School Board Elections | Dr. Suzie Abajian Endorsed by TASP

Dr. Suzie Abajian is endorsed by the 200+ teachers of the Teachers Association of South Pasadena (TASP) as she runs for Board of Education

PHOTO: Provided by Dr. Suzie Abajian | SouthPasadenan.com News | Dr. Suzie Abajian with her husband Sean and daughter Arevig

PRESS RELEASE:

Dr. Abajian, a lifelong educator, was endorsed by the Teachers Association of South Pasadena (TASP) in her bid for re-election to the school board. TASP’s membership includes over 200 teachers. Dr. Abajian began her educational career as a mathematics teacher at South Pasadena High School. Over the 22 years of her career, she has taught at the K-12, college and graduate levels.

Dr. Abajian is the only candidate with a Ph.D. in Education, getting her degree from UCLA. She has worked as a field supervisor for the UCLA Teacher Education Program, a professor of education at Occidental College and a mathematics professor at LMU. She is currently an administrator at the Orange County Department of Education. Dr. Abajian brings an important perspective to the board as she not only understands the needs of the school district from the perspective of a sitting board member, administrator and new parent, but she also understands the teaching perspective and how things work at the ground level.

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“The district needs a leader who is able to understand and negotiate the different perspectives at play, so that we can continue to move forward and offer the best possible education for our students during these challenging times,” stated Dr. Abajian. She added “I am so grateful for our teachers, administrators and the cabinet who have worked countless hours this year to make the swift and successful transition of school instruction to the online platform. This has been a continued learning experience for everyone as our district has revisited our instructional models and is in the process of continually refining ways to offer the best instruction possible to our students. We need to ensure that all of our students receive the support that they need to minimize the learning loss during this pandemic.”

Dr. Suzie Abajian has been serving on the South Pasadena school board for the past five years. Since her election in 2015, she has been a tireless advocate for students. She has consistently pushed for the expansion of academic and extracurricular programs in STEAM and dual language immersion so that students have multiple pathways of academic engagement from K-12. She has also been a persistent voice on the board, advocating for a culturally responsive, LGBTQ positive curriculum and the closing of the opportunity gap for underserved students.   

With Dr. Abajian’s leadership the district has achieved significant goals including the passing of the $98 million bond measure that has enabled the district to build a new math and science building at the high school and complete much needed upgrades in all of the five schools in the district, with sustainability and energy efficiency in mind.  Additionally, the passing of the parcel tax has enabled the district to keep small class sizes at the elementary level and expand curricular offerings to include 40+ new programs and pathways in K-12.

In addition to the TASP endorsement Dr. Abajian was also endorsed by Congresswoman Judy Chu who said, “I know how important being on the school board is and that is why I am fully backing Dr. Suzie Abajian.” She has been endorsed by numerous community leaders in South Pasadena and is the only candidate to receive endorsements from the Los Angeles County Democratic Party and the Planned Parenthood Advocates. Dr. Abajian has also been endorsed by the National Women’s Political Caucus.

For more information about Dr. Abajian you can visit her website: www.SuzieAbajian.com