Small Learning Communities – A Call to Action

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Business leaders are encouraged to join educators, community leaders, and policy makers from throughout the City of Los Angeles in a collective effort to improve youth engagement in learning.  As part of its educational reform efforts, LAUSD is taking bold action to transform its high schools into small schools, or smaller learning communities.
 

What are Small Learning Communities?

Small Learning Community (SLC): are individualized learning environments within a larger school setting. Schools create a structure to support constructive relationships between and among students and teachers, by grouping students together each year to take core courses with the same group of teachers, thus increasing the support students receive from peers, teachers, and other adults. These may include themed academies that provide opportunities to connect learning in school with context from the real world.

Why are Small Learning Communities Important?

The future of the Southland's economic growth depends in part upon a skilled workforce who can compete in a diverse, global marketplace.  Studies have indicated that a growing economy demands workers who can read, write, compute, solve problems, and communicate clearly. SLC’s programs provide successful learning environments in large middle and high schools to help insure that all students graduate with the knowledge and skills necessary to make successful transitions to college and careers. Common sense and research demonstrate that huge overcrowded and impersonal middle and high schools of 2,000 to 5,000 students just don't work!

Research Shows Smaller Learning Communities Work!

Smaller learning communities' research has indicated some of the following outcomes:

• Students in small schools or groups of 500 or less achieve at higher levels than those in larger schools.
• Equitable academic achievement across ethnicity and socioeconomic background
• A sense of affiliation and belonging. Students and teachers come to know and care about one another in a way that is difficult to achieve in a larger school setting.
• Negative social behavior is less common in smaller learning communities.
• Student attendance and graduation rates increase.
• Students are more motivated when they see the connection between learning and earning.

How can Business and Industry support SLC’s?

The success of Small Learning Communities is dependent upon the support of community and local business and industry leaders to participate in the planning and long-term implementation to ensure both rigor and relevancy for instruction. As employers, you play a vital role in the education of today’s students.  There are a variety of ways to become involved. You can:

• Serve as a Small Learning Communities advocate
• Serve on an advisory committee and partner with educators, businesses, community-based organizations, and parents to provide guidance for the development of Small Learning Communities
• Assist in curriculum development and revision
• Host workplace field trips for students
• Participate in Career Fairs or Career Days addressing the importance of pursing various careers
• Help arrange job shadowing
• Provide internships
• Be a guest speaker in a classroom

To learn more about how you and/or your company can get involved contact UNITE-LA at 213 482-3987, or go to www.unitela.com, or contact your local school principal