I would like to give you some information about LEMCA and our teachers.

 

First, LEMCA is a fully accredited school with a nationally approved curriculum.  Our teachers are committed to the learning experience of each student, giving the students the attention they need in the classroom to succeed after finishing their education at LEMCA.

 

A little bit about our teachers:

 

Our principal, Soriya, is from Cambodia.  Soriya was a student teacher at LEMCA while getting her degree in Christian Elementary Education in the US.  She went back to Cambodia after graduation to fulfill an obligation for sponsorship.  Soriya learned about and applied for the open teacher position at LEMCA and was accepted.  She arrived in the winter of 2021, which in itself is a “cultural shock.”  She readily accepted all the responsibilities of the ongoing program, testing and evaluating each student to make sure of the grade level standings.  She then adapted her lesson plans to the needs of the students, helping them achieve the necessary instructions for advancing to the next grade.

 

During the last school year, Soriya was selected to be a representative from our conference at the national education conference in Washington D.C.  Soriya found that “in some schools, teachers are not using all the materials in the textbooks” and “could pick and choose what to teach the students.”  Soriya’s comment to me was; “not in my school.”  “All the material in the textbook is there to help the student achieve the necessary skills for advancement and we will not skip any of the material.”  That is so reassuring to the school board, as well as parents, knowing their children are getting a “complete education.”

 

LEMCA opted to initiate a kindergarten program in 2022 knowing it would require additional teacher demands.  We searched our area for this type of teacher but the lower grade elementary teacher availability is extremely limited.  The board invited Dan, Soriya’s brother, also from Cambodia, to fill this position.  Dan was just finishing his master’s degree in Education Science and completed it shortly after arriving in the States.  He is as committed to student achievements as Soriya.  Both constantly seek ways to assist students in their learning experience.  Dan is also very talented in the technology field and teaches computer science to the students.  Knowing there are cultural differences in “our English language,” Dan found an app on letter and word pronunciations to assist the students with the most commonly used way of pronouncing our words.  Volunteers also help students learn to read the assignments. Dan makes sure “language barriers” do not affect the students.

 

Our school does not and will not accept any inappropriate books or teaching practices that deviate from the “traditional methods of instruction.”  We are a Christian school and include the Bible in our curriculum to introduce the students to the word of God, not to “convert the student to our belief.”

 

The school board exists to promote our school and teachers.  Experienced board members prevent the school from “chasing previous programs that didn’t work” and stay on track.   My previous experience was with the underground mining industry and now operate a business in Wyoming.

 

Thank you for your time.  I hope you will consider LEMCA for your children’s school, where students to teacher ratio is low and the student is the primary focus of the school.  Please don’t hesitate to contact LEMCA if you need more information or have questions.

 

We are all familiar with the saying “together we can make a difference.” For LEMCA I would change that to “together we will make a difference.”

 

Bob A. Kenison

Board Chair