Second in a series
Re “Why New Super LaRose Wants to Come to Culver City”
[img]1456|left|Mr. Dave LaRose||no_popup[/img]Dave LaRose, the new Superintendent of the School District, says his distinctive philosophical approach to education – accenting the whole child – took root 30 years ago as a teen camp counselor in his native Maine.
“I was very relationally driven,” he says. “For kids to learn with you and through you, there needs to be a high level of trust. Validation is needed from the child’s perspective that they feel safe and cared for so they can take risks that are associated with learning something new.
“I always have been relational, wanting to develop a mutually respectful but also affectionate relationship with those you work with because that is what breeds trust. That is essential for any growth, whether with a child or with adults or with an entire organization.
“That is always how it has been with me,” Mr. LaRose said from his home for the last eight years in Washington state.
He is scheduled to make his first splash in Culver City weekend after next, and then will be formally confirmed at the School Board meeting on Tuesday, July 17, at the District headquarters.
“As I have made transitions in my career, it is something that has been fundamental,” said the new Superintendent. “It can be a cliché at times if we talk about making sure kids being at the center of every decision we make. But it is not a cliché for me. In every role I have been in, it is pretty simple recognizing that the fundamental purpose of a K-12 system is children. It wouldn’t exist without them.
“The purpose is to serve them, every single one of them, to perform to the best of their abilities.
“In order to do that,” Mr. LaRose said, “we need to be thoughtful about all of the factors that impact whether they can perform.”
(To be continued)
