Feb 12, 2012 | 08:39
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Sep 03, 2009
Opening of new school a milestone for campus outreach
In the room where a lively meet-and-greet is happening on the second floor of the Graduate School of Education & Information Studies (GSE&IS) building, a buzz of excitement and anticipation rises from the mingling crowd. Men and women with broad smiles eagerly meet each other over sandwiches and soda.
It's the first day of "school" for this special group of 16 people who came together last month for two weeks of intensive discussions and training. They have been handpicked for their exceptional teaching skills, their fluency in two or three languages — Spanish, English and Korean — and their core belief in educational equity. At the gut level, they believe that all children, especially those who live in densely populated, largely immigrant, underserved neighborhoods where parents typically work two or three jobs, should have access to the best education possible.
And these 16 committed Los Angeles Unified School District teachers of the new UCLA Community School are going to make that happen for a Pico-Union Koreatown neighborhood, home to many low-income families, especially Hispanics from Central America and Koreans.
Formal partnership is a 'first'
It's the first day of "school" for this special group of 16 people who came together last month for two weeks of intensive discussions and training. They have been handpicked for their exceptional teaching skills, their fluency in two or three languages — Spanish, English and Korean — and their core belief in educational equity. At the gut level, they believe that all children, especially those who live in densely populated, largely immigrant, underserved neighborhoods where parents typically work two or three jobs, should have access to the best education possible. And these 16 committed Los Angeles Unified School District teachers of the new UCLA Community School are going to make that happen for a Pico-Union Koreatown neighborhood, home to many low-income families, especially Hispanics from Central America and Koreans.
Formal partnership is a 'first'
When the UCLA Community School opens its doors for the first time on Sept. 9 to 360 students, from kindergarten through fifth grade, it will be the first pilot school to bring together under a formal agreement LAUSD District 4 and UCLA. The agreement unites LAUSD teachers and administrators, the UCLA team of education faculty who trained many of them and helped develop the school's instructional programs, and community advocates who share their vision.
Principal Georgia Ann Lazo at UCLA Community School. Photos by Rob King.
"It's going to be a great school, something that UCLA can really be so proud of," Chancellor Gene Block told teachers and the UCLA staff who have worked for its creation for years. "Everyone we have talked to about this school is enthusiastic and recognizes that it will do great things for the community. It will be a model for other schools. It's going to be something that we can all learn from."
Instrumental in the creation of the school, UCLA's Karen Hunter Quartz has been working with LAUSD for the last eight years in the small schools movement.
The opening of the new school, said Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost Scott Waugh, is "a real turning point for UCLA in our relationship with the community."
A 'dream job' for committed teachers
A 'dream job' for committed teachers
As a pilot school, UCLA Community School will enjoy, like charter schools, autonomy over its curricula, budget, professional development and staffing. But, unlike at charters, all of the teachers at the pilot school are full-fledged members of UTLA, the teachers union.
Having the freedom to use their teaching skills the best way they know to reach these children represents a high point in the professional lives of these teachers, some of whom grew up in very similar communities in L.A.
Io McNaughton, one of three lead teachers at the new Community School, jumped at the opportunity to work there. She felt frustrated while working at other schools. "I felt that sometimes the teacher's expertise is left out of the equation when plans are being made about what and how to teach," she said. "So this is so huge for me."
Principal Georgia Ann Lazo was born in the Pico-Union community and knows it well.
"The common thread connecting these teachers is that they all have a very strong vision of social justice, and they know how to deliver culturally relevant and responsive instruction," Lazo said. "When I see children walk in the door, I see myself in some ways. When I see their parents, I see my own and how very hard they worked to ensure that I received a quality education."
UCLA's Center X in GSE&IS helped to shape the vision of many of the school staff through its Principal Leadership Institute — Lazo is an alumna — and the Teacher Education Program (TEP). Center X, through its professional development courses, trains teachers to improve urban schooling.
Having the freedom to use their teaching skills the best way they know to reach these children represents a high point in the professional lives of these teachers, some of whom grew up in very similar communities in L.A.
Io McNaughton, one of three lead teachers at the new Community School, jumped at the opportunity to work there. She felt frustrated while working at other schools. "I felt that sometimes the teacher's expertise is left out of the equation when plans are being made about what and how to teach," she said. "So this is so huge for me."
Principal Georgia Ann Lazo was born in the Pico-Union community and knows it well.
"The common thread connecting these teachers is that they all have a very strong vision of social justice, and they know how to deliver culturally relevant and responsive instruction," Lazo said. "When I see children walk in the door, I see myself in some ways. When I see their parents, I see my own and how very hard they worked to ensure that I received a quality education."
UCLA's Center X in GSE&IS helped to shape the vision of many of the school staff through its Principal Leadership Institute — Lazo is an alumna — and the Teacher Education Program (TEP). Center X, through its professional development courses, trains teachers to improve urban schooling.
Mario Perez, a lead teacher at the new school, speaks passionately about the goal of bringing high-quality education to the Pico-Union community.
"This is a dream job for me," said Mario Perez, who will be the lead teacher of a learning group called a den, one of three multi-age, multi-grade groups at the school. A UCLA graduate, he was a faculty adviser supervising student teachers in TEP before he returned to the classroom as a bilingual teacher. "It's an opportunity to bring everything I believe about education together with my own passion for working with students in a nurturing place."
Growing up in a family that moved from Mexico to L.A., Perez knows firsthand the disorientation of being dropped into a public school offering little support for a Spanish-speaking student. "I went from a person who loved school in Mexico to a person who got really sick every morning before going to school because I didn't like the environment. It was not a welcoming place."
