Meet Jennifer
Jennifer Bagley did not spend years planning to run for office. She spent those years raising kids, building a career, leading a PTA and learning firsthand how much schools matter to a family.
Jennifer and her husband have called the South Bay home for more than 15 years and Bodger Park home for more than a decade. Their three children — ages 9, 6 and 3 — are growing up in the Lawndale Elementary School District.
As a parent, Jennifer has experienced LESD from the inside. She has navigated enrollment, volunteered in the school community and served as a PTA president. As the mother of a child with autism, she has also navigated the IEP process and learned how important it is for parents to understand the system, be heard and have a true partner in their child's school.
That experience is at the heart of her campaign.
Jennifer believes every child deserves access to a strong, supportive education that meets their individual needs. She wants teachers and staff to have the support to do their best work and families to feel connected to their schools rather than lost in a system.
Jennifer is also a former member of IATSE and has spent her professional career as an editor in film and television. Editing is creative work, but it is also intensely collaborative: listening to different perspectives, solving problems, making decisions under pressure and bringing complicated pieces together on deadline. Jennifer brings that same practical, collaborative approach to community leadership.
At home, life is considerably less polished. Three kids have turned the backyard into a full-scale playground. A guava tree out front comes with an invitation for neighbors and passersby to help themselves, and delivery drivers know there is cold water and a snack waiting by the door.
Jennifer is running for Lawndale Elementary School District Board of Trustees, Trustee Area 1 because she believes LESD has strong schools worth protecting and because the challenges ahead require new energy, careful planning and leadership that understands what families experience every day.
Why I’m Running
I have three children growing up in the Lawndale Elementary School District, so the decisions our school board makes are not abstract to me. They show up in my kids' classrooms, in conversations with teachers and parents, and at our kitchen table.
I've served as a PTA president. I've navigated enrollment. And as the mom of a child with autism, I've gone through the IEP process and learned how important it is to have a school district that listens to families and helps them find the support their children need.
I believe in our schools and in the people who work in them. I am running because I want to protect what is working and help us tackle the challenges ahead.
Declining enrollment and tighter budgets will require choices. We need to plan responsibly, protect manageable class sizes and classroom resources, support our teachers and staff, and make better use of community partnerships. Most of all, we need to keep asking what every decision means for students.