As co-convener and project manager of the Community Schools Steering Committee (CSSC), UNITE-LA continued to advance equity, innovation and continuous improvement throughout 2024. UNITE-LA supported L.A. Unified’s Community Schools Initiative (CSI) in securing $8.55 million in grant funding to strengthen implementation, conducted empathy interviews to leverage data to identify and address evolving needs, and facilitated collaboration across systems and partners by launching the Alliance for Opportunity (AFO). These efforts equipped the CSI with the necessary resources and support to thrive. This work will continue to expand as the CSSC designated the sixth cohort of community schools in December.
Specific wins include:
- In April 2024, an $8.55 million California Community Schools Partnership Program grant strengthened staffing, partnerships and professional development for 63 community schools.
- Between winter and spring 2024, UNITE-LA coordinated empathy interviews with 43 community school coordinators and principals from Cohorts 1-4, uncovering key implementation challenges like balancing evolving responsibilities and enhancing collaboration. Findings informed CSI’s continuous improvement strategies, advocacy and targeted supports for the 2024-25 school year. An empathy interview subcommittee was established at the December CSSC meeting to prioritize and co-create solutions with stakeholders for the challenges identified. This initiative represents a critical step in addressing systemic issues and enhancing collaborative structures and supports to build up our Community Schools.
- In September, UNITE-LA launched the Alliance for Opportunity (AFO), a cross-functional committee dedicated to enhancing comprehensive services for CSI students and families. By analyzing needs data for trends and priorities, the AFO develops tailored solutions, aligns resources and leverages partnerships with local agencies to meet the demand for critical services. This initiative is vital, as it addresses two key challenges: bridging gaps between siloed systems to ensure more cohesive service delivery and vetting partnerships to expand vendor capacity, particularly in response to persistent dental and vision service needs and foster/homeless youth resources. To expedite service delivery, UNITE-LA is vetting more than 30 organizations’ capacity and readiness to partner with LAUSD, and actively collaborating with the CSI Director and LAUSD department leads to facilitate timely communication, resource info-sharing and problem-solving to meet evolving demands of the CSI.
- In December, the CSSC designated seven more schools to join cohort six, bringing the CSI to its 2025-26 academic year expansion goal of 70 schools.
Over the next year, UNITE-LA will focus on facilitating the “Supporting Meaningful Teaching & Learning” (SMTLI) LAUSD board resolution, alongside the CSSC. The resolution was passed in September and supports the selection of up to 10 L.A. Unified community schools to engage in a three-year pilot offering authentic, rigorous and differentiated instruction and assessments. By prioritizing project- and community-based learning, the initiative will provide students with meaningful, real-world experiences to foster interdisciplinary connections and improve engagement. The pilot empowers educators with greater autonomy over curriculum and assessments, paving the way for innovative approaches to teaching and learning.
A CSSC subcommittee was formed to support the implementation of this resolution across three collaborative phases: School Selection, which will identify 10 community schools best positioned to pilot these assessments by July 2025; Learning, Design and Implementation, where educators and stakeholders co-create strategies and tools for success; and Evaluation, a continuous phase focused on gathering feedback and refining approaches to ensure continuous improvement.
For more information, please reach out to Jenny Vu, Director of Education Systems Strategy, at [email protected].
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