BORN and raised in Mandaluyong, Philippines, US Army Major Armin Reyes is running again for re-election to the ABC School Board.
Now on his third term as a member of the Board and serving as Vice President, Armin was first elected in November, 1999 and re-elected in 2003 and 2007. He served as Vice President of the Board in 2004 and President in 2005. He also served as member of the Southeast ROP Board of Trustees from 2003-2006 and is currently serving as Vice President.
Armin graduated from High School at the Pasig Catholic College. Then, he attended Lyceum of the Philippines for 2 years and migrated in the US with his whole family in 1981. The following year, he joined the US Army in 1982 and currently serves in the US Army Reserve with a rank of a Major.
Armin brings both experience and education in negotiations and conflict management to his service with the Board. He works as a Labor representative with the United Nurses Association of California, UNAC/UCHP, AFSCME, and AFL-CIO. He also serves as a Functional Specialty Team Leader with the 426th Civil Affairs Battalion (Airborne) based in Upland, CA, with a rank of a Major. Armin was deployed as a Detachment Commander of 376th Personnel Services Battalion, Detachment 1 in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom 2004-2005 and as HHC Commander of the 445th Civil Affairs Battalion in 2007-2009.
His decorations and badges include Meritorious Service Medal (Second Award),
Army Good Conduct Medal, Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal,Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Iraq Campaign Medal W/ Campaign Star, Army Reserve Components Achievement Medal (Second Award), National Defense Service Medal (Second Award), Armed Forces Reserve Medal , Army Service Ribbon and Overseas Service Ribbon.
Armin earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science from the California State University Fullerton and received his M.A. in Behavioral Science from California State University Dominguez Hills.
He originally moved to Cerritos because of the excellent schools in the District and wants to make sure that the quality of education remains high.
A very active member of the community for many years, he is a member of the Cerritos-Artesia Rotary Club, Past President of Sunny Side Optimist Club of Cerritos, Past Board of Trustee, Artesia-Sunrise Masonic Lodge, Member of the Eclectic- Dialectic Toastmasters, American Legion and the Veterans of Foreign Wars. He is also a lifetime member of the Reserve Officers Association and member of Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance.
“The Filipino community in the ABCUSD is very active in civic and social functions. We need to extend our participation in the political arena especially like in ABCUSD in which students of Filipino descent represent 10% of the population. Our FilAm community needs to be present and involved in the social, civic and political discussion of our communities,” stated Armin.
Speaking of his past three terms on the Board, Armin said, “During my last 12 years, we have modernized our schools and equipments, despite of the financial crisis. Our district’s API continues to improve. Our District API is currently 813, 13 points above the state goal of 800. But our greatest accomplishment to date is the Labor-Management collaboration between our District and our Teachers Union ABCFT which has garnered National Awards and recognitions.”
“My goal for the future is to continue our Academic success through collaboration with our Parents, Students, community partners and our Employee groups. I would also like to expand our partnership overseas. We have partners in South Korea, Taiwan, China, Japan and South Africa. We have invited a delegation from the Philippines to one of our conferences in China in 2006. However, I would like to expand our District’s Educational Partnership with the educational community in the Philippines,” shared Armin.
“We have proven that, given all the problems that we face, the leadership and understanding of the board on how to do more with less, bear fruits,” Reyes said.
“Now we’re focusing on specific problems. As a whole, the district went up in scores, but we need to fill gaps. I believe we just need to convey to the community that we’re doing a good job. The scores speak for themselves,” he added.
Armin and his wife Lilibelle have been married for 15years. They have three children, Ian, Julia and Michael. Ian, a junior, and Julia, a freshman, are currently attending Cerritos High School while Michael is a 5th grader in Cerritos Elementary school.
When their busy schedule permits, Armin and his family love vacationing in the homeland. “My family and I enjoy visiting the Philippines. I love Boracay, Taal, Pagsanjan Falls and we have been fortunate to visit every 5 years,” said Armin who admits to love adobo and garlic fried rice.
For more information on the re-election of Armin Reyes, call: (562) 306-6690 or e-mail at: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
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