UNITE-LA, in partnership with the Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives Foundation (ACCEF) and the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC), created an in-depth toolkit to serve as a roadmap to help communities get started in their own equitable credential work. Launching the equitable credential toolkit illustrates a key outcome of the $1.3 million Lumina Foundation grant.

UNITE-LA recently wrapped up a multi-month community of practice with leadership from our L.A. Compact partner, California State University, Dominguez Hills (CSUDH). Over the course of our community of practice with the guidance of WestEd, we've engaged in a series of design thinking activities that centered on empathy, ideation and prototyping.

As the new 2023-24 school year began, UNITE-LA collaborated alongside its L.A. Unified and UTLA partners to appoint a new Community Schools Steering Committee (CSSC). In September, the new CSSC held its kickoff meeting, which served as an orientation for the 16 members. The new CSSC members are ignited to expand the Community Schools Initiative (CSI) by strategizing ways to recruit a fifth cohort of schools.

More than 143,000 people, ages 16-24, are not connected to school or work in the Los Angeles region – a 21 percent increase since before the pandemic. Regional leaders of K-12, postsecondary, workforce, youth development and social safety net systems are coming together to renew and reimagine a joint strategic plan to reduce youth disconnection by 32,000 by 2028.

As a part of UNITE-LA's 25th Anniversary Symposium, the L.A. Region K-16 Collaborative was highlighted with a presentation and panel discussion featuring Collaborative and L.A. Compact leaders. The panel explored the driving forces behind the L.A. Region K-16 Collaborative, the work of collaborative partners over the first year of implementation and what the future of the initiative holds. The panel featured Dr. S. Terri Gomez, Interim Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs at Cal Poly Pomona; Elijah Sims, Interim Director of the Long Beach Promise at Long Beach Community College; Ruben Valles, Chief Academic Officer at the L.A. County Office of Education; and was moderated by UNITE-LA's Adam Gottlieb, who serves as Director of Postsecondary Strategy & Policy. The hour-long event began with an overview of the K-16 Collaborative, including new information such as subregional plans that the speakers have worked to put together with their partners across the county.

During UNITE-LA's 25th anniversary celebration, we were honored to recognize our three founding entities with awards, represented by organizational leaders. The City of Los Angeles, the Los Angeles Community College District (LACCD) and the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) were awarded for their pivotal role in founding UNITE-LA in 1998, and for continued partnership throughout our 25 years. Without these three institutions, UNITE-LA and partners would not be able to make such significant strides in improving education and opportunities for students across the region.

Carlos Santana Arts Academy, a community school in L.A. Unified, was 1 of 5 schools in the region to receive $500 worth of Disney ABC7's Magic of Storytelling campaign book donations. With 450 books donated, the campaign illustrates how community schools promote partnerships and provide learning opportunities for students.

On June 12, UNITE-LA celebrated the first cohort of the Avantus Cleantech Career Academy. Dr. Tom Buttgenbach, CEO & Founder of Avantus, and Alysia Bell, President of UNITE-LA, presented 61 participants with certificates of completion and highlighted the $1,000 scholarship students are eligible to receive to pursue higher education. They also presented one really large $75,000 check!

The start of summer was busy for community schools. UNITE-LA gathered with more than 4,500 participants at the 2023 National Community Schools and Family Engagement Conference in Philadelphia! Hosted by the Institute for Educational Leadership (IEL), the convening offered learning and networking opportunities inspired by the theme "Spreading Love & Supporting All Children." Our main takeaway? Leaders from across the education ecosystem can effectively work together to support Community Schools if we focus on our shared value: caring for children.

L.A. County outpaced the state in Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and California Dream Act Application (CADAA) submissions and completions, setting a high of 68 percent for completions – 8 percent more than last year! To acknowledge this impressive feat, the L.A. Compact Higher Education team co-hosted a celebration in May, engaging multiple school districts and community members to join in honoring students' hard work in 2023.