L.A. Compact Tackles Math Remediation

This story and more in the December issue of the L.A. Compact Connection 

From all of us at the L.A. Compact, we look forward to another great year of collaboration to improve student outcomes in Los Angeles from cradle to career in 2018.

Wishing you joy this holiday season and throughout the new year! 

FEATURE STORY

L.A. Compact Student Success Workgroup Hosts Math Summit

Math continues to be a stumbling block for too many students on the path to a college degree. Statewide, 65% of all students who enter the California Community Colleges and nearly 30% of those who enter the California State University require remediation in math. This often translates to students enrolling in—and paying for—noncredit developmental courses before they can attempt college-level math coursework. Data shows that traditional developmental courses yield limited success for students, with those who enter remediation often becoming the first to leave college.

To address these challenges, the L.A. Compact Student Success Workgroup hosted, “Working Across Systems to Promote College Math Readiness” on November 7^th. This one-day convening brought together faculty and administrative leaders from across LAUSD, the L.A. Community College District, and four-year universities in the area to discuss ways to strengthen student transitions and success in college math. The event featured policy updates from the California Community College Chancellor’s Office and the CSU Chancellor’s Office, a panel discussion with researchers and practitioners on best practices for using multiple measures to determine math placement, and a panel with LAUSD and CSUN faculty leaders on co-designing senior year math courses to better prepare students for successful transitions. Following the convening, the Student Success Workgroup members met to debrief the event and think through possible next steps, including pursuing joint funding to further convene and support cross-sector collaboration around this issue.

L.A. County Supervisors Committed to Advancing Youth Outcomes

On November 14^th, the L.A. County Board of Supervisors recommitted to the goals of the L.A. Compact in a motion that included approval of the Los Angeles Performance Partnership Pilot for Opportunity Youth (LAP3) Strategic Plan. The County Board's support for the L.A. Compact will open up new opportunities to better support youth involved in the County's child welfare and juvenile justice systems, improve school readiness, and connect students with critical health and social services. The LAP3 Plan is a landmark effort to unite major regional systems to reduce the number of youth ages 16-24 who are neither working nor in school. The LAP3 Plan advances the goals and vision of the L.A. Compact to improve educational and employment outcomes from cradle to career. Read the motion here.

L.A. COMPACT WORKGROUP HIGHLIGHTS

OYC Uplifts Youth Voice

The OYC’s Quarterly Meeting, held at Goodwill on November 15^th, focused on youth voice and engagement. Five foster youth from various organizations (National Foster Youth Initiative, Project Tipping Point, California Youth Connection, and OYC Young Leaders) participated on a youth voice panel to discuss ways in which L.A. County and partnering organizations can improve educational and employment services to foster youth. Attendees also reviewed a rubric created by the Silicon Valley Children’s Fund that helps organizations self-assess their engagement of youth in decision-making.

STEM Hub Advances Biotech Pathways

The L.A. Regional STEM Hub serves as the program administrator for the Amgen Biotech Experience – Los Angeles (ABE-LA). This initiative empowers secondary school science teachers to implement real-world biotechnology labs in their classrooms, providing students with project based learning opportunities to deepen their science understanding.  The ABE-LA seeks to cultivate regional communication and collaboration with employers to advance the biotechnology sector in L.A.  The STEM Hub Network will elevate the Amgen Biotech experience as a model for employers in STEM fields to stimulate interest and opportunities for replication. Scaling ABE-LA will increase awareness and exposure of STEM related pathways to more students in under-resourced communities.

LA P3 Partners Launch the ReLAY Institute

On Nov 30^th, an advisory board of LA P3 partners met at Cal State Northridge for the inaugural planning meeting to launch the Reconnecting LA’s Youth (ReLAY) Institute – a research collaboration between the 5 CSUs in L.A. County to improve outcomes for disconnected youth. Participants broke up into small groups to brainstorm the greatest contributions the new institute can make through four proposed components: a Research, Data and Evaluation Center; an Innovation Hive (a platform to capture and disseminate best practices and innovations); a Professional Development Academy; and a Service Learning Center.

PARTNER HIGHLIGHTS

Update on LAUSD College Access Block Grant Efforts

In 2016, the California State Legislature approved $200 million to establish the “College Readiness Block Grant” for high schools throughout the state to provide supports to increase the number of students who enroll in higher education and complete a bachelor’s degree within four years.  LAUSD received a nearly $17 million allocation over two years and developed a comprehensive plan to implement seven strategies to address areas of need for schools, students and families.  As part of the College Readiness Block Grant efforts, this year LAUSD identified all Class of 2018 students who are eligible to apply to a University of California (UC) and/ or California State University (CSU) campus. The Division of Instruction funded college application events at school sites in November to support students in completing the application process to CSU and UC campuses before the November 30th deadline.  

United Way HomeWalk 2017

More than 57,000 of our L.A. County neighbors are now homeless. On November 18^th over 10,000 people joined Mayor Eric Garcetti, Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas and Elise Buik, CEO and president of the United Way of Greater Los Angeles, to raise over a million dollars to address homelessness through the 11th Annual HomeWalk 5k. Additionally for every $5,000 raised this year, the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation donated another $5,000! Read more about the event here.

L.A. County Leads in New Youth Justice Diversion Approach

On November 7^th the L.A. County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved an ambitious plan for juvenile diversion that would create widespread opportunities for youth to avoid arrest for misdemeanors and some felony offenses.  A newly established central office — the Office of Youth Diversion and Development (OYDD) — will now be charged with serving as a go-between for law enforcement agencies and community-based organizations in the county. The L.A. County Probation Department oversees the largest juvenile justice system in the country, which includes about 1,000 youth in juvenile detention facilities and about 9,000 youth in the community. More than 90 percent of the youth under the department’s supervision are African-American or Latino. The county’s juvenile diversion plan is aimed at preventing the negative consequences of justice system involvement, including increased risk of high school dropout and adult incarceration. Read more here.

JBAY kicks off the California Foster Youth Challenge

Last month, John Burton Advocates for Youth (JBAY) kicked off the California Foster Youth Challenge, the first statewide initiative aimed at supporting foster youth in completing their federal and state financial aid applications. County offices of education across the state will opt-in to participate in the challenge, competing to earn prize money to further support foster youth educational initiatives in their regions. The Foster Youth Services Coordinating Program at the L.A. County Office of Education (LACOE) will be the lead agency coordinating local Challenge efforts. JBAY will provide Challenge participants technical assistance and tools, including the step-by-step Financial Aid Guide for California Foster Youth. Read more about the Challenge and access the Financial Aid Guide for California Foster Youth here. 

 
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