As we head into 2020, we celebrate the power of community schools to impact the lives of young people and inspire collective action. This month, we highlight efforts to engage youth in climate education and action, advance bilingual education, reimagine and share migration stories, and explore potential career pathways. As one student reflecting on their internship experience reminds us: “It’s really life changing…everyone should have this opportunity to be a good person, to be a part of the community, and add on to society.”
Environmental and Climate Change Literacy Project and Summit
On December 12th, teachers gathered at the Environmental and Climate Change Literacy Project and Summit to discuss practices for teaching climate science. Mann UCLA Community School teacher Darlene Tieu spoke about the impact of climate change on her high school students and how she incorporates climate science into her core content classes. Tieu, a graduate of the UCLA Graduate School of Education and Information Studies’ Teacher Education Program, has been developing climate science curricula with UCLA doctoral student Heather Clark and other educators from UCLA. Marcelo Suárez-Orozco, Wasserman Dean of the UCLA Graduate School of Education and Information Studies and co-chair of the summit steering committee, highlighted the importance of equipping youth with the tools to understand and then solve the climate crisis.
Read the press article and visit the summit website for more information about this inspiring and critical topic.
Upcoming Study Tour: Mann UCLA Community School
On Wednesday, February 12th, the UCLA Center for Community Schooling will be hosting a Study Tour at Mann UCLA Community School. Come tour the campus and learn more about the school- RSVP here!
Reimagining and Sharing Migration Stories
As a span school, serving students from the ages of 4 to 19, the UCLA Community School routinely brings together students at different stages of their development to share their learning. In this photo, one of our newcomer students shares the children’s book he wrote about his migration story with fourth and fifth grade students. The book project was part of an instructional unit to help newcomer students develop their English language skills while also honoring and sharing the rich stories of hope and struggle that brought them to this country. The younger students were thoroughly engaged in the storytelling and offered supportive and critical feedback to the older students–bringing the school’s motto to life: Where We Grow Together.
UCLA Community School teachers participate in a powerful community of learners supported by Reimagining Migration, a project based at UCLA and Harvard University, that aims “to ensure that all young people grow up understanding migration as a fundamental characteristic of the human condition, in order to develop the knowledge, empathy and mindsets that sustain inclusive and welcoming communities.”
Preparing the Next Generation of Bilingual Educators
UCLA Community School Teacher Jackie Belloso has been invited to teach a course on bilingual education strategies for UCLA’s Center X Teacher Education Program. We’re grateful to have such an amazing teacher at UCLA Community School, and are excited to see her knowledge and skills as a bilingual educator get passed on to a new generation of teachers!
Celebrating Student Internship Culmination
On December 11th, UCLA Community School celebrated the ninth cohort of senior interns. Students engage in internships as part of an Applied Economics course taught by Rebecca Solomon. Internship sites are diverse learning environments–including the Salvadoran Embassy, the Koreatown Youth Community Center, the UCLA Broadcasting Studio, the California Science Center, and many others–giving students a wide array of career paths to explore and consider. During the semester-long internship program, students create a resume, interview with potential organizations, intern at a site for nine weeks, and reflect on their experience. At the close of the semester, students share their experiences and thank their mentors in a culmination ceremony. We are grateful for the thirty organizations who supported the program this year.
Rise Up for Equity: May 2020
As a local co-host of the 2020 Forum, the Center continues to work with partners to prepare proposals that capture the “LA Story” of community schools and that highlight the national network of University-assisted Community Schools. Proposed sessions include “Teaching in Community Schools: Learning from the UCLA Consortium of Community Schools” and “Research for Equity: How Collaborative Inquiry and Data Can Help Community Schools Solve Local Problems” and more.
Proposal submission deadline has been extended to January 17, 2020.
Click here to learn more and to register for the Summit.