ERIC EJ1056839: Mobilizing the Eastside of Los Angeles for Educational Justice

2015·0.26 MB·English

by  ERIC

Mobilizing the Eastside of Los Angeles
for Educational Justice
Henry M. Perez and Perla Madera
A ten-year effort led by youth, community organizers, and a range of partners resulted in two
new, successful high schools and showed the power of grassroots mobilization for social justice.
I’ve seen students that started off at For decades, the Eastside of
Torres High School, before we had all Los Angeles1 has seen mainly
these partners, and some were struggling. low-performing schools with
Some were getting into trouble doing huge push-out rates, low graduation
things that they shouldn’t have been rates, and low percentages of students
doing. But when you connect these same prepared to attend a four-year univer-
students with the right program it makes sity. Eastside schools have been, and to
a big difference. They become more an extent continue to be, some of the
focused. Extended learning time is most overcrowded and underresourced
helping us keep our students in school. schools, not only in the Los Angeles
We are offering them more than just Unified School District, but
math and science and the whole practice in the entire nation.
of drill and kill. We are offering them
art, music, and mentorship. 1 The region East of downtown Los Angeles
that includes unincorporated East Los
— Alex Fuentes, principal, Torres High
Angeles, Boyle Heights, El Sereno, and
School Engineering and Technology Lincoln Heights is popularly referred to
Academy as “the Eastside.”
Henry M. Perez is associate director of InnerCity Struggle in Los Angeles. Perla Madera is a youth
organizer for InnerCity Struggle.
18 Annenberg Institute for School Reform
But there are two schools in this school hours through the implementa-
neighborhood that have reversed these tion of more and better learning time
trends. Since opening in 2009 and to assist in meeting the academic and
2010 respectively, Felicitas and social needs of the students and their
Gonzalo Mendez High School for families.3
College and Career Preparation and
This collaborative effort to create two
Esteban E. Torres High School have
new community schools shined a bright
developed to be two of the more
light on the crisis of public education
successful high schools in the Eastside.
in East Los Angeles. It also flipped the
Located only five miles away from each
narrative of the education crisis in Los
other, they are the first two schools
Angeles from one of scapegoating
that have been built in the East Los
students and parents to one of recog-
Angeles region in more than eighty
nizing systemic inequities faced by a
years. Just last year, Mendez High
mainly low-income, immigrant Latino
School was recognized for recording
community, which prevent them from
a more than fifty-point gain on its
accessing the education they deserve
Academic Performing Index (API)
and limit their life opportunities.
score, one of the largest gains in the
state of California (Watanabe 2013).
In a September Los Angeles Magazine HOW TWO COMMUNITY
article ranking the top seventy-five high
SCHOOLS WERE BORN
schools in Los Angeles County, Torres
Renaissance Academy and Torres The community schools approach
Engineering and Technology Academy, differs from some other school design
two of the five autonomous pilot models in that there is no one blueprint
schools on the Esteban E. Torres High for a community school. In some
School campus, were listed #32 and places, community schools are initiated
#60, respectively (Mathews 2014). and planned top-down from the school
district. But in East Los Angeles,
The progress and current standing of
Community Schools strategies have
Mendez and Torres High Schools is
developed from a grassroots, bottom-
something that has not been seen in
up approach through more than ten
East Los Angeles in a very long time.
years of organizing campaigns – led
In this article, the authors draw on our
by youth, parents, organizers from
own experience at InnerCity Struggle
InnerCity Struggle, and key education
and interviews with a number of other
partners – that have served as building
stakeholders to detail how InnerCity
blocks toward creating a successful and
Struggle partnered with students,
sustainable community schools
parents, educators, community
infrastructure at Mendez and Torres
members, and nonprofits to implement
high schools.
a “community schools” vision at these
two schools. The framework for the
2 For more on Linked Learning, see
community schools vision consists of
linkedlearning.org and the article by Janet
implementing strategies such as: 1) the Lopez and Peter Rivera in this issue of VUE.
establishment of school-based supports 3 For more on community schools, see the
articles by Natasha Capers and Shital Shah
like wellness centers or health clinics;
and by Janet Lopez and Peter Rivera in this
2) the use of restorative justice as an
issue of VUE, and linkedlearning.org.
