A Portage Life in the Spotlight: Cindy Laingren

A Portage Life in the Spotlight: Cindy Laingren

This week’s Life in the Spotlight, Cindy Laingren, has helped the Portage community by spending the last 20 years working with children in the Portage Township school system.

Despite her dedication, Laingren has not always been interested in education. She began her career as an owner of a flower shop, but as her boys reached school age, Laingren decided she would rather match her schedule to theirs.

“I figured it would give me hours to be home with them but also make money and do things in the summer with the kids,” Laingren said.

Joining her youngest son at Myers Elementary School, Laingren took a job as a second-grade classroom assistant. Her older son had also had begun his schooling at Myers but switched schools to be in the Gifted and Talent program before Laingren started working.

Laingren said she decided to stay at Meyers because she wanted to “stay in the neighborhood” and make the transition easier since she already knew faculty members at Myers.

For Laingren, recess and remediation were also exciting times because she was able to work with students in the upper elementary grade levels.

“I really wanted a lot of kids, so this afforded me to be around kids,” Laingren said.

After five years as an assistant, Laingren spent another eight years as Myers secretary.

Laingren greatly appreciated the people she worked with at Myers, especially former principal Ken Langdon, who made sure “you felt the warmth of family when you walked in the building.”

During Christmastime, she said, many of the kids wished they could stay at school instead of going home for a two-week break.

“That’s a good feeling when all the kids one to be there,” Laingren said. “They feel safe and secure and cared for.”

She also remembers the individualized attention she received from faculty. Betty Turley, who taught fifth grade, once asked Laingren to come show her students how to work a machine with which the latter was familiar.

“I was surprised she came down to see me,” Laingren said.

She was once also asked to teach students about the parts of a flower because of her background as a florist.

After her sons graduated, Laingren sought full-time employment in the school system and move to the administration building. She worked as a receptionist for the Substitute Coordinator for four years and is now secretary for the Superintendent.

Although she does not have as much direct contact with students, Laingren feels she is doing more work with the entire community.

She assists the Board of Education at meetings, and during the summer months she used to have off, she assists with the processes of hiring teachers, creating a budget and buying new textbooks. While the administration is much different than working with students, Laingren still feels like she helps the children with the work she does.

“That’s really why I do my job,” Laingren said. “I’m there for the kids. I’m trying to make sure what we do is best for kids.”

Laingren hopes to one day see more community support for the Portage schools. She has found educators she knows from other districts boast much more involvement from the people in their area.

“The support that parents show areas wonderful, but I wish there was [more in the] community,” Laingren said.

In her spare time, Laingren enjoys gardening, crafting, golfing, and spending time with her sons and their families.