That's why the UCLA Community School is "a beacon of hope for me," Perez explained, "hope for student achievement, for the possibility of what can happen there, for what it can show other communities. This isn't just an education that can be afforded only to the affluent. This is an education that's possible for everyone in our society."
Lazo also sees the potential to forge a new beginning in education. "Given that we have this autonomy, we are in a unique position to create something very, very different from traditional public schools," she said. "The fact that we are a neighborhood school means that children can walk from home to school to receive the highest quality education that is possible in our district."
Innovations in the classroom
Growing up in a family that moved from Mexico to L.A., Perez knows firsthand the disorientation of being dropped into a public school offering little support for a Spanish-speaking student. "I went from a person who loved school in Mexico to a person who got really sick every morning before going to school because I didn't like the environment. It was not a welcoming place."
That's why the UCLA Community School is "a beacon of hope for me," Perez explained, "hope for student achievement, for the possibility of what can happen there, for what it can show other communities. This isn't just an education that can be afforded only to the affluent. This is an education that's possible for everyone in our society."
Lazo also sees the potential to forge a new beginning in education. "Given that we have this autonomy, we are in a unique position to create something very, very different from traditional public schools," she said. "The fact that we are a neighborhood school means that children can walk from home to school to receive the highest quality education that is possible in our district."
Innovations in the classroom
Here's what makes the UCLA Community School unique:
- Because of small class sizes, teachers will work with parents and students to create individualized learning plans to build on each student's strengths and respond to his or her needs.
- There will be dual-language immersion programs to gradually develop students' proficiency in two languages: English, and Spanish or Korean. Teachers respect students' cultural backgrounds and languages, Lazo said. "The job of the teacher is to capitalize on that."
- Students will be grouped into multi-age dens rather than grades to allow the teacher to teach at a child's pace rather than a grade level. "It's about the learning, not the teaching. You support the learning where children are developmentally,” explained Karen Hunter Quartz, director of research at Center X and at UCLA Community School. She has worked with LAUSD for the last eight years in the small schools movement and was instrumental in the school's creation. Teachers will stay with their learning groups for two years to develop a strong and supportive community.
- Teachers will be developing math and science programs using interdisciplinary project-based learning so that students experience real-world problem-solving.
- Teachers believe that students learn best when they can see themselves and their daily lives reflected in the curriculum and classroom activities. "So if my students are interested in soccer, I will ask myself, 'How can I find experiences in the classroom that will tap into that interest?'" Perez explained.
Campuswide help for a neighborhood school
UCLA's involvement in the school won't be limited to the graduate education school.
"This brings a whole new opportunity for UCLA and for LAUSD," said GSE&IS Dean Aimée Dorr. "Various people at UCLA have been interested for a long time in participating in this. It's a wonderful opportunity to bring big resources, knowledge and energy to the table to provide excellent education to children in communities that need it the most."
Among those getting involved is the School of the Arts and Architecture, which will bring some of UCLA Live's renowned performers to the school throughout the year, as well as arts education projects through ArtsBridge.
The Department of Family Medicine and the Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior are collaborating on a proposal to set up a health clinic and community wellness center that organizers hope to open in January 2011 across the street from the school site. Funds would be raised for the project. The health clinic will serve the entire community, said Mary Jane Rotheram-Borus, director of UCLA's Global Center for Children and Families. The wellness center and health clinic will be open to all six schools on the Ambassador site.
"This brings a whole new opportunity for UCLA and for LAUSD," said GSE&IS Dean Aimée Dorr. "Various people at UCLA have been interested for a long time in participating in this. It's a wonderful opportunity to bring big resources, knowledge and energy to the table to provide excellent education to children in communities that need it the most."
Among those getting involved is the School of the Arts and Architecture, which will bring some of UCLA Live's renowned performers to the school throughout the year, as well as arts education projects through ArtsBridge.
The Department of Family Medicine and the Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior are collaborating on a proposal to set up a health clinic and community wellness center that organizers hope to open in January 2011 across the street from the school site. Funds would be raised for the project. The health clinic will serve the entire community, said Mary Jane Rotheram-Borus, director of UCLA's Global Center for Children and Families. The wellness center and health clinic will be open to all six schools on the Ambassador site.
The UCLA Community School is ready to welcome 360 students on Sept. 9.
The Center for Community Learning, along with Bruincorps, will provide dozens of UCLA undergraduate students to work in classrooms as tutors, teaching assistants and interns.
To support the school's libraries, the Office of Residential Life will sponsor a book drive. And University Communications is helping the school develop a website and other communications tools that will help the school explain its mission and highlight the work of its students and staff.
In addition, several community groups including the Central American Resource Center, the Alliance for a Better Community, the Los Angeles Small Schools Center, and Centro Latino, are supporting the school’s program in significant ways. For example, Centro Latino will offer adult education classes and other programs to parents that will make families stronger.
By combining the resources of the nation's second-largest school district and those of UCLA with the support of such motivated community groups, said LAUSD Superintendent Ramon C. Cortines, UCLA Community School will be able to offer a high-quality education to the neighborhood — "something every child deserves."
To support the school's libraries, the Office of Residential Life will sponsor a book drive. And University Communications is helping the school develop a website and other communications tools that will help the school explain its mission and highlight the work of its students and staff.
In addition, several community groups including the Central American Resource Center, the Alliance for a Better Community, the Los Angeles Small Schools Center, and Centro Latino, are supporting the school’s program in significant ways. For example, Centro Latino will offer adult education classes and other programs to parents that will make families stronger.
By combining the resources of the nation's second-largest school district and those of UCLA with the support of such motivated community groups, said LAUSD Superintendent Ramon C. Cortines, UCLA Community School will be able to offer a high-quality education to the neighborhood — "something every child deserves."
View a video about UCLA Community School.
For more information, see the school website.
