Glendora Kids, Glendora Values
For Glendora Unified · Area 2
Enrollment is falling. Budgets are tight. The world our kids are growing up into is changing faster than any of us were taught to expect.
I don't think that's a reason to panic. I think it's a reason to have a trustee who's spent his career inside exactly that kind of change, and who's more convinced than ever that what actually prepares a kid for it isn't a new app. It's character.
Why I'm Running
A quick word from C.J.
Why this seat. Why now.
Two things are landing on this board in the next year, and I'm coming at both from an unusual place.
Enrollment. Glendora Unified has lost students five years in a row, more than 350 kids since 2021. And a lot of school-age kids who live inside our boundaries aren't in our schools at all.
Here's what surprised me when I looked into it: most of those families didn't leave for private school or homeschooling. They left for other public options — brick-and-mortar charter schools, independent study programs, districts next door. That tells me families aren't giving up on public education. They're choosing between public options, which means we can win them back by being the stronger choice.
Declining enrollment is the real budget problem hiding underneath every other budget problem. I'd rather solve it by earning families back than by cutting our way through it.
AI. Curriculum decisions about artificial intelligence are starting to reach this board, and the teachers I've talked with want clearer guidance than they've gotten so far. I build these systems for a living; no one else in this race does.
That matters less for the technology itself than for what it means to raise kids who can handle it. AI will keep changing every year. What doesn't change is whether a kid has the character to use these tools well instead of being used by them. That's the case for paying attention to this now, while it's still early, not after the fact.
I'm not running because I'm the most qualified person in Glendora. I'm running because these two questions — who's coming to our schools, and what they'll be equipped for once they get here — are on the table right now, and I happen to be standing where I can address both of them.
What I'm For
KIDS OF CHARACTER
Character isn't taught from a poster on a wall. It's handed down — and Glendora already knows how.
For years I've taught kids in this town, at my church and at home. Here's what that's taught me: kids learn honesty, responsibility, and hard work from adults who expect real things of them, in a town that still agrees on what those things are. Our district's own mission promises to build character, not just test scores. I'm running to help keep that promise.
What does that look like in a classroom? Let me show you.
FAMILIES AT THE CENTER
Parents don't work for the school district. It's the other way around.
Mary and I teach our kids at home, and our neighborhood school is still part of our family's life, so I know both sides of this. Parents are a kid's first teachers; schools are the partners. When a board forgets that, trust breaks. Glendora has already seen what that looks like, and voters answered.
Here's the story, and what I'll do so it never needs telling again.
READY FOR WHAT'S NEXT
I work in artificial intelligence every day. No one on our school board does.
I've watched these tools grow from a toy into something that can write an essay, answer any question, and sound completely sure of itself even when it's wrong. That's exactly why character matters more now, not less, and why Glendora's kids deserve a trustee who actually knows this terrain.
Here's what my work has taught me. It's probably not what you expect.
WHY I'M RUNNING
I married into Glendora.
I didn't find Glendora on a map. I married into it. My wife Mary's family has deep roots here: her cousins graduated from Glendora High, and the man who officiated our wedding grew up in town. He lives in his parents' old house today, two doors down from her grandmother's place. When Mary and I started our family, there was never really a question of where we would build our life.
Before Glendora, I lived a lot of places — Washington, central Pennsylvania, Albuquerque, Chicago, Nairobi, Oxford. You learn something from that: most towns are fine. A few are special. Glendora is one of the special ones.
What a school is here.
Our kids learned to ride bikes without training wheels in the Cullen Elementary parking lot, on quiet summer evenings. That's what a school is in Glendora: it belongs to the neighborhood after the bell rings. We school our kids at home, and the local public school is still part of our family's life and part of why our neighborhood feels the way it does. That is worth protecting.
Why now.
I'm not running because our schools are broken. They're not, and the current board has done real work to keep it that way. I'm running because good isn't the same as safe. Enrollment is declining, budgets are tightening, and the world our kids are walking into is being rebuilt by technology faster than anyone fully understands. These aren't reasons to panic. They're reasons to have trustees who can think a few years ahead and never lose sight of what schools are actually for.
Here's what I believe, plainly: schools succeed when they form kids of strong character, and character grows out of a community that knows who it is. Get that right and the rest follows.
I'll bring the seriousness I use in my work every day: I build AI products, I read the budget reports, I know how to ask hard questions, and I'll keep it anchored to the families this is all supposed to serve.
I'd be honored to earn your vote.
— C.J. Cohick
Yard signs, mailers, and door hangers all cost money. If this is the kind of school board you want, help me get in front of Area 2.
Glendora family roots
resident since 2017
Father
raising the next generation here
Builds AI products
knows what's coming
Church volunteer & teacher
years of service in Glendora
Lived on three continents
chose Glendora
Homeschool family
partnering with the district
Glendora Stands with C.J.
"As a retired teacher from this district, I know how important strong leadership is for our schools. That’s why I am proud to support C.J. Cohick for school board.
I have come to know him as someone who truly cares about our students and wants our schools to excel academically while also encouraging the values that help young people become responsible, caring adults. He is thoughtful, intelligent, and brings valuable experience that will benefit our district as it plans for the future.
I believe he will serve our community with integrity, wisdom and a genuine desire to see our schools thrive. I hope you’ll join me in voting for C.J.!"
Lenore Craig, retired teacher
"I believe with all my heart that you have exactly the right ideas for ensuring the success of GUSD.
You are the first person I’ve heard talk about the importance of character in education. And that takes courage!
Combine that with your background in AI and you are indeed, a unique and valuable asset to the community.
You have my vote!"
Sara Baron
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