Russell Simmons urges South LA teens to ‘Keep the Peace’

February 5, 2015 By Leave a Comment


Russel Simmons urges students to take a peace pledge at Dorsey High School. | Maddy Ewles

Russell Simmons urges students to take a peace pledge at Dorsey High School. | Madeline Ewles

By Madeline Ewles | Annenberg Radio News

Russell Simmons, founder of Def Jam Recordings, is known for making noise in the hip-hop scene. But at Dorsey High School in South L.A. on Wednesday, he urged students to be quiet in a four-minute meditation.

“I’m here to talk about peace,” Simmons told the group. “The groups that you join, the activities that you choose — they are part of being peaceful.”

Such choices are especially important during times of racial and political turmoil, he said, such as the response to the police shootings of Black men in Ferguson, New York and Los Angeles. His mission is to instill a pledge among young people — a pledge to “keep the peace” and stay away from violence. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Arts, Culture, Education, More on Intersections

South LA tech mentor contender for national STEM award

December 8, 2014 By Leave a Comment


Daphne Bradford invites Mayor Eric Garcetti to watch her students tackle coding projects. | Willa Seidenberg

Daphne Bradford invites Mayor Eric Garcetti to watch her students tackle coding projects at the “Coding with STEAM” event held at Dorsey High in July 2014. | Willa Seidenberg

The nationally acclaimed founder and president of a South L.A. tech-education nonprofit, Daphne Bradford, was nominated this fall for the Presidential Awards for Excellence in Science, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring. The White House Office of Science and Technology and the National Science Foundation gives this award to organizations and individuals who have shown outstanding leadership with aspiring scientists and engineers from underrepresented communities.

Bradford will be competing against college level professors for this award; her students are high schoolers. The teacher said she feels younger students have not had enough exposure to science, technology engineering and mathematics (STEM) in their schools’ curricula. Her program, Mother of Many, which offers digital media skills for students at Dorsey and Crenshaw high schools, aims to bridge this teaching gap. [Read more…]

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LAUSD superintendent’s South LA legacy

November 14, 2014 By Leave a Comment


John Deasy speaks at a City Year event in 2013. | City Year

John Deasy speaks at a City Year event in 2013. | City Year

High school seniors in the Los Angeles Unified School District graduating in 2015 have attended school under five different superintendents since they began kindergarten in 2001. That statistic punctuates the departure of Superintendent John Deasy, who resigned last month following a three-and-a-half-year term that included both peak performances and steep pitfalls in the district.

As the door closes on Deasy’s high-profile leadership as LAUSD superintendent, Intersections explored how Deasy’s work influenced the experience of students in South L.A.—home to some of the district’s lowest performing schools.

[Read more…]

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South LA high school curbs suspension rates with restorative justice

November 6, 2014 By Leave a Comment


A student at Augustus Hawkins. | Sarah Zahedi

A student at Augustus Hawkins. | Sarah Zahedi

At most high schools, getting into a fight means getting suspended. But for many students, suspension isn’t a helpful solution. That’s why Augustus Hawkins High School in South L.A. is taking a new approach.

Learn more in an audio story from Annenberg Radio News:

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Filed Under: Education, More on Intersections Tagged With: , ,

LAUSD software inflicts scheduling chaos

October 31, 2014 By Leave a Comment


In South L.A. and elsewhere, the L.A. Unified School District’s

buggy software has thwarted plans for students and teachers alike.

Misis | Matt Tinoco

Crenshaw High senior Simone Al-Alim and her father, Kahllid Al-Alim, are pressing the L.A. County Superior Court to investigate the district’s handling of its glitchy software.  | Matt Tinoco

Speaking to an audience of stakeholders in the Los Angeles Unified School District’s boardroom who seemed to already know what he was going to say, Superintendent Ramon Cortines announced that the district is, indeed, committed to resolving the slew of issues stemming from its new My Integrated Student Information System, MISIS for short. Doing so, however, will cost the district both time and money, Cortines said.

