"As a school board member, Telly will bring years of experience as a special educator and advocate to the Glendale Unified School Board. He has a proven track record of building bridges between teachers, classified staff, and the community to deliver the quality education that students deserve. As a fellow educator and labor leader, I look forward to the opportunity to work with him in our respective districts to protect children, families, and educators and to provide all students the opportunities and supports they need to be happy and successful."
Brian Guerrero
Educator & Culver City Unified School District School Board Member
FROM THE COMMUNITY. FOR THE COMMUNITY.
Telly Tse was born in Los Angeles to James and Shu, both immigrants from Hong Kong. A product of public schools in nearby Alhambra Unified, Telly went on to graduate from UCLA with a degree in History and from CSULA with a masters degree and teaching credential in Special Education. Most recently, Telly earned a certificate in Leadership, Organization, and Action from the Harvard Kennedy School Executive Education program.
Telly Tse has spent his entire career working in education first as a tutor for high school students preparing for the SAT and AP tests to now as a special education teacher in a public high school for the last twenty years. During this time, Telly served the district as a mentor teacher in the Beginning Teacher Support & Assessment (BTSA) program as well as in the Peer Assistance and Review Committee. In addition, Telly was a fierce advocate for his colleagues and students and served two terms as President of the Beverly Hills Education Association. During his time as president, educators in his district achieved significant increases to their wages and health and welfare benefits.
In addition to his work as an educator, Telly is actively involved in the labor movement. He has served on the Board of Directors of both the California Teachers Association and the National Education Association where he spoke out passionately for students of color, the LGBTQ+ community, students with special needs, the inclusion of Armenian education in public education, and honesty in education. He is a past Vice Chair of the Pacific Asian American Caucus in CTA as well as current Co-President of the Los Angeles Chapter of the Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance. For his work and contributions to racial and social justice and the labor movement, Telly was honored with a CTA State WHO (We Honor Ours) Award in 2019 and a CTA Human Rights Award in 2022.
Within the Glendale/La Crescenta community, Telly is an active volunteer and coach. He has served as a school foundation treasurer and School Site Council chair and is currently part of the Board of Directors of both the AYSO (American Youth Soccer Organization) for Region 88 and the Crescenta Valley United Softball Association. Over the past few years, Telly has coached children from every school in Area A. In 2017, he was selected as an AYSO Coach of the Year by his peers.
In his spare time, Telly enjoys running and has completed nearly fifty half-marathons and marathons.
As a long-time educator, labor organizer, and community volunteer, Telly's priorities as a member of the GUSD School Board will be to ensure the district continues to stand up for its underrepresented and marginalized students, strengthen its relationship with its educators and staff through a renewed and collaborative partnership, and increase transparency and communication with parents and community members. His wide-ranging experience and skill set makes him uniquely qualified to ensure these priorities become reality.
Telly lives in La Crescenta with his wife Tonia and their two children, Sophie (6th Grade) and Chloe (2nd Grade / Dual Language Immersion).
