Announcement of School Board Candidacy of Sashary Zaroyan

Following is an announcement by Sashary Zaroyan of his candidacy for the Monrovia Board of Education. Other candidates are welcome to submit announcements. - Brad Haugaard

 
As a product of Monrovia's public schools, I am honored to run for the Monrovia School Board to give back to the community that gave me the opportunity to advocate for my peers.

Monrovia Unified School District is facing an important crossroad affecting our students’ education, health, and opportunities to thrive. As school districts across the state pivot to distance-based learning, we must tackle these statewide problems with community-led solutions that work for Monrovia. We must prioritize the safety, academic engagement, and social and emotional wellbeing of students during this pandemic and in the future.

I will diligently work to better prepare our school district for the future. I will push for:

• More innovation around distanced-based learning
• Improving transparency and communication for parents
• Reducing Monrovia’s increasing chronic absenteeism that has surpassed the statewide average in our K-8 schools
• Increasing focus on college and career readiness for our high school graduates

My experience will allow me to achieve these goals through collaboration with community members, making tough decisions, and prioritizing our students’ best interests. As co-founder of the Healing Connections Committee, I expanded mental health services for my peers in Monrovia schools. I took my passion to our state's Capital as an Education and Mental Health Policy Advocate and pushed for equity-centered solutions and funding to prioritize vulnerable student populations.

Through my efforts in Sacramento, I have advocated for Monrovia students on additional youth mental health resources and services for schools and community-based organizations, equity-centered solutions and funding that prioritizes our vulnerable student populations, and increased funding, assessment, and behavioral health training for our diverse community's student populations to improve mental health.

I have introduced innovative and creative solutions to ensure every student has the opportunity to succeed. When all students thrive, we thrive as a community. Please visit my website at sasharyzaroyan.com to learn more about my equity-focused solutions for our community. I hope to earn your vote on Tuesday, November 3rd, 2020.