BY LISA VALENTINE
Review Staff Writer
Lauren Sanborn hasn’t been supervisor of the Learning Options High School in Lake Orion for very long, but she said the staff there has already made her feel like a part of the team.
‘The staff here is phenomenal,? said Sanborn, a Michigan native, who most recently called Savage, Minnesota home. ‘They are a group of very dedicated people.?
Learning Options is an alternative high school located at the Community Education Resource Center (CERC). Sanborn, who worked for St. Paul Public Schools in Minnisota before coming to Lake Orion Schools, recently replaced Gary Parker as the Learning Options Supervisor.
Sanborn worked for St. Paul Schools for six years, in program administration and building administration as a special education resource for the district’s alternative education programs.
‘St. Paul has seven high schools the size of Lake Orion High School,? she said. ‘They have 32 alternative education programs, and I found ways for the schools to work with special needs students.?
Sanborn, who grew up in Carleton, earned her bachelor’s degree from Central Michigan University in special education and taught for two years in Carleton, located just outside of Saginaw.
‘From there I went to Dayton and Cincinnati, where I taught for a couple of years,? Sanborn said. ‘From there I went to Minnesota.?
Sanborn earned her master’s degree in administration from Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota, where she also received her Educational Administration Licensure, a requirement in that state.
She will soon complete her Director of Special Education Licensure at St. Mary’s.
‘I flew out to Michigan three times for interviews before I was hired (with Lake Orion Schools),? Sanborn said. ‘That was my first time visiting Lake Orion.?
Sanborn has since moved to the Village of Lake Orion, where she lives with her son, Ryan, 5, a kindergartner at Blanche Sims, and daughter Reagan, 3.
‘The people here are wonderful,? she said of Orion. ‘Very friendly and very helpful. It seems like a really tight knit community, where people really step up to help each other.?
Sanborn said she was also happy to find that the area’s residents are ‘very supportive of education.?
‘Everyone at Lake Orion Schools has been extremely welcoming as well,? she said. ‘Lake Orion is a lot smaller than Savage, but my goal was to get back into a small community like the one I grew up in, to have that experience for my children.?
Working for St. Paul Schools, Sanborn said she helped build programs for alternative education students including career-focus education and getting students involved in the work place.
‘I also have a lot of background in elementary education and I worked in the middle school level for a while,? Sanborn said, adding that she loves working with the high school age group.
‘There is a certain maturity when students go through the years of 15, 16 and 17,? she added. ‘You see them start to think about some of the responsibilities and you get to be a part of that planning.?
Sanborn likes that alternative schools ‘aren’t just a mold,? that students have to fit into.
‘We get to know the students individually, and we can tailor the planning more than a traditional high school,? she said. ‘I came into an established team here at Learning Options, with a lot of people who are really dedicated to working with students who might be considered ‘at-risk,? she said.
Sanborn has found Learning Options? students to be ‘remarkable,? with many talents that she doesn’t always see them recognizing.
‘It’s a smaller setting, so there’s an opportunity to build better relationships with them,? she said. ‘But (Learning Options) is not always recognized the way I’d like us to be recognized.?
Sanborn’s mission, along with the rest of the staff at CERC, is to make Learning Options known as ‘a top alternative school in the state.?
‘We want to have programs to meet a wide variety of students? needs, and to keep our drop out rate as small as possible while increasing the graduation rate,? she said. ‘We have 38 seniors this year.
‘We’re making a lot of progress,? said Sanborn. ‘We’re continuing to develop the curriculum and finding those alternative ways to teach our students.?
Sanborn always knew she wanted to be a teacher and she does sometimes miss being in the classroom after having taught for eight years.
‘But I wanted to be able to have a wider impact, so I went into administration,? she said. ‘When I worked with St. Paul Schools the last year, I wasn’t committed to any one building. It’s nice to be able to connect with one school.?
When Sanborn has time, she said she loves to read and go on bike rides with her children.
‘I love to just have play time with my kids,? she said.