��

Throughout Los Angeles, counselors have had a hard time reaching many of their students. The lack of reliable technology continues to be an issue. Most troubling, counselors said, some students are unmotivated amid their families’ pandemic hardships.��

“The difference between last year and this year has been mostly [students asking], ‘Will this even happen? Is it worth it or should I focus on different things?’ ” said Cynthia Medrano, college counselor at Ģ����Ƶ Marine — Innovation and Technology 6-12 Complex, a charter school in the Los Angeles Unified School District.��

Despite their efforts, counselors expressed worry that fewer students would apply and go on to four-year universities this year. Medrano said that last year 100% of her eligible students applied to the Cal State system or UC, but this year only 77% did. Danny Moreno was one she worried about. Before the pandemic, Moreno, who played soccer and ran cross-country, loved school, earning mostly A’s and Bs, and planned to apply to UC Santa Barbara, UC San Diego, Cal State Northridge and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo to study engineering.��

But he struggled with virtual learning, especially in classes such as AP calculus and AP computer science. His computer would lag, and he had a hard time getting his questions answered. Moreno’s dad runs a barbershop, and business suffered during the pandemic. His mom, previously a homemaker, started work at Costco. That left him mostly responsible for supervising and cooking for his four younger siblings, ages 1 to 15. “Right now my grades are pretty poor,” he said — two A’s, two Bs, and two Cs. “It’s harder for me to do work.” Moreno started the college application process but changed his mind halfway through. “The corona isn’t going to end anytime soon,” he said. His friends who are in college now haven’t had a great experience online. “I’m thinking to myself if it’s that hard for them, and they were straight-A students, it’s going to be two times harder for me.” He ended up not applying to any UCs or Cal State universities. A private university in Arizona specializing in aerospace reached out to him, promising hybrid instruction, so he applied. Otherwise he plans to go to community college and transfer.��

Isabel Santos Ayala, a senior and first-generation college student at Ģ����Ƶ Marine, relied heavily on Medrano for help with applications. “I was clueless,” she said. “Without [my school] explaining things to me and being there as a support system I would have probably got lost in the process.”

With standardized tests out of the equation this year, Santos Ayala breathed a sigh of relief. “Not having to take those tests really gave me a chance to broaden my scope and look at schools that I wouldn’t have applied to because of fear of failure,” she said. Those included “dream schools” Humboldt State and Cal State East Bay. Santos Ayala recently got into both.��Print

Over the past spring and summer, members of the Ģ����Ƶ ELA School Support team–-including Megan McGrail, David Schnall, Anne Krieg, Parinaz Banks, and Melissa Green––began a critical assessment of middle and high school ELA curricula by reviewing the diversity of authors, narratives, perspectives, and protagonists available to scholars. This is part of�� Ģ����Ƶ’s DEI & anti-racism roadmap��under Priority #3: Dismantle Racist Institutional Behaviors, Practices, Systems, and Structures.

Ms. McGrail, Director of Humanities, explains that diverse representation in literature matters because scholars should see cultures represented in “a comprehensive and complete way, and not as a single story that represents a whole culture.” For example, there is more to experience about Black and African American culture than slavery or the civil rights movement. She finds that providing scholars with a rich experience “builds a love of reading and a love of learning.”

In reviewing the middle school curricula, the team found that the selection of books had limited diversity overall and that in many texts the protagonist was not a BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, or Person of Color). At the start of the 2020-21 school year, the team recommended middle schools move to , an online resource offering a wider range of literature from a more diverse set of authors.

For high school, the team coded all texts currently available to scholars by author, race, themes, perspectives, and protagonists and discovered that there was a major absence in Latinx and Black or African American authors. With this newly defined baseline, the team will now decide which texts to replace, eliminate, and add to the curriculum map through the end of the school year.

Ms. McGrail recognizes that the majority of her ELA School Support team does not identify as BIPOC and therefore has blindspots in completing this important initiative. To mitigate this, the team has decided to offer opportunities called “Learning Modules” to partner with high school ELA teachers on reviewing upcoming units in the current curriculum and determining “how to make the balance of authors even more rich.” 

