Yvonne Chan to Speak at Mission College
Award-winning educator Yvonne Chan will speak at Mission College tonight in conjunction with the school’s lecture series, “Minorities in American Culture.”
Chan, principal of Pacoima’s Vaughn Next Century Learning Center, will be the seventh and final speaker in the series, which has included KABC-TV anchorwoman Laura Diaz, Los Angeles Police Department Chief Willie L. Williams and Los Angeles Archdiocese Auxiliary Bishop Stephen Blaire, among others.
A first-generation Chinese immigrant, Chan, who holds a doctorate in education from UCLA and speaks five languages, has won numerous awards, including a community service honor from the city of Los Angeles and the National Educator Award from the state Department of Education.
Chan took over at Vaughn--then known as Pacoima Elementary School--in 1986 and oversaw its transition into one of the Los Angeles Unified School District’s first charter schools in 1993. Under state law, charter schools control their own hiring, schedules and budgets. Chan has been credited with using her autonomy to transform what had been one of the lowest-achieving schools in the district into one of the highest.
“She’s made some bold reforms at her school, she’s a very dynamic administrator,” said Carlos Nava, dean of students at Mission and the director of the lecture series. “Her dynamism is contagious. Her students and staff have really picked up on her energy and work ethic.”
The free lecture will begin at 7 p.m. in Mission’s Campus Center, 13356 Eldridge Ave., Sylmar.
For more information, call the Student Services office at (818) 364-7766.
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