Ken LaVigne
Whittier Union HS District
Author, Coach the Soul
Ken LaVigne was born in Whittier, California and grew up in nearby Santa Fe Springs, graduating from Santa Fe High School in the Whittier Union HS District. He played football while at Santa Fe HS, Rio Hondo College, and Santa Clara University. A football injury at Santa Clara ended playing career. Ken then coached freshman football at Santa Clara before transferring to Cal State Long Beach to finish his degree and teaching credential. Ken has taught for 35 years, 28 of those years in the Whittier Union High School District at Santa Fe and La Serna High Schools as an English, Interventions teacher and football coach. He has been selected as Teacher of the Year at both Santa Fe and La Serna as well as 2011 Los Angeles County Teacher of the Year and 2012 California State Teacher of the Year. For the past seven years, Ken has served on the selection panel for Los Angeles County Teachers of the Year and he is the author of Coach the Soul. He lives in Downey with his wife of 35 years Gisele. His two sons, Mark and Clint, are La Serna High School and UCLA graduates.
