Last month, UNITE-LA joined California Volunteers aboard the Queen Mary for their Corps to Career Fair where we celebrated alumni journeys (six who were placed into career pathways by UNITE-LA) and inspired future service members.

UNITE-LA's spring 2025 cohort of the Los Angeles Regional Cleantech Career Academy (Academy), made up of 45 students, 18-24 years old, is spending 12 weeks learning about essential skills, industry sectors, local employers and career pathways into the emerging clean energy economy.

UNITE-LA wants to take a moment to extend a very warm welcome and congratulations to Dr. Alberto J. Román for being appointed as the Los Angeles Community College District’s (LACCD) Chancellor, following a formal vote at LACCD’s Board meeting on May 7, 2025.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 16, 2025

MEDIA CONTACT:
Claudine Battisti

UNITE-LA STATEMENT ON MAY REVISION: EMPHASIS ON PROTECTING CRADLE-THROUGH-CAREER INVESTMENTS THAT SUPPORT ECONOMIC MOBILITY

Introducing UNITE-LA’s Systems Change Spotlight

Dear Friends,

UNITE-LA is proud to stand alongside 29 business organizations in issuing an urgent appeal to protect the U.S. Department of Education, recognizing its vital role in advancing economic competitiveness across California, the nation and the global economy. This letter, sent to the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions and the U.S. House Committee on Education & Workforce, clearly lays out the economic repercussions of dismantling the Department.

A subcommittee of the LAUSD Community Schools Steering Committee (CSSC) has been making steady progress on implementing the Meaningful Teaching and Learning (MTL) Resolution within the Community Schools Initiative (CSI), passed by the LAUSD school board in September 2024. This resolution promotes a social justice framework in education and calls for a more holistic approach to measuring student success. It provides up to 10 community schools the opportunity to pilot meaningful project-based learning (PBL) and develop their own alternative assessments. As part of a three-year pilot program, participating schools will be exempt from all standardized tests except those required by state and federal mandates.

UNITE-LA conducted empathy interviews with LAUSD community school coordinators (CSCs) and principals to better understand their experiences, culminating in a comprehensive 100-page report in 2024 that highlighted key themes and recommendations. Since then, a subcommittee of the Community Schools Steering Committee (CSSC) has been working actively to refine and implement select recommendations to strengthen and advocate for the Community Schools Initiative (CSI).

The Horizons 32K Stewardship Board kicked off the year by building alignment, identifying priorities and laying the foundation for long-term system coordination impact to mitigate youth disconnection in education and the workforce. As the Stewardship Board transitions to a quarterly meeting cadence, attention is shifting to building out workgroups, assigning leadership roles and co-designing actionable strategies with partners across sectors. Horizons 32K is also gaining visibility through regional convenings, where it continues to highlight youth-driven solutions and elevate promising practices to advance equity and opportunity for disconnected youth.

In partnership with LAUNCH LA and the Southern California Apprenticeship Network, UNITE-LA led a four-part webinar series on apprenticeships. The webinars were designed to support small nonprofit organizations looking to engage in apprenticeships by providing them with necessary resources and tools.