alternative to punitive discipline
policies like suspensions and expul-
sions; 3) the integration of Linked
Learning2 in the instructional curricu-
lum; and 4) maximizing the use of after
Henry M. Perez and Perla Madera VUE 2015, no. 40 19
The Evolution of InnerCity Struggle issues impacting their quality of
education. Repeatedly, students
InnerCity Struggle began organizing
identified overcrowding as their number
youth and families in the East Los
one concern. In 2002, Garfield High
Angeles community of Boyle Heights
School had approximately 4,700
in 1994. It started as an organization
students on a year-round school
dedicated to reducing the violence in
calendar with three tracks that alter-
the community as well as supporting
nated being in and out of session. This
the victims and survivors of that
overcrowding and year-round calendar
violence, mainly mothers and youth,
disrupted students’ learning process
through gang intervention and support
and opportunities (one track would
programs. In the early 2000s, with a
be in session two months and out of
new staff taking the helm of the
session the next two months year
organization, InnerCity Struggle shifted
round) and led to a loss of seventeen
its focus from gang intervention to
days of instruction per year for stu-
school-based youth organizing for
dents, as well as numerous other
education reform. The InnerCity
negative outcomes.
Struggle staff created an educational
justice vision based on improving With the results of their survey com-
graduation and college-going rates and plete, InnerCity Struggle youth felt like
creating a safe and healthy learning they had a strong mandate from the
environment with holistic support students at Garfield High School to
programs for the youth and families fight for a new school and made the
of the Eastside. The staff developed a decision to launch the “new schools
strategic plan to implement their vision campaign” to win the construction of
and began organizing campaigns aimed a new high school for their community.
at reaching that vision. InnerCity After months of organizing meetings
Struggle began working at two of with students and parents, collecting
the four high schools and soon was thousands of signatures on petitions
working at all four Eastside high in support of a new high school,
schools. conducting several delegations with
decision-makers from the Los Angeles
In 2002, a group of youth from
Unified School District, and conducting
Garfield High School in East Los
marches and rallies, the youth and
Angeles came together to discuss
families of InnerCity Struggle won their
how they could improve the crisis-like
campaign for a new East Los Angeles
conditions at their school. At that time,
high school in 2004. In the end, they
less than 50 percent of Garfield’s
not only won one new high school, but
students were graduating, and only
they won two new high schools, a new
about 16 percent were graduating
elementary school, and an adult school
eligible to attend a four-year university.
for the community.
The students from Garfield High
School came together under the name Additionally, the “new schools cam-
United Students and were organized paign” gave InnerCity Struggle great
by youth organizers from InnerCity momentum and support for continuing
Struggle. their educational justice vision for
Eastside schools. InnerCity Struggle
Trying to get a grasp on the key
would then leverage this momentum
barriers that were hindering Garfield
and support to strategically push
High School students from receiving
forward a community-led vision and
a quality education, the students
effort for community schools at
launched a survey gathering effort
Mendez High School and Torres
among their peers. The surveys asked
High School.
students to identify the most pressing
20 Annenberg Institute for School Reform
Turning New Schools Into In 2009, the Los Angeles Unified
Community Schools School District launched an initiative
known as Public School Choice.
Although approved in 2004, the two
Although many in the education world
new schools were not scheduled to
expressed concerns over an initiative
open until 2009 and 2010. Looking
that would allow external operators to
forward, InnerCity Struggle recognized
bid for any new and low-performing
that it had a tremendous opportunity
school in the district, InnerCity
to organize the community toward
Struggle and the ELAEC saw this as
influencing how the schools would
an opportunity to carry out their
operate once they opened. Students
community schools vision at one of the
and parents of InnerCity Struggle
new high schools that was opening in
pressed forward stating that these
East Los Angeles. With the support of
new schools, that the community
the Los Angeles Education Partnership
fought so hard to win, could not
(LAEP), a nonprofit organization
operate “business as usual” or in the
with expertise in providing teacher
“status quo” of what the community
support, instructional development,
was used to. These schools needed to
and operating community schools,
be drastically different. They needed to
the East Los Angeles Education
have a more personalized environment
Partnership launched a pilot schools
for students and parents, they needed
campaign for the Esteban E. Torres
to have high expectations and a
high school campus.
college-going culture for students, and
they needed to be community schools LAEP worked with five teams of
that would be open, accessible, and teachers who developed five distinct
welcoming to the community and proposals to operate five autonomous
serve as a hub of enrichment and pilot schools at the soon-to-be-opened
support programs and services for Torres High School. InnerCity Struggle
the community. worked with the teams to ensure that
the proposals reflected a commitment
InnerCity Struggle understood that in
to a community schools vision.
