Biography
Jose also volunteers his time with local organizations serving on the boards of the Alhambra Historical Society, the Alhambra Latino Association and as a teacher advisor to the Los Angeles County Museums. Jose has an extensive educational background and his areas of expertise include civics education, ethnic studies and teacher preparation.
Jose received his bachelor's degree from Occidental College in Diplomacy & World Affairs and Spanish/French Literary and Cultural Studies and his masters degree from Claremont Graduate University in Education.
Jose Sanchez is most known as a celebrated classroom teacher in the community. Recently, Jose was named “Teacher of the Year” by Assemblymember Mike Fong for his commitment to students, his work on promoting civic engagement and coaching the Academic Decathlon team to the LA County Championship and 3rd Place state championship. Jose was also named Civics Educator of the Year by the California Council for the Social Studies (CCSS) in 2022 and “Champion of Civics” by the California Department of Education and the California Supreme Court in 2021. As a council member in Monterey Park, Jose has championed civics helping make civics a strategic goal in the city and creating the first “Student Leadership Day” program bringing local students to learn about city operations and run a mock city council meeting.
Jose also served as Mayor following the mass shooting that occurred in Monterey Park on January 21, 2023 that left 9 dead and 11 injured. Jose was pivotal in helping with the healing process that happened in the months following the shooting. And, he championed strong gun control measures in the city including the banning of sale of guns near schools or neighborhoods and other sensitive areas, banning concealed weapons on city property and mandating safe storage of weapons in private homes. In fact, Mayor Sanchez joined Moms Demand Action in Sacramento to push for strong gun control laws in the state. Councilmember Sanchez’ advocacy on gun control is not new to us. As a teacher, Mr. Sanchez’ students wrote gun control legislation in 2018 following the school shooting at Marjory Stoneman High School that was sponsored as House Resolution 1076 by Congresswoman Judy Chu.
