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).

Following the January 2025 CSSC meeting, the Empathy Interview (EI) Subcommittee was established. Convened by UNITE-LA, this subcommittee includes a smaller group of CSCs and principals tasked with prioritizing recommendations from the original report for implementation in the near future. A persistent barrier is the widespread lack of understanding and alignment around the community schools strategy and the role of CSCs—both at school sites and across the district. To address this challenge, the EI Subcommittee prioritized two key recommendations: 1) strengthen branding, visibility and advocacy for community schools to ensure internal and external understanding, recognition and structured support for CSCs and the CSI at all levels; and 2) establish a clear, aligned framework for communicating the Community Schools strategy and measuring its success, specifically, refining the CSC job description, setting measurable goals and improving data-driven storytelling to demonstrate impact.

These priorities were presented at the March CSSC meeting, prompting productive dialogue and strong consensus on the need for increased flexibility for community schools to develop their unique professional development and training schedules. This flexibility would allow CSI implementers to better integrate education, awareness and understanding of the community schools approach among school site staff, principals and district leadership.

UNITE-LA will convene follow-up meetings with the CSSC, the CSI Department and LAUSD leadership to co-develop actionable solutions and next steps to drive meaningful progress on these recommendations. This ongoing collaboration reflects a shared commitment to strengthening the foundation of the CSI and ensuring CSCs and principals are fully supported as critical leaders in transforming educational equity across the district.

For more information, please reach out to Jenny Vu, Director of Education Systems Strategy, at [email protected].