It was a busy Monday for Christina Campoy-Laughlin.

The Trustee Area 7 candidate for the Manteca Unified School District was helping youngsters including her 8-year-old daughter with the district's Online Academy, which provides a standards-based curriculum coupled with a flexible online learning environment.

"I had three kids today (at my home) working on two big projects — science and a short story — that are due," said Campoy-Laughlin, who regularly meets with youngsters in her area with their online schooling  from noon to 5 p.m.

It wasn't too long ago that she was an executive recruiter for a Fortune 500 Bay Area sourcing firm. She and her family — this includes her husband Chris and their daughter — moved from San Jose to the fast-growing San Joaquin County community of Lathrop in 2017 to be close to her father, who has been a resident there for the past 10 years.

She put her career on hold when she noticed that her daughter, who was in kindergarten at the time, was struggling in school.

She also became involved in her new surroundings.

"Over the past few years, as I got to know other parents in the community, I saw many of the students were being left behind including my daughter. I needed to find out why, it didn't make sense," Campoy-Laughlin said.

In her search, she met and had discussions with district officials, acquiring the tools and resources in moving forward.

Campoy-Laughlin took the time to share her know-how with families in her community, in particular, those of English Learners, with the virtual format.

"When the school rolled out the information, it was a challenge if you were not online," she said.

She's a firm believer of the Online Academy, but noted that there were problems early on.

"I don't believe it was communicated clearly to the parents, and once it started, it wasn't what they expected," Campoy-Laughlin added.

She threw her hat in the ring for the Trustee Area 7 seat after months of soul searching.

"I decided that not only does the City of Lathrop need a voice on the board, all our students, educators and parents need a voice. A voice on the board that will not only look at the bottom line, but understand the needs of our children," said Campoy-Laughlin.

She and her husband are passionate about education. They wish the same for their daughter.

"She's a third grader. I will fight for her from now through her time at Lathrop High,"  Campoy-Laughlin said.