order to achieve this vision, it needed a
InnerCity Struggle youth and parents
broad base of support from community
also led a campaign to inform and
and education stakeholders in East Los
engage the East Los Angeles commu-
Angeles. In 2007, InnerCity Struggle
nity to support a student, parent,
launched the East Los Angeles Educa-
and community vote for the pilot
tion Collaborative (ELAEC). This
school proposals. After months of
collaborative was made up of students,
organizing, the LAUSD School Board
parents, representatives from commu-
selected the community’s pilot school
nity-based organizations, teachers,
proposals over the competing charter
principals, and elected representatives.
school proposals.
As the convener, InnerCity Struggle
facilitated the collaborative in develop-
ing a “Community Vision for Public SUSTAINING THE VISION
Education in the Eastside.” It included
The pilot school campaign victory won
the same elements that students and
by InnerCity Struggle, LAEP, and the
parents had pushed for but also
ELAEC sustained the energy and
included the desire for schools to have
momentum for creating a new direc-
greater autonomy and flexibility over
tion for public education in East Los
curriculum, budgets, governance,
Angeles. In the larger scheme of things,
hiring, and schedules.
InnerCity Struggle understood that if
the community was successful in
Henry M. Perez and Perla Madera VUE 2015, no. 40 21
building an alternative school model the campus until the district approved
at Torres High School, it would create them. After months of no approval,
the pressure and conditions for other InnerCity Struggle used organizing
schools in the community to improve strategies to pressure the district to
as well. approve the providers and the space
for a wellness center. InnerCity Struggle
youth launched a petition demanding
Torres High School
that the district provide the space for
As the new Esteban E. Torres High a wellness center. InnerCity Struggle
School was set to open in the fall of organized delegations between the
2010, students and parents wanted superintendent and students, parents,
to ensure that the commitment to teachers, and principals to express the
a community schools vision was urgency of providing students with
honored. Two top priorities for the mental health services and the expecta-
community were the creation of a tion for the district to follow through
community schools coordinator on its commitment. After an almost
position and the establishment of two-year campaign, the Esteban Torres
a wellness center on campus. The Wellness Center was inaugurated in
community saw a community school April 2012.
coordinator position as essential to
facilitating the process of identifying
Extended Learning Time at Torres
school-based needs and finding
partners that could assist the school Another important part of the
in meeting those needs. community’s vision for Torres was
the implementation of an extended
Additionally, InnerCity Struggle and
learning time initiative through LAEP.
the ELAEC learned from students that
Today at Torres, more than twenty
mental health services were a high
external partners are providing
priority. Many students shared their
enrichment and support programs for
struggles with high stress and anxiety,
the roughly 2,000 students attending
as well as depression and suicidal
the five pilot schools on campus.
tendencies. Immediately, InnerCity
According to recent data compiled by
Struggle and LAEP created a school-
LAEP, the twenty partners are serving
based health task force charged with
approximately 761 students from all
the responsibility of establishing a
five pilot schools. The programs
wellness center on campus. The health
offered at Torres High School through
task force included community-based
the extended learning time initiative
organizations, teachers, principals,
serve as a way to augment the existing
school-based nurses and psychologists,
curriculum of the five pilot schools.
students, and parents. This partnership
enabled the school to quickly identify As Cristina Patricio, community
three community-based health provid- schools coordinator at Torres, states,
ers that were willing to provide
Extended learning time provides the
primary care and mental health care
students at Torres the opportunities
services at no cost to the school.
to explore courses and programs that
Even though the school had identified LAUSD does not offer them.
partners ready to provide free health
For example, the Torres Engineering
care services to students of Torres High
and Technology Academy, because of
School, there still existed a challenge:
its career focus, is unable to prioritize
the local Los Angeles Unified School
music classes for its students. However,
District representatives wouldn’t allow
through extended learning time, they
the health care providers to come onto
are able to offer their students music
22 Annenberg Institute for School Reform
classes provided by a local team of He was a troubled kid but is really
musicians. talented at playing the drums. He
was able to join one of our after-
Torres High School is currently in the
school music programs and that
process of offering a murals program
really grounded him here at Torres
through a local nonprofit called
High School.
