In February, the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) Community Schools Steering Committee (CSSC) finalized the selection and designation of seven schools to join Cohort 6 of the Community Schools Initiative (CSI). These seven schools will join the 63 existing community schools, bringing the LAUSD CSI expansion goal of 70 community schools by the 2025-26 year to fruition! This follows UNITE-LA's efforts to co-create solutions and lead efforts in school recruitment, application revisions, creation of a scoring rubric aligned with the state’s Community Schools Framework, volunteer scorer trainings and the comprehensive scoring of completed applications to guide the CSSC in selecting the seven schools between August and December 2024.

The CSSC and CSI are thrilled to welcome Cohort 6, beginning in the 2025-26 academic year. Congratulations to Ascot Elementary, the Communication & Technology School (CATS) at Diego Rivera Learning Complex, Mission Continuation High, Morningside Elementary, Stoner Elementary, Burbank Middle and Laurel Magnet (formerly Laurel Span School)! They will be included in the district’s 2025 California Community School Partnership Program (CCSPP) implementation grant, due March 7. If awarded, these additional funds from the state will support comprehensive staffing, partnerships, training and equitable instruction and grading practices, ensuring our community schools effectively increase student and family learning outcomes.