Yvonne Chan ’68, Ed.D. ’81

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Principal of the Vaughn Next Century Learning Center (formerly Vaughn Street School) in Pacoima, which serves 1,200 elementary students living in poverty, Dr. Yvonne Chan is a driving force behind bold public school reforms. She has been instrumental in implementing academic restructuring, raising learning standards, improving social services and creating a comprehensive charter school that pushes school reform to the limits.

Thanks to Chan’s leadership, student achievement has increased significantly and attendance is nearly perfect. Under her skilled management, the school saved $1.2 million during its first year as an autonomous charter school. These funds were used to reduce classroom overcrowding, which in turn created construction jobs in the community. She also has increased student internet access, extended the school year and lead a public and private venture that will create exciting opportunities to further improve her students’ and their parents’ lives.

An educational consultant for CBS Education-Entertainment and various national foundations, Chan is also an adjunct professor at UCLA, where she earned an Ed.D. and at California State University, Northridge, where she earned a master’s degree in special education. She serves in the Board of Public/Private Venture in Philadelphia, the President’s Advisory Board – California State University and the Consortium for Policy research in Education and chairs the California State Superintendent’s Advisory Committee on Charter Schools.

A first-generation immigrant who came to the United States from Hong Kong at the age of 17, Chan was awarded the National Educator Award by the California State Department of Education in 1991. Her donation of the entire $25,000 cash prize to her school has leveraged more than $1 million in matching grant funds. Vaughn was named the 1995 California Distinguished School and the 1996 National Blue Ribbon School by the U.S. Department of Education and was visited by Hillary Clinton.

Chan’s outstanding efforts have been recognized by Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan, California State University and many others. She was named Educator of the Year by the national Council of Negro Women and the 1996 McGraw Hill Distinguished Educator.