Latest news with #JasonGlass
Los Angeles Times
2 days ago
- General
- Los Angeles Times
LBUSD Supt. Jason Glass aims to meet community needs, embrace technology
Jason Glass, the newly-appointed superintendent of the Laguna Beach Unified School District, refers to education as the family business. Looking back at his own path, he recited a family tree that included a Kentucky school teacher for a paternal grandmother, followed by a pair of educators for parents. Glass grew up in a small town in Brandenburg, an agricultural community along the Ohio River. 'I grew up seeing that the community would do anything for us as kids, and the school district would do anything for us as kids, as well,' Glass said. 'So that professionally has always had an impact on how I've tried to lead school the responsibility of this community and the school district to do everything it can for its children.' Glass said he has relocated to Laguna Beach with his wife, Sarah, and their two children. Norah, entering eighth grade, and Chase, heading into seventh grade, will both be attending Thurston Middle School. Most recently the associate vice president of teaching and learning at Western Michigan University, Glass was previously the commissioner of the Kentucky Department of Educatio and the Iowa Director of Education. He has also served as superintendent of the Eagle County School District and Jeffco Public Schools, both in Colorado. 'I'm not new to leadership roles, but over the course of all those years, I have learned to slow down and learn a community and what it wants and values, and then build the future plan based on that,' Glass said. 'I don't come in with a playbook … and start directing people. I'm taking the time to understand this place, what are the aspirations and needs of this community, and then build our future from that, because I think it'll be much more stable.' The Laguna Beach Unified Board of Education appointed Glass as the new superintendent on June 9. Jason Viloria had held the position since 2016, until his contract was terminated in December. Jeff Dixon, formerly the district's assistant superintendent of business services, had stepped in as interim superintendent as the board carried out its search to fill the position. He has since moved into an assistant superintendent role in the Newport-Mesa Unified School District. Faculty and parents heard Viloria prioritize the development of the whole child in his latter years with the district. While Glass said he does not enter his new role with a playbook, he indicated that would be a focal point for him, too. School systems continue to grapple with several challenges, including those brought on by a disruption in educational and social-emotional development during the coronavirus pandemic. 'I think it will take us years to fully unravel the effects of what experiencing COVID as a young person were,' Glass said. 'We definitely have seen an increase in social-emotional and behavioral challenges, student isolation, a drop in academic performance — although that's recovering.' Glass surmised that some of the trends around student interaction were showing up before the pandemic, attributing some of those impacts to the rise of technology. Nevertheless, he is prepared to embrace it, sharing a belief that students should be prepared for the world that they will be sent out into. 'That's exactly the space that Laguna Beach has stepped into is supporting both teachers in the development of lessons that have students responsibly and ethically engage with [artificial intelligence], and students learn about what that looks like, too,' Glass said. 'As adults and as professionals, we're using it. I'm using it as a really high level sort of executive assistant to proof things, to give me concepts and ideas to think about. 'I do the work. I make the final decision. The analogy I think of is it's not driverless. … You're not giving the thing complete control, but it's driver-assisted. I'm still making the final decisions and deciding where we're going, but it's helping me out. I think that's the concept that we want students engaging with right now, too.' There is an importance to be placed on programming that results in human experiences, Glass said. He noted that social media can create 'fear of missing out at scale' because people generally post the best moments of their lives. '[Technology is] going to be all around us, even at levels that we can't even comprehend right now, but at the same time, as a school system, we've got to emphasize and create opportunities for human connections and to develop uniquely human traits,' Glass said. 'Creativity, complex problem solving, persisting through adversity, designing something new, standing and delivering a presentation or experiencing something that makes you feel … those are things that we have to intentionally design into education.' Glass said his new stomping grounds have it all. He believes Laguna Beach is a place where people get to experience 'the full palette of a vibrant life.' 'From arts and music to wonderful restaurants and the beaches and the outdoors, it's a full, rich life here,' Glass said. 'The Laguna Beach Unified School District has done a good job thinking about how they bring learning experiences from all those [areas] into schools, so that's something that I definitely want to continue and support.'
