Two South Los Angeles Schools Receive Planning Grants to Give Students More High Quality Options

25Nov
by La Comadre

This week in the Los Angeles Times, it was reported that two schools have won planning grants from Great Public Schools Now to re-create themselves at two locations that have excess space due to declining enrollment.

According to the Los Angeles Times:

“Two South Los Angeles schools — Public Service Community School and King Drew Magnet High School of Medicine and Science — have won planning grants to re-create themselves in another location. The amount of money, $20,000, is small, but not the symbolism.

“These planning grants are another opportunity to increase the number of high-quality choices for … families within the existing framework of successful district schools,” L.A. Unified Supt. Michelle King said Monday in announcing the grants.

If it works, this effort will check off a major goal the Board of Education set for King: Compete with charter schools and reverse declining enrollment caused by the rapid growth of charters and other factors.”

Myrna Castrejon, who leads Great Public Schools Now, the organization that is providing the funding for the planning grants, told the Times:

“Our goal is to increase the number of students enrolled in high-quality programs, and to do so quickly. We believe there are many ways to find success, and these [L.A. Unified] schools have a model that works.”

Quality schools for all children is what we want to see regardless of whether they are independently operated charters or traditionally run schools. Successful traditional schools that have great models, leadership, and staff can go into areas where existing schools have failed to duplicate their success. South Los Angeles has been an area that has historically been neglected in terms of resources and access to opportunities to uplift the community. Ultimately, we want our familias and young scholars to have quality choices, and sometimes it takes an infusion of funds and some innovative thinking to bring about those options.

What do you think?

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La Comadre

We are Moms, Tias, Ninas and Play-Tias who love children in our lives and we want to help every child succeed in school. Navigating schools and education—from preschool to college—is hard. We want to help each other with this.
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