming a “career teacher,” he kind of just “fell into it,” he said in an interview Hews Media Group-Community News. 15 years later, he doesn’t see it ending any time soon.
Although Reagan was always interested in international relations – even getting his degree in it from UC Davis – teaching just seemed to be in his blood.
Reagan had his first brush with teaching while he was still in High School as he began teaching little league in Cerritos, California.
“I quickly learned I liked teaching people things,” he said. Reagan even remembered helping other students in his high school math class where he was jokingly called Mr. Reagan.
Inspired by his single mother, Margaret Reagan, who was a special education teacher for 30 years, Reagan took his first post-grad job teaching emotional disturbed kids in Woodland, California.
Reagan went on to get Multiple Subject Teaching Credentials through a combo program at UC Davis and Sacramento State.
He continued to teach in Northern California until his international bug began to itch again. Reagan then spent a semester teaching in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. The second half of the school year was spent in Santa Barbara, before Reagan settled down in Norwalk, California.
Reagan has now been a teacher at California High School in Whittier, California for 11 years where he teaches economics and government, as well as an international relations class and a Model United Nations afterschool program.
Before Reagan decided to run for the school board, he said he was already calling the schools and trying to help and work with them. He said he finally decided to run because, “it just seemed like there was a need.”
“It was a challenging time – for all the districts – and I just couldn’t believe how bad morale had gotten. And we were just behind some of the neighboring districts too far,” Reagan said.
Now that he is on the board Reagan said he feels very informed, and comfortable in the job.
“I understand the legal aspect, the economic aspect – I just bring a set of skills where I feel very ready for it and I didn’t even realize it until I was running,” Reagan said.
There has been some ‘controversy’ over the fact that his daughter does not attend school in the district, however. In response to that, Reagan simply said, “It had nothing to do with the race,” he chose to send her there before he was even thinking about running.
“I’m a genuine guy with genuine interest in the schools,” Reagan explained, and he was not going to pull his daughter out of her school “just to win an election.”
“It’s not like it’s even up to me anyway,” he added jokingly, “It’s up to my wife.”
Regan also said the main reason they chose to send their daughter to school in Cerritos is because that is where his mom lives and she helps with daycare.
“We live in the middle and now I’m representing the middle. I think that’s actually strength. I’m not going to lean towards a particular school. I will represent them all fairly,” Reagan said.
The interview concluded with Reagan saying, “It’s nice to feel like it’s a good fit for me, and for the community.”
