A subcommittee of the Los Angeles Unified School District’s (LAUSD's) Community Schools Steering Committee (CSSC) is implementing the Meaningful Teaching and Learning (MTL) Resolution, which the school board adopted in September 2024. The three-year pilot will support five designated MTL community schools with implementing meaningful community- and project-based learning (CBL/PBL) and developing alternative performance-based assessments (PBAs) aligned with a holistic, culturally responsive vision of student success.

Formed in October 2024, the MTL subcommittee has led key components of the pilot rollout—including designing the school application, establishing selection criteria and developing a rubric to evaluate readiness. At the April 2025 CSSC meeting, members reviewed applications and selected five schools to join the MTL pilot, with implementation beginning in the 2025–26 school year. Congratulations to 24th Street Elementary School, 93rd Street Elementary School, Lucille Roybal Elementary School, Walnut Park Elementary School and Marlton SPAN School. Each school is in the process of hiring a dedicated lead coach to support site-level implementation beginning in August.

Additionally, the MTL subcommittee is interviewing national and local CBL/PBL and PBA experts as part of the subcommittee's learning journey. To date, the team has interviewed 15 leaders to guide implementation, including representatives from the New York Performance Standards Consortium, LAUSD Linked Learning instructional coaches and Envision Learning Partners to gather insights and best practices.

As co-convener of the CSSC and member of the MTL subcommittee, UNITE-LA is co-developing a fall 2025 professional development and training calendar for the pilot schools and school leadership teams. We are aiming to build a shared understanding of meaningful learning, align on expectations, and ensure strong community and family engagement from the outset of the pilot.

UNITE-LA looks forward to supporting participating schools in creating student-centered learning environments rooted in equity, relevance and innovation. For more information, please reach out to Jenny Vu, Director of Education Systems Strategy, at [email protected].