In addition to the curricula updates for this school year, the Humanities team is building a diverse ELA Working Group–along with significant and widespread stakeholder input–to improve both the middle and high school curricula for the 2021-22 school year because “changing text is good, but not enough,” explains Ms. McGrail. A parallel initiative is also happening to create a social justice framework for middle and high school history courses.

The U.S. Department of Education recently announced the 2020 National Blue Ribbon Schools awards, a prestigious recognition for schools’ overall academic achievement or progress in closing achievement gaps among scholar subgroups.

This year, Ģ����Ƶ Burton Tech has been named as a recipient of the award for their exemplary achievement in closing gaps for scholars. Burton Tech is the only high school named of the 36 schools in California and the only school in the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) to receive the 2020 award.

“Since 2005, Burton Tech works diligently to provide scholars with opportunities to become college and career ready, and to improve our community. At Burton Tech, scholars feel empowered and families are valued. We have become the pride of South Central, with many scholars advocating and contributing to the success of the community we serve. I could not be more proud that the school’s efforts are now being recognized on a national level,” shared Burton Tech Principal Rogelio Sanchez, Ģ����Ƶ 2019 Principal of the Year.

The recognition of Burton Tech marks the third Ģ����Ƶ school to receive the distinguished award. Ģ����Ƶ Gertz-Ressler High School and Ģ����Ƶ Mohan High School were recognized in 2011 and 2017, respectively.

“This award is a testament to the commitment and dedication of the Burton Tech community since its founding. Given the success of their collaborative approach to leadership, academics, and social-emotional supports, it is no surprise that they are now being honored with this esteemed award. We are thrilled for Burton Tech and for the community of South Central Los Angeles,” noted Ģ����Ƶ Chief Academic Officer Ana Menezes.

Due to health and safety concerns regarding COVID-19, the National Blue Ribbon Schools Program will hold a virtual recognition ceremony this year on November 12th and 13th. Stay tuned for more information.

Congratulations to the scholars, families, staff, and community of Burton Tech for continuously proving that exceptional is the rule!

For additional information on this prestigious award, go to the .

Upon reviewing Ģ����Ƶ Kory Hunter Middle School academic data a few years ago, Principal Omar Reyes found that the needs of the most vulnerable population of scholars––English Learners and Students with Disabilities––were not fully met. He called on sixth grade ELA teacher Daniel Helena (a 2020 Teacher of the Year Finalist) and Resource Specialist Salvador Limón––veterans of the co-teaching model––to pilot co-teaching during the 2018-19 school year. The results were so successful that in the 2019-20 school year, Principal Reyes incorporated co-teaching models in ELA and math classes across all grade levels.

In March, all school campuses closed due to health concerns around the COVID-19 pandemic. In only a few weeks, teachers at Ģ����Ƶ Kory Hunter pivoted not only to provide Distance Learning but also to maintain a modified co-teaching model.

For example, Mr. Helena produced weekly on-demand videos outlining the lessons for his scholars, and Mr. Limón provided feedback on necessary accommodations for scholars with disabilities. “Mr. Limón can put himself in the position of students with varied needs and analyze how the content can be more accessible and what potential pitfalls students with special needs might have,” explained Mr. Helena. “I cannot emphasize the benefit of him revealing my blindspots enough. We can always improve. That’s what makes education an art––reacting and responding to students.”

The co-teaching model has not only been beneficial for scholars during Distance Learning but for the teachers, as well. “Our weekly check-ins remind me that we still have each other’s backs. I feel less alone and more validated as an educator,” shared Mr. Limón.

Mr. Reyes added that “Having multiple skilled adults teach a section has a tremendous amount of upside. From a social-emotional standpoint, students have another adult that they can connect with. By having a resource specialist in the class you are also able to ensure that differentiation is happening from bell to bell. Planning, teaching, and assessing is rooted in equity, which ensures scholars can be successful. In Distance Learning, this looks a little different, but the resource specialist is still working with the general education teacher to ensure that we are being mindful of not only the skills gaps that exist but also students’ home lives.”