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
'Best feeling in the world': Chanse Vigen captures first Rangeland Derby title with 'rockstar' drive
'The Rangeland Derby Rockstar' finally lived up to his nickname. Chanse Vigen did what he wasn't able to do last year and outraced Jason Glass across the finish line in the championship final heat of the 2025 Rangeland Derby presented by Play Alberta. 'I just feel like I've been working towards this my whole life,' said Vigen, who's originally from Grande Prairie, Alta., but now lives in Calgary with his wife Brie. 'I just feel so relieved.' And how did it feel to add a bit more punch to the nickname that track announcer Les McIntyre gave him? 'I wasn't trying to rock anything,' said Vigen in regards to winning chuckwagon's ultimate prize in his fourth trip to the final heat. 'I just wanted to win the race and I've never wanted something so bad. It's the best feeling in the world. There's a lot of emotion running through me right now. It's the best night of my life.' After finishing third one year ago, Vigen was able to execute a perfect figure-eight turn around the barrels in his wagon to secure his spot along the rail before racing around the Stampede Park track in 1:13.44 to beat Glass — the defending champion — and his Birchcliff Energy outfit across the line by 1.27 seconds. In his first time competing in the Rangeland Derby final, Jamie Laboucane (Panorama Advisory Group) hit a barrel and wound up in third spot. 'You're never comfortable when you're hooked (with) Jason Glass and Jamie Laboucane,' said Vigen, who finished third in last year's final. 'They're the two fiercest competitors out there, probably not to take anything away from anybody. They're just so tough and consistent and loaded with horsepower, and it was a tough race. I don't know if there was a favourite to win the race tonight. Anybody could have won that race, and our horses just responded and answered the bell.' Racing down the final stretch and hearing the roar of crowd at GMC Stadium was something Vigen will never forget. 'I saw my whole life flash before my eyes,' said Vigen, who looked back to make sure his outriders Rory Gervais and Ethan Motowylo were behind him, which they were. 'I knew we were going to win.' Outrider Trey MacGillivray, who also worked with the team throughout the 10-day show, also accompanied Vigen to the stage to be honoured for his efforts. Although he wasn't able to duplicate the success he had when he won his first Rangeland Derby title, Logan Gorst (International Petroleum Group) still won the Richard Cosgrave Memorial and Safety Award and a $30,000 bonus for finishing with the fastest cumulative time through 10 nights among drivers who didn't take a penalty. Besides the $80,000 payout doled out in the final heat, an additional $78,200 was paid out to the other drivers on Sunday. Aboard his STARS/De Havilland Aircraft of Canada rig, Wade Salmond finished his Stampede off strong with the fastest time of the night. Salmond recorded with a time of 1:13.18, the fastest of the first eight heats, to take home $6,000. Rory Gervais won the Atco Outrider Award and a cheque for $2,000. Ethan Motowylo finished second, while his brother Hayden Motowylo placed third. Both won $1,000 … D.J. King won the Orville Strandquist Memorial rookie driver award and received an additional payday of $3,000 … Vigen, Laboucane and Glass all had horses win Equine Athlete of Excellence Awards. Vigen's right leader Junior and Laboucane's left leader 3Score were honoured for their excellence as was Glass's outriding horse. Chad Fike's left wheeler Bro and Obrey Motowylo's right wheeler Bugsy were also given awards as was Darcy Flad's outriding horse Wade.