MISIS is LAUSD’s attempt to improve and standardize computer records across the district. The system is supposed to provide a centralized location for teachers, administrators and parents to access student information about all of their classes at any time. In addition, the system is supposed to assemble student schedules and class rosters, automatically, as well as to provide teachers with a place to take attendance. [Read more…]

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Teens Exploring Technology celebrates grand opening of community space

October 31, 2014 By Leave a Comment


A student at TXT. | Stephanie Monte

A student stays focused on his laptop at TXT. | Stephanie Monte

Teens Exploring Technology, or simply TXT, celebrated the opening of its multi-purpose, innovative space called “The Cube” last weekend. The Cube, at 1481 West Adams Boulevard, provides the community with a variety of technological services and educational programs.

TXT, formerly known as Urban Txt, believes that technology should be accessible to people of all socio-economic statuses. The organization hopes to use The Cube to develop a culture of innovation, collaboration and resilience to make a social impact in disenfranchised communities. The space is designed to cater to the wishes and needs of South L.A. residents to offer support with tasks such as research for school assignments or creating a resume for job applications. The Cube will also host a variety of free workshops involving technology. Community members can learn coding for websites, Adobe Photoshop and Avid Pro Tools. A library of books on entrepreneurship, technology and coding is also available. TXT’s founder and executive director, Oscar N. Menjivar, received a $25,000 grant from the Annenberg Foundation to launch The Cube.

See also: Teen tech leaders compete in Demo Day 2014

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Community, Education, More on Intersections, Technology Tagged With: , , , ,

Homecoming for Animo Inglewood alum running for state superintendent

October 17, 2014 By Leave a Comment


 

TuckAnimoCharterMarshall Tuck, candidate for state superintendent of public instruction, checked up on Animo Inglewood Charter High School Thursday as part of his statewide bus tour. The campaign stop was extra special for Tuck, as he helped found the school in the early 2000s.

Take a listen to his visit in an audio piece for Annenberg Radio News:

Tuck and incumbent Tom Torlakson are in a tight race for the nonpartisan superintendent job, with Tuck up by three points in the latest poll. The race has crystalized divisions within the Democratic party over education reform.

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Students at South LA’s Manual Arts High react to superintendent’s resignation

October 16, 2014 By Leave a Comment


John Deasy speaks at a City Year event in 2013. | City Year

John Deasy speaks at a City Year event in 2013. | City Year

Los Angeles Unified School District Superintendent John Deasy resigned on Thursday, ending a controversial, much-discussed tenure. The word about his resignation spread quickly through South L.A., which is home to some of the lowest performing schools in California with some of the nation’s lowest graduation rates.

Students at South L.A.’s Manual Arts High School, which in 2012 had a graduation rate of about 65 percent and a dropout rate of about 26 percent, are hopeful that a future superintendent can be a model leader, and bring resources to their school.  [Read more…]

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Sign language in Spanish

October 13, 2014 By 1 Comment


image

Left to right: Felix, Mr. Sanchez, Mrs. Sanchez, and Hector. Enrique in the front.

Irma Sanchez has three young sons who love football and video games, so when they’re all home, visitors might be surprised by what they hear: absolute silence.

Sanchez’s three sons were all born Deaf and must communicate using American Sign Language (ASL). Inspired by her journey to learn ASL, Sanchez started the group “Deaf Latinos” – a free weekly class at her South Los Angeles home where Sanchez teaches ASL in Spanish.

Felix was eight months old when Sanchez had him tested for hearing loss. A red flag went up for Sanchez when she noticed that her child wasn’t turning around for loud noises, like when the vacuum cleaner was on. Doctors diagnosed him with bilateral sensorineural hearing loss – he was deaf. Sanchez was shocked to learn Felix was deaf. “I recall coming home and sitting down and thinking to myself, ‘Okay, so I have a deaf child, what am I going to do?’” [Read more…]

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Judge orders classes back at South LA’s Jefferson High

October 10, 2014 By Leave a Comment


By Taylor Haney

Jefferson High School

Jefferson High School

LAUSD officials met with staff at Jefferson High School Thursday to talk about incomplete course schedules. A lack of resources has been keeping many students out of their required classes — or any classes at all. Yesterday, a Calif. Superior Court judge ordered the state to fix scheduling problems at the South L.A. high school.

One student told Annenberg Radio News that his schedule “wasn’t right” for him. For others, classes they needed just didn’t exist.

Click play to hear their comments: 

 

The ACLU of Southern California had lodged a complaint in May naming a few specific schools and detailing their problems. Here’s how they map out.

See also: #TBT South LA: Jeffferson High School, 1938

Filed Under: Education, More on Intersections Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,
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