Mr. Helena and Mr. Limón shared a set of guidelines for co-teaching both in and out of a Distance Learning environment:

1. Demonstrate mutual trust and respect, including playing on each other’s strengths and viewing each other as equals in the classroom.
2. Establish shared values to reduce conflict.
3. Provide additional emphasis on school community/connection, including parental involvement.
4. Ensure buy-in from staff, including opportunities for Professional Development, observation, and participation in the hiring process.
5. Implement based on the needs of the school community, not because co-teaching is the current educational buzzword.

On Thursday, June 18, 2020, the Supreme Court upheld the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, rejecting the Trump administration’s attempts to dismantle the program in a monumental 5-4 decision.��

This is a historic decision, and one of great relief, for the nearly 700,000 DACA recipients currently living in the United States –– the only home they have ever known.

The decision to uphold DACA personally affects members of our Ģ����Ƶ community, including scholars, their families and staff. Also known as “Dreamers,” DACA recipients are provided temporary protection from deportation under the program. We are beyond thrilled that our scholars will be able to make their dreams of college and career a reality.

Still, we know that DACA is not a permanent solution for members of the Ģ����Ƶ community or the hundreds of thousands of others who are seeking a path to citizenship. As an organization built on the principles of social justice, we will continue to advocate for our communities and all those afflicted by the impermanence of the DACA program.��

We can and must do better to protect those positively contributing to our country in so many ways. More than 95% of DACA recipients are employed––including an estimated 30,000 healthcare workers currently fighting the coronavirus pandemic––and 45% are pursuing an education.* Dreamers are part of the fabric and bright future of our country.��

Ģ����Ƶ stands with our immigrant community, and we will continue to fight for equity and justice for all.��

In solidarity,

Catherine Suitor
Executive Director, Ģ����Ƶ Foundation

Dan Katzir
Chief Executive Officer, Ģ����Ƶ College-Ready Public Schools

*Source

“Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced.”
–– James Baldwin

Dear Friends,

The end of the school year typically calls for celebration. Yet this past week has been one of anger, outrage, and sorrow.

What do we say to our scholars? How do we talk to them about senseless racial violence, police brutality and murder? How do we have these conversations amidst the emotional anxiety of a global pandemic that has disproportionately affected communities of color and upended all sense of normalcy? How do we answer the scholar who asks, “Will I be next?” or “Does a good education really mean a future of opportunities if the color of my skin makes me a target?”

These are some of the questions we have been wrestling with. While we don’t have all the answers, we know that we need to raise our voices and that we must do more.

Each of us can acknowledge the deep impact these repeated racial attacks have on our Black and African-American scholars, colleagues, friends and loved ones. We can speak up. We can listen. We can take action. We can be stronger, louder, and more tenacious allies.

We can be honest with our scholars — and ourselves — about the pervasive racism that exists in our country. We can share the painful truths about the embedded inequities in America’s criminal justice, healthcare, economic, housing and education systems. We can listen and learn from those who live those injustices every day, who walk in a different world than some of us — a world of threats and horrors that we do not know. And we can continue to develop our scholars into the next generation of advocates and leaders for a more just and equal nation. 

We stand united with our Black and African-American scholars, families, staff, and communities during this tragic and painful time.

We are profoundly grateful for all of you who have demonstrated your compassion and willingness to join us in standing with our scholars and the communities we serve. 

With deep appreciation,

Dan Katzir
Chief Executive Officer, Ģ����Ƶ College-Ready Public Schools

Catherine Suitor
Executive Director, Ģ����Ƶ

Innovate Public Schools, in partnership with USC’s Sol Price School of Public Policy and Rossier School of Education, recently released their annual report of “Top Los Angeles County Public Schools.” This report identifies schools that are closing the opportunity gap for students of color in low-income communities.