Calgary Herald
6 days ago
- Sport
- Calgary Herald
'Best feeling in the world': Chanse Vigen captures first Rangeland Derby title with 'rockstar' drive
Article content 'The Rangeland Derby Rockstar' finally lived up to his nickname. Article content Chanse Vigen did what he wasn't able to do last year and outraced Jason Glass across the finish line in the championship final heat of the 2025 Rangeland Derby presented by Play Alberta. Article content 'I just feel like I've been working towards this my whole life,' said Vigen, who's originally from Grande Prairie, Alta., but now lives in Calgary with his wife Brie. 'I just feel so relieved.' Article content Article content 'I wasn't trying to rock anything,' said Vigen in regards to winning chuckwagon's ultimate prize in his fourth trip to the final heat. 'I just wanted to win the race and I've never wanted something so bad. It's the best feeling in the world. There's a lot of emotion running through me right now. It's the best night of my life.' Article content After finishing third one year ago, Vigen was able to execute a perfect figure-eight turn around the barrels in his wagon to secure his spot along the rail before racing around the Stampede Park track in 1:13.44 to beat Glass — the defending champion — and his Birchcliff Energy outfit across the line by 1.27 seconds. Article content In his first time competing in the Rangeland Derby final, Jamie Laboucane (Panorama Advisory Group) hit a barrel and wound up in third spot. Article content Article content 'You're never comfortable when you're hooked (with) Jason Glass and Jamie Laboucane,' said Vigen, who finished third in last year's final. 'They're the two fiercest competitors out there, probably not to take anything away from anybody. They're just so tough and consistent and loaded with horsepower, and it was a tough race. I don't know if there was a favourite to win the race tonight. Anybody could have won that race, and our horses just responded and answered the bell.' Article content Racing down the final stretch and hearing the roar of crowd at GMC Stadium was something Vigen will never forget. Article content 'I saw my whole life flash before my eyes,' said Vigen, who looked back to make sure his outriders Rory Gervais and Ethan Motowylo were behind him, which they were. 'I knew we were going to win.' Article content Outrider Trey MacGillivray, who also worked with the team throughout the 10-day show, also accompanied Vigen to the stage to be honoured for his efforts.
CTV News
6 days ago
- Sport
- CTV News
Ray Croteau Jr. dominates Saturday night at Rangeland Derby but falls short in bid to land in Sunday championship heat
Ray Croteau Jr. won Day 10 at the 2025 Calgary Stampede Rangeland Derby Saturday night, edging out defending champion Jason Glass. Ray Croteau Jr. won the night Saturday at the Rangeland Derby but he lost the aggregate. Croteau Jr. turned in a sterling time of 1:11.84 Saturday to take the day money in the chuckwagon races, defeating defending champ Jason Glass by six one-hundredths of a second. Logan Gorst finished third, followed by Laboucane and Chanse Vigen, who tied Evan Salmond for fifth. However, when all was said and done, Glass claimed third place in the aggregate, landing a spot in Sunday's championship final heat. Jason Glass, July 10, 2025 Defending Rangeland Derby champ Jason Glass moved into third place overall after winning the day money Thursday night at the Calgary Stampede. (Photo: WPCA/ShellieScott) There, he will compete against Laboucane and Vigen for the title of Rangeland Derby champ, along with $50,000 and a GMC truck. Vigen and Laboucane both built significant leads throughout the week as they dominated the top two spots. Vigen's nine-day aggregate time was 10:54.33. Laboucane finished with an aggregate time of 10:55.81, while Glass finished 10:59.07. Croteau Jr. won $6,000 for finishing with the top time Saturday night, landing him in fourth place in the aggregate, 2.16 seconds behind Glass. Obrey Molowylo finished fifth overall, 2.46 seconds back. The finals start at 7:15 p.m. Sunday night.
CTV News
12-07-2025
- Sport
- CTV News
Laboucane leads the way on Day 8 at the Rangeland Derby to close in on spot in finals
When things haven't gone wrong, they've gone very right for Jamie Laboucane at the 2025 Calgary Stampede Rangeland Derby. Laboucane's team won the day money Friday night on Day 8 of the derby, running a 1:11.52, besting second-place finisher Jason Glass by one tenth of a second. Chad Fike was third, with Chance Bensmiller and Rae Croteau Jr. rounding out the top five. Despite picking up a couple of two-second penalties this week, Laboucane remains firmly entrenched in the top three, who will face off against each other in a championship heat Sunday. Chanse Vigen remains on top, with an aggregate total of 9:41.81, which puts him 1.54 seconds in front of Laboucane. 2024 Rangeland Derby champ Jason Glass sits third, with a 1.68 second lead over Obrey Motowylo. Chad Fike is fifth, 2.04 seconds out of third.