Self-Help Graphics & Art. This course
will offer students the opportunity to
gain an arts experience that currently “
lacks significant investment in districts
throughout the country. At the same
time, students will learn about the rich
history of murals in their own commu-
“
nity and become much more grounded Today at Torres, more than twenty external
in the history of their community.
partners are providing enrichment and support
Extended learning time is also provid-
ing Torres High School students with
programs for the roughly 2,000 students
the opportunity to focus on health and
wellness. The nonprofit group People’s
attending the five pilot schools on campus.
Yoga offers yoga classes to students at
the school; another outside partner
offers Zumba classes.
In addition to enrichment programs,
Patricio shares that extended learning
time gives many students the opportu- From Fuentes’ perspective, extended
nity to develop their leadership skills. learning time is critical to giving
Torres High School has a mentorship low-income students an opportunity to
program offered by LAEP where compete with students from more
upperclassmen take on the role of affluent families. He says,
mentoring underclassmen. This
If you are from a middle class
opportunity has helped students like
neighborhood you can afford for
Santiago, who Patricio describes
your kids to be involved in extra-
as a young man who dealt with serious
curricular programs, such as piano
anger issues:4
classes. In East Los Angeles, parents
In his first three years at Torres, no want these opportunities but usually
one knew what to do with him. They cannot afford to pay for them.
struggled working with him because For parents to receive it for free
of his anger issues. The mentorship at Torres High School, and know
program was a space that really that their kids will be safe, is an
worked for Santiago. He felt engaged extraordinary benefit.
by the school, and he was able to
Torres stays open until six p.m. in
place all of his energy into something
order to offer students the array of
positive.
expanded learning time programs.
Alex Fuentes, principal of the Torres Students are even offered a meal for
High School Engineering and Technol- participating in the afterschool
ogy Academy, agrees that students are programs. Fuentes appreciates the fact
benefiting from extended learning time that ELT is helping students do
programs. He tells the story of Javier: something positive in the afterschool
hours rather than potentially getting
into trouble out in the streets.
4 Students’ names are pseudonyms.
Henry M. Perez and Perla Madera VUE 2015, no. 40 23
Fuentes sees ELT as part of the overall Promise Neighborhoods initiative. In
community schools vision that began an effort to win the highly competitive
with the organizing campaign of federal grant, three organizations –
InnerCity Struggle and LAEP to win InnerCity Struggle, Proyecto Pastoral,
the pilot schools at Torres High School. and the East Los Angeles Community
He states, Corporation (ELACC) – came together
to submit a collaborative proposal
All of this support is helping us build
under the name of Promesa Boyle
a culture here at Torres High School.
Heights. In 2010, Promesa Boyle
Where in the past, parents would try
Heights was awarded a Promise
to send their kids to other schools
Neighborhoods planning grant.5
outside of East Los Angeles, we now
have a culture where parents want With the planning grant, Promesa
their kids to attend Torres High Boyle Heights was able to facilitate a
School because they see what we community-led process to establish a
are providing the students here. collective impact, community schools
vision for families of Mendez High
“ School in which a continuum of
services and programs would support
students in the Mendez High School
area from cradle to college. Dozens
of organizations came together and
“The biggest impact for me is seeing that
“ committed to supporting this commu-
nity vision by offering their services
people care and that they are here to help
in specific areas of the plan.
us; lots of schools don’t offer that.” Even though Promesa Boyle Heights
was not awarded an implementation
grant for the Promise Neighborhoods
– Victor Lopez, Mendez High School Student
initiative, going through the process
of the planning grant and developing a
and InnerCity Struggle youth leader
collective impact plan fully engaged the
community. Many of the organizations
that were a part of the planning
process reaffirmed their commitment to
And these programs are supporting the the implementation of the community
schools at Torres High School to make schools collective impact vision
tremendous academic gains. The regardless of not receiving the Promise
graduation rate at the Engineering and Neighborhoods implementation grant.
Technology Academy rose 17 percent Many organizations were willing to
from the previous year and is now at provide in-kind services to move
77 percent for a four-year cohort. In forward specific pieces of the plan.
addition, 75 percent of the academy’s
Since then, Proyecto Pastoral, a
current senior class is eligible for a
community organization located in
four-year university with a G.P.A of
Boyle Heights, has served as the anchor
2.5 or greater.
organization for the Promesa Boyle
Heights initiative and has taken the
Mendez High School lead in moving the community schools
collective impact vision forward. Deycy
Mendez High School developed its
direction toward a community school
5 For more on Promise Neighborhoods, see
vision through the process of applying
the article by Michael McAfee and Mauricio
to the federal Department of Education Torre in this issue of VUE.
