Congratulations, Harvey Kawasaki! Harvey retired after contributing 36 years with the County of Los Angeles—and making numerous substantial contributions to the well-being of Los Angeles students and families. His final position was with the County CEO’s office, and in that capacity he served on the L.A. Compact Stewardship group since 2018. Contributions at the County include creating an annual scholarship fund for Asian foster youth entering into post-secondary education, implementing the AB12 policy that extended foster care to age 21 for L.A. County, developing and implementing a tracking system that saw over 6,000 adoptions, and many others. We and so many others will miss Harvey and wish him all the best in his retirement!

Strengthening early childhood systems

2019 was a pivotal year for little kids in Los Angeles County. In addition to elevating the Early Development Instrument (EDI) as a tool to measure early childhood wellbeing, there were several positive developments bringing the field closer to a unified vision where public and community systems are more family-centered and child-focused.

Paving the path for upward socioeconomic mobility

The CSUN Connections program flourished in 2019 as it helped in the streamlining of student-centered institutional policies at each participant institution. A partnership among Cal State Northridge, L.A. Mission College, L.A. Pierce College, and L.A. Valley College, the program is designed to re-engage stopped out students and create a pathway toward an associate degree and an eventual bachelor’s degree. It helped develop beneficial enrollment policies and student support services on each campus. The communication of these benefits by on-campus advisors has led to a steady increase of interest and engagement from stopped-out students. To date, over 40 students have claimed degrees; over 20 students have enrolled in a degree program; and over 100 students are in the process of applying to an institution or working with advisors to create an academic plan.

L.A. Compact adopts new goals, priorities, and values

In 2019, the L.A. Compact Stewardship Group finalized the first update to the collaborative’s foundational goals since the first signing in 2010. The new goals reflect a greater emphasis on attainment over access, as well as the important contributions that early childhood development and social and emotional skills make towards holistic student success. In 2020, partners will have an opportunity to commit to regional collaboration in support of five bold goals.

Using data and research to improve teacher preparation

At its September meeting, the Los Angeles Educator Pathways Partnership (LAEPP) discussed a set of additional research questions to deepen the analysis of teacher preparation pathways and L.A. Unified outcomes for new STEM teachers in comparison to teachers in other school districts. The meeting also addressed the uses of dashboards for program improvements at higher education institutions. The LAEPP will be contracting with Education Analytics, Inc. for inclusive narrative research reports and tailored analyses.

UNITE-LA & CSUN Connections staff present on reverse transfer

In September, CSUN Connections team members representing CSUN, LACCD and UNITE-LA attended a Lumina Communities of Practice Convening in Los Angeles. Groups from across the country conducting similar work came together to share their progress on ongoing initiatives and ideas for the future of higher education attainment. Held in Los Angeles, UNITE-LA and Compact staff members joined the convening throughout the two days to speak about our collective work in the region.

L.A. Compact attends conference for collective impact leaders

In October, the L.A. Compact’s Julian Lucas, Talent Development Coordinator, and Adam Gottlieb, Higher Education Manager, represented the Compact and UNITE-LA at the Collective Impact Forum’s Champions for Change 2019. Julian and Adam spent the three-day conference delving into the research and practices of the convener role across a broad spectrum of collective impact projects and initiatives. They had the opportunity to collaborate with representatives from organizations across the country, as well as L.A. Compact partners from L.A. County, First 5 LA and United Way. The team now has a renewed sense of collective impact work, and we are excited to begin putting them into practice!

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.