In this year’s report, three Ģ����Ƶ middle schools and fourteen high schools have been named as top public schools for Latinx students. In order to qualify, schools must serve at least 43% of low-income Latinx students or 4% low-income Black/African American students and outperform the statewide average on one or more of the following criteria:

1. Math and reading scores;
2. College eligibility;
3. Suspension rates

Of the 2,075 public schools in Los Angeles County, only 278 made the list of Top Public Schools. According to the report, “this list highlights the schools that are leading the way, but in order for all low-income students of color to thrive academically, we must radically transform our educational system. We must all hold ourselves accountable to ensuring that all low-income students of color have access to a world-class education. Being silent enables this systemic racism to continue.”

Read the full report .

Congratulations to the following Ģ����Ƶ schools named in the 2020 report:

Middle Schools

• Ģ����Ƶ Marine-Innovation and Technology 6-12 Complex
• Ģ����Ƶ Gertz-Ressler/Richard Merkin 6-12 Complex
• Ģ����Ƶ College-Ready Middle Academy 4

High Schools

• Ģ����Ƶ Cindy & Bill Simon Technology High School*
• Ģ����Ƶ Dr. Olga Mohan High School*
• Ģ����Ƶ Judy Ivie Burton Technology High School*
• Ģ����Ƶ Ouchi-O’Donovan 6-12 Complex*
• Ģ����Ƶ Patti & Peter Neuwirth Leadership Academy*
• Ģ����Ƶ Gertz-Ressler/Richard Merkin 6-12 Complex*
• Ģ����Ƶ Margaret M. Bloomfield High School*
• Ģ����Ƶ Marc & Eva Stern Math and Science School*
• Ģ����Ƶ Ted K. Tajima High School
• Ģ����Ƶ Renee & Meyer Luskin Academy High School*
• Ģ����Ƶ Leichtman-Levine Family Foundation Environmental Science High School*
• Ģ����Ƶ Tennenbaum Family Technology High School*
• Ģ����Ƶ Collins Family College-Ready High School*
• Ģ����Ƶ Susan & Eric Smidt Technology High School

*Schools also ranked in “2019 Top LA County Public Schools” report

After making “All Means All” a key focus, Ģ����Ƶ scholars with disabilities saw tremendous growth in state testing results:

Collaboration is Key

Given our commitment to “All Means All,” this week Ģ����Ƶ led a public webinar focused on how we provide our scholars with moderate-to-severe disabilities with high-quality instruction. The event was co-hosted by a number of California legislators. Among them were Assemblymembers Miguel Santiago, Luz Rivas, Autumn Burke, Mike Gipson, Reggie Jones-Sawyer, Sydney Kamlanger, and Wendy Carillo, as well as Senators Lena Gonzalez and Steven Bradford. 

According to Ģ����Ƶ’s Director of Special Education, Courtney Vickers, who participated in yesterday’s webinar, “collaboration will be key to ensuring that students across California––not just Ģ����Ƶ scholars––are able to succeed during this unprecedented period.” With more than 139 webinar participants, we are optimistic that our approach will expand across the state and that we have new partners in collaboration. Please click here to view a recording of the webinar. 

Distance Learning Adaptation

We are proud to share that by April 13 –– less than two weeks after the launch of Distance Learning ––  Ģ����Ƶ was able to offer 100% of related services including Occupational Therapy, Counseling Speech, and Vision, through virtual means. We are also continuing to offer our academic and instructional support through our Special Education Resource Specialists and Instructional Aides, utilizing such tools as online office hours, small group instruction, and one-on-one tutoring sessions. 

“One of the things I really like about Ģ����Ƶ’s special education program is the ability to adapt to individual student needs at a moment’s notice,” shared Ģ����Ƶ Marine-Innovation and Technology 6-12 Complex Director of Special Education, Elizabeth Dean. Our ability to adapt is due in no small part to the flexibility afforded public charter schools to make timely decisions that best meet the needs of our scholars.