A COUPLE of months ago, Filipina American Lynda Provido Johnson officially launched her campaign for a seat on the ABC School Board in Cerritos. Johnson is running for the vacant seat on the ABC Unified School District Board of Education, which serves the cities of Artesia, Cerritos, Hawaiian Gardens, and portions of Lakewood, Long Beach and Norwalk.
The term for this seat expires in December 2013. Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2011.
A former three-time president of the Cerritos High School Parent Teacher Student Association (PTSA), Johnson is a 40-year resident of the City of Cerritos. She attended Cabrillo Lane Elementary, Nixon Elementary and Haskell Middle School and graduated from Artesia High School in 1982 with highest honors.
Lynda is the proud parent of three adult children who all graduated from Cerritos High School – Lauren, Roy Jr., and Ryan.
Professionally, Lynda Johnson has more than 25 years of experience in law enforcement as a paralegal with the District Attorney’s Office and previously at the Los Cerritos Municipal Court.
In an exclusive interview with the Asian Journal, Lynda talked about herself, her candidacy, and her Filipino heritage.
“I am the only candidate in my race that is a 40-year resident of Cerritos and therefore a product of ABC schools. My parents, Samuel Bilar Johnson and Delia Provido Johnson, moved to Cerritos in December 1971. We were among the first of many Filipino families that made Cerritos their hometown,” Lynda said.
“My father was one of the pioneers of the Philippine - US Veterans Association as well as the Phil-Sela organization. I knew that the ABC community is where I wanted to raise my children because I valued the quality of education of the schools in the district. Therefore, my three children are also products of ABC schools and all are graduates of Cerritos High. They are a testament as to the quality of education that ABC offers. My daughter, Lauren, graduated from UCLA. My son, Roy, is a senior at Whittier College. And my son, Ryan, is a Midshipman at the United States Naval Academy,” she added.
Concerning her candidacy, Lynda explained why she is qualified for a seat in the board.
“I know first hand that ABC provides a world-class education. I was a student in these classrooms, a parent volunteer in these classrooms, and a three term PTSA President at Cerritos High School. Collaboration and community involvement has been the cornerstone of my leadership style.”
“During the 3 years I served as the PTSA President, with parental involvement and community support, we raised thousands of dollars to help improve school facilities, technology and provide student scholarships. I have a proven track record of building key working relationships with students, parents, teachers, PTSA board members, local businesses and council members,” she added.
“Outside of Cerritos High School, I was very involved as a coach for the Cerritos Youth Sports Program. I coached all three of my children in basketball and also coached T-ball and Soccer,” she said.
“The seat I am running for is the two-year term left vacant by Councilmember Mark Pulido. Mark is also a Pinoy, a homegrown product of Cerritos. He was recently elected to the Cerritos City Council. If elected, I plan to continue the legacy he left behind and to continue to move the schools in the ABC district towards the future,” Johnson added.
Johnson is endorsed and supported by the ABC Federation of Teachers, American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, California State Employees Association, State Senator Alan Lowenthal, Artesia Mayor Victor Manalo, ABC School Board Vice President Armin Reyes, Cerritos Councilmember Mark Pulido, Fine Arts and Historical Commissioner Nora Benzon, Community Saftey Committe Member Joe DeGuzman, Property Preservation Commission Levi Javier, Let Freedom Ring Committee Member Melette Lampino, Planning Commissioner Frank Yokoyama, and many more elected and appointed officials.
When asked to mention some of her major accomplishments in the past that would be beneficial to being in the Board, Johnson said, “As a former PTSA President of Cerritos High School, I established their signature golf tournament, the Dons Classic Golf tournament. I worked collaboratively and effectively with other PTSA members and ABC School Board members and ABC district personnel. Over a course of 3 years, we raised over $30,000 for Cerritos High.”
“At district level, I served on the interview committees for those that applied for various administrative positions in the ABC school district. I learned first hand the hiring process of administrators that will lead our ABC schools. I am familiar with the qualities that the district is looking for when hiring an administrator for elementary, middle and high schools as well as administrators in Special Education,” she said.
“I have been a parent volunteer in my children’s classrooms over a course of 20 years. I was in the classroom spending time with all the students. I was a parent chaperone for numerous field trips. I was involved in various booster clubs at the school sites where my children attended. All of this gave me a better sense of appreciation of the hard work that our ABC teachers put in for all of our students. ABC schools attract qualified and talented teachers and as a board member I look forward to working effectively with the teachers and the schools,” she added.
Excited about her plans for the future, Lynda mentioned what she would like to achieve if elected. “As a board member, you are a representative of the community. We represent 30 schools and 20,000 students and approximately 900 teachers. It is a quality of a board member to be persistent in listening to their concerns. It is all about valuing people, the students, the teachers and the parents. My focus is to improve student achievement and to close the achievement gap especially in the areas that are under represented. That will be my foremost priority. ABC schools have high test scores overall but I would like to see the other schools improve on their test scores as well.”
“The current economic crisis has made it difficult to balance our budget. It is important to preserve what we have and to restore what was lost. The programs hit hardest are the arts, music and athletics. It is important to keep these programs but yet maintain a quality education for our students.”
“ABC also offers adult school. I support life long learning, from the youngest to the seniors in our community. There are many classes offered by adult school from aerobics to nutrition. It is all about maintaining healthy lifestyles for a better quality of life,” added Lynda.
Proudly Filipina, Lynda talked about her Filipino heritage. “My parents, Samuel Bilar Johnson and Delia Provido Johnson were married in Manila, Philippines in 1963. My father served in the United States Navy for 20 years from 1954 until he retired in 1974. My father came to America, through the Navy in 1954 and after marrying my mother he brought her to the US in 1964. I was born on a Naval Base in Yokosuka, Japan in 1964. I am the oldest of 3 girls. Being a Navy dependent, we moved from place to place across the United State until we made Cerritos our hometown in 1971,” she said.
“I was raised in a traditional Filipino household. We did our chores, learned to cook, clean, iron our clothes, all at a very young age. My mother cooked Filipino food all the time so you can imagine that we ate rice at least 3 times a day. Rice with everything! I love to watch Filipino movies and am fluent in Tagalog. I raised my 3 children in the same fashion I was brought up. They too were raised eating Filipino foods. I cook Filipino food at least 90 percent of the time. I can cook Kare-Kare, chicken adobo, afritada, nilaga, mungo with baboy, talong, etc. My favorite is Kare-Kare, with bagoong, of course! My children love chicken adobo.”
“When I first came to Cerritos in 1971 there were hardly any Filipinos. It was not like the Cerritos that it is today. I am so proud of the Filipino community that it has become. The restaurants, businesses, citizens have all come together to make it a strong community,” she said with pride.
“I am honored by the support of the Filipino community. If elected, I would be the first Filipina American who graduated from ABC schools to serve on the ABC School Board,” Lynda said.
For more information, please call (310) 650-6159 or email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
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