LAUSD begins community schools pilot

On November 2, L.A. Unified hosted its second convening at Panorama High School of 18 schools participating in the Community Schools pilot. The teams dove into the process of developing a community needs and assets assessment as a critical step in adopting the Community Schools model, a strategy aimed to increase parent engagement, broaden curriculum and implement wraparound services.

Using data to advocate for a better future for our kids

Data is a powerful tool for improving equity of opportunity for our youngest learners. That was the key message on Sept. 18 when hundreds of education and community leaders gathered in Long Beach to learn about the groundbreaking Early Development Instrument (EDI), a comprehensive measure of school readiness and child well-being. First 5 LA and First 5 Orange County co-hosted the 2019 Learners Today, Leaders Tomorrow Summit, where Giannina Perez, Governor Newsom’s Senior Policy Advisor for Early Childhood, began the day by elevating the important role that the first five years has in shaping a child’s readiness for school and future well-being and economic success. School districts who have collected EDI have been able to use the data to advocate for stronger policies and investments in early childhood services and programs. Los Angeles County could benefit from having a countywide, population level measure of school readiness and child well-being. The data could be used to help us strengthen the coordination of early childhood services in the county and improve alignment between early education and the K-12 system. Following the summit, Senator Lena Gonzalez of Senate District 33 hosted a reception for local business and community leaders to learn more about how investing in early childhood can boost a business’ bottom line.

County partners set goal of increasing FAFSA completion rate to 65%

The FAFSA completion rate for foster youth high school seniors in L.A. County increased from 33% in 2018 to 61% in 2019. The L.A. County Office of Child Protection recently reported back to the County Board of Supervisors highlighting this progress of the foster youth FAFSA Challenge, led in partnership with John Burton Advocates for Youth (JBAY) and the OYC Foster Youth College Advancement Project (FYCAP). Building from this tremendous success, countywide partners have set a goal of increasing the rate to 65% in 2020.

CSUN Connections & L.A. Compact Participate in Reverse Transfer Conversation

Juana Hernandez, Senior Manager of Postsecondary Initiatives at UNITE-LA, participated in California Competes’ “Higher Ed Chat” on CSUN Connections, a reverse transfer initiative to support adults in the L.A. area who have faced barriers to completing their degree. Moderated by California Competes’ Interim Executive Director Ria Sengupta Bhatt, Hernandez was joined by Dr. Ryan Cornner, vice chancellor of education programs & institutional effectiveness at Los Angeles Community College District, and Dr. Deborah Cours, interim assistant vice president of academic undergraduate programs at California State University, Northridge (CSUN). 

Welcome, Adam Gottlieb!

We are excited to have Adam Gottlieb join the L.A. Compact team as our new Higher Education Manager! In this role, Adam will support the L.A. Compact Institutions of Higher Education Collaborative in implementing several large-scale projects, including the CSUN Connections reverse transfer pilot, the Associate Degrees for Transfer (ADT) research project and the L.A. College Promise partnership. Adam will also contribute to our higher education policy efforts and help connect our local systems change efforts to state and federal policy.

Increased FAFSA completion rates among foster youth

One of the largest barriers to postsecondary education completion is access to financial aid. Despite being eligible, only 50 percent of foster youth receive a Pell Grant and 9 percent receive a Cal Grant. In 2017, FYCAP co-convener John Burton Advocates for Youth, launched the statewide “FAFSA Challenge.” The goal of this challenge is to support local jurisdiction in eliminating the FAFSA as a barrier to college enrollment. 

L.A. College Promise First Cohort Graduation

On May 29, the L.A. College Promise celebrated its inaugural class of graduates. Hosted at Cal State L.A., the ceremony brought together over 500 family and community members to celebrate 150 graduating students. The program included keynote remarks by Mayor Eric Garcetti, who launched the program in 2016, and by notable education leaders, including LAUSD Board President Monica Garcia, L.A. Community College District Chancellor Francisco Rodriguez, and California Community Colleges Chancellor Eloy Oakley. While final numbers for the Class of 2019 are still pending, the Promise has been very successful at increasing the direct college enrollment rates of LAUSD graduates.

EDI Expansion Continues in Los Angeles County

UNITE-LA staff interviewed eight EDI implementing communities across the nation to learn how communities have used the EDI data to move the needle on early childhood policies and systems change. Staff traveled to four of the communities (Erikson Institute, Chicago; ReadyKidSA, San Antonio; Oakland Starting Smart and Strong, Oakland; Starting Smart and Strong, San Jose). Some of the communities had just completed their first round of EDI data collection, while others had already gone through multiple rounds. Communities used the EDI results to make informed decisions on how to best support young children. For instance, some school districts opened up new early learning sites based on the percentage of vulnerable children in a specific region. Having a consistent measure of kindergarten readiness leads to a shared understanding of what it means for a child to be ready for school; however, this work takes years to unfold and it will be important for the L.A. Compact Early Childhood Stewardship Group to identify how cross sectors groups, not just schools, can benefit from the EDI.

Ensuring a successful future for foster youth

On July 9, 250 practitioners from child welfare, higher education and workforce development agencies came together at the California Endowment to deepen their knowledge about innovative programs and best-practices that support foster youth success in higher education and the workforce. Hosted by the Opportunity Youth Collaborative (OYC), the Fostering Connections to Transition-Age Youth Self-Sufficiency Summit focused on strengthening connections between college campus foster youth support programs, workforce providers, juvenile probation, K-12 districts, community based agencies and LA County's child welfare system.

Public sector collaboration to improve postsecondary outcomes for foster youth

In May, the OYC Foster Youth College Advancement Project (FYCAP) partners presented a session at the Collective Impact Forum in Chicago, titled “Driving Public Sector Systems Change: Lessons from Los Angeles County.” The session described the process that FYCAP co-conveners, John Burton Advocates for Youth (JBAY) and UNITE-LA, undertook in order to build buy-in from the L.A. County Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) and to co-design College Bound Antelope Valley, a project that is training social workers to initiate college exploration and planning activities with middle and high school aged youth. FYCAP also supported DCFS in launching two new higher education courses this past April that will increase the capacity of Resource Parents to assist youth with college exploration and planning. To learn more about this new postsecondary education curriculum for caregivers, register for this webinar on June 5.