24 Annenberg Institute for School Reform
Hernandez, director of Promesa Boyle school to get that recognition.
Heights, describes the initiative:
Macias recognizes that the staff of
Promesa Boyle Heights is a collab- Mendez High School could not have
orative of organizations within the accomplished that great achievement
[Boyle Heights] community that without the implementation of a
developed a shared vision for where collaborative community effort guided
we want the community to be in the by a community schools collective
next ten years. It is a vision to ensure impact initiative.
that students are able to succeed
To be able to accomplish what we
from the time that they are born to
have accomplished, it’s not one
the time that they graduate from
person, it’s not one teacher, it’s not
college.
one student. It’s really a team effort
The essence of a community schools and a collaboration of parents,
vision is the partnerships and collabo- students, the partners, teachers, and
ration of individuals inside and outside administration. It really requires
of a school. Having a school open itself everyone to work together because
up to outside partners that are there to it is a tough, tough job.
scrutinize and identify what are issues
It is obvious that the most impacted
to resolve inside of the school is not
by the efforts of the Promesa Boyle
always easy for school officials. Patty
Heights initiative are the students.
Kitaoka, an academic case manager
Victor Lopez is a current student at
placed inside of Mendez High School
Mendez High School. He is also a
by Proyecto Pastoral, said,
youth leader with InnerCity Struggle
The first year that we were [at and very engaged in the community
Mendez High School], we got the assemblies to discuss the progress of
sense that the school did not want the Promesa Boyle Heights initiative.
partnerships, and we were really He says,
trying to figure out how the partner-
The biggest impact for me is seeing
ships fit and how they would be best
that people care and that they are
utilized.
here to help us; lots of schools don’t
It didn’t take very long for the leader- offer that.
ship of Mendez High School to realize
To Victor, it is very evident that there
the benefits of these partnerships and
is a community schools effort being
the success that would come with
developed at Mendez High School. He
working toward a community schools
sees the wealth of partnerships that his
collective impact vision. Alejandro
school now has and feels very appre-
Macias is an assistant principal at
ciative for it.
Mendez High School. He has been
present at the school since it opened I personally take in a lot of love with
in 2009, prior to the Promesa Boyle having lots of partners within the
Heights initiative and at a time when campus. There are much more
the school was struggling to meet its opportunities for myself and my
potential. He said: classmates. We are really lucky and
grateful for all the partnerships.
2011 to 2012 was the year Mendez
was recognized by the LAUSD Board
of Education for having the second
highest percentage of students with
perfect attendance. It was a big deal;
we were actually the first Eastside
Henry M. Perez and Perla Madera VUE 2015, no. 40 25
REVERSING SYSTEMIC REFERENCES
INEQUITIES AND THE
NARRATIVE OF FAILURE Mathews, J. 2014. “75 Los Angeles County
High Schools – Public and Private – That
More than ten years ago, students at
Bring Out the Best in Students,” Los
Garfield High School decided to do
Angeles Magazine (September 23).
something about their overcrowded,
underresourced, low-performing Watanabe, T. 2013. “State Academic
school. They did not accept that these Performance Slips, but L.A. Unified
conditions were inevitable in neighbor- Improves,” Los Angeles Times (August 29).
hoods with high levels of poverty
and large numbers of students of
color. They believed that they and
their families and their community
deserved better.
The path leading to the two new,
successful high schools described in
this article was not easy. It required
over a decade of hard work, grassroots
organizing, and partnership building.
But the vision of sustainable commu-
nity schools that provide the learning
opportunities and services that students
need to succeed, and that act as hubs
for community services and enrichment
programs, proved to be powerful,
gaining the support of an increasing
number of partners.
The result is a model of bottom-up
community mobilization for social
justice that rejects blaming students
and families for low-performing
schools; rather, it addresses systemic
inequities that deny low-income
students of color their right to an
excellent education. The authors hope
that the story of Mendez and Torres
high schools will inspire other commu-
nities to look at their own schools and
know that the path to equal opportu-
nity is difficult, but possible. This path
requires that youth, families, and
community members be at the center
of planning and decision making. It
requires a community-wide, long-term
commitment to collaboration and
support. The results – engaged stu-
dents, surrounded by caring adults,
prepared to succeed in college and life
– are priceless.
26 Annenberg Institute for School Reform