Ali Carey-Oliver delivers her speech before the crowd. Photo by Sydney Trieu.
Volleyball players, alumni speak at AUSD board meeting about Kwan’s contract renewal
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After learning that Principal Debbie Stone did not renew P.E. teacher and longtime volleyball coach Chris Kwan’s teaching contract, members of the volleyball team and San Gabriel alumni addressed the Alhambra Unified School District (AUSD) school board at its March 22 meeting in hopes of convincing the board to reconsider Stone’s decision. Kwan’s non renewal prompted the resignation of the entire volleyball coaching staff on March 14, including Head Coach Larry Kanow, who was Pasadena Star-News’ Coach of the Year in 2015.
Sophomore Ethan Chan, who attended the packed board meeting, said: “At first it really hit me because my family came to this high school, my father was in class of ‘92, my uncle in class of ‘91, and most recently my brother in class of 2014, so I grew up in this atmosphere with Kwan and Kanow. I was looking forward to end high school with them.”
Six people, including two alumni, spoke to show support for Kwan, who has coached for San Gabriel since 1996. Ali Carey-Oliver, an alumnus from the class of ‘96, said during her speech that she was deeply concerned about what was going on in [San Gabriel High School] and questioned the evaluation process that Stone used with Kwan. She also brought in 25 letters from other alumni, ranging from the class of ‘89 to the class of 2015, who were also troubled by the situation. Carey-Oliver, who drove from Oakland to attend the meeting, read excerpts from several letters during her speech, and then gave the letters to the school board.
In her speech, sophomore Seena Nghiem described how Kwan set high expectations for his students and referenced San Gabriel’s Student Learning Outcomes, which are school objectives, that Kwan applied.
After the board meeting, Carey-Oliver said, “An alumni base that dates back 40 years has been awakened because of this incident. I, myself, am so upset that I am considering moving back to my hometown of San Gabriel and running for the school board myself. I do not want to watch Principal Stone make future decisions like this that would be detrimental to future students of San Gabriel High School. Our administrators have a responsibility to serve our students, and the students at San Gabriel High School are clearly not being served when such a well-loved coach and instructor has been let go.”
Principal Stone, who was not the board meeting, acknowledged the outcry from San Gabriel students and alumni, stating “people have a right to do what they feel they need to do.”
Stone also said that she would not reconsider the decision she made with Kwan’s contract.
To listen to the March 22 AUSD school board meeting click here.
