Linked Learning in LA: Powerful Schools with Equity, Access and - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Los Angeles Small Schools Center

Linked Learning in LA:

Powerful Schools with Equity, Access and Choice

Los Angeles Small Schools Center

Our mission is to ensure that every student is prepared for college, career, and life by building the capacity of educators to create, implement, and sustain powerful public schools.

Los Angeles Small Schools Center

• Practice
• How can we shift belief systems so that every educator

demonstrates their belief that all children can learn?

• How can we provide robust support to improve learning

and teaching?

• How can we create a through-line for students to

transition from secondary to post-secondary to career?

• Policy and Public Will
• How do we build systemic improvement in impermanent

systems?

• How do schools have more decision-making power?
• How do we ensure all young people earn a living wage?

Questions We Are Asking and Answering

Los Angeles Small Schools Center

We are the first regional Linked Learning Center in California and work with Southern California districts and schools.

• Since 2009 the Center has supported L.A. Unified School

District and currently also supports…

• Antelope Valley
• Centinela Valley Union High School Districts
• Norwalk/La Mirada Unified
• L.A. County Office of Education

32 Linked Learning Pathways

Los Angeles Small Schools Center

VISION - Prepare all high school students for college and career

and increase high school retention and graduation rates by:

• Establishing quality certified Linked Learning Pathways
• Creating small, safe, inclusive and caring school environments
• Ensuring access to Linked Learning for all learners
• Developing school and district communities of practice
• Integrating academic and technical coursework
• Bringing the world to the school & school to the world
• Developing the Linked Learning field

Los Angeles Small Schools Center

Regional Linked Learning Center – Levels of Work

• Develop systemic implementation structures
• Support leadership and broad-based coalition

District

• Build leadership and teacher capacity & effectiveness
• Ensure quality pathway certification

School

• Innovate to build Linked Learning field
• Establish partnerships to deepen implementation

Initiatives

Los Angeles Small Schools Center

Students Served in Los Angeles – 12,500

LL Cohort 1: 1,900 students

• Hollywood New Media – Certified
• L.A. School of Global Studies - Certified
• L.A. High School of the Arts – Certified
• STEM Academy – Certified
• School of Business & Tourism – 2014

LL Cohort 3: 3,500 students

• Dorsey Arts & Humanities
• Dorsey Business & Entrepreneurship
• Dorsey School of Legal Studies
• Hawkins Community Health Advocates
• Hawkins Critical Design & Gaming
• Hawkins Responsible Indigenous Social

Entrepreneurship

• Hilda Solis Digital Media
• Jack London Continuation School
• Westchester Environmental & Natural

Sciences

• Westchester Health & Sports Medicine

LL Cohort 4: 4,900 students

• Carson Environmental Studies
• Carson Finance & Business
• Chatsworth Health Sciences
• East L.A. Performing Arts
• Humanitas Academy of Arts & Technology
• Huntington Park Inst. of Applied Medicine
• L.A. River School
• Roosevelt Environment & Social Policy
• Roosevelt Law Academy
• Sylmar Biotech Academy
• Westchester Aviation & Aerospace

LL Cohort 2: 1,000 students

• School for the Visual Arts & Humanities
• School of History & Dramatic Arts
• Hollywood Teaching Careers Academy

LL Cohort 3.5: 1,200 students

• Fremont School of Global Media & Arts
• Manual Arts School of Med., Arts & Tech
• Van Nuys Technical Arts

Los Angeles Small Schools Center

Los Angeles Unified - % of students living at

• r below the poverty

line Cohort 1: 89% Cohort 2: 92% Cohort 3: 75% Cohort 4: 80%

By 2020 – LASSC aims to serve 25% of all LAUSD students – focusing on those most in need.

Los Angeles Small Schools Center

Linked Learning Data Snapshot

Los Angeles Small Schools Center

Current Initiatives to Build the Linked Learning Field

• Linked Learning Middle School
• Linked Learning Summer Bridge Programs
• Linked Learning Competency-Based Credits
• Linked Learning Continuation Schools

Los Angeles Small Schools Center

Linked Learning Field Development: Middle School

• Establishing an “on-ramp” for high school success
• Linked Learning advisory programs that introduce career

choices

• Integrated academic and career-based courses and

projects

• Work-based learning experiences including field trips

and speakers

• High school choice and articulation
• Parent engagement

Los Angeles Small Schools Center

Linked Learning Field Development: Summer Bridge

• Connects incoming 9th graders to their new high school
• Three-four week industry theme-based program
• Students present an integrated career-focused project to

family, teachers and industry professionals

• English and Mathematics enrichment/remediation
• Friday field trips to colleges, surrounding community,

businesses

• Project-Based Learning teacher training component

Los Angeles Small Schools Center

Linked Learning Field Development: Stackable Competency-Based Credits

• Establishing an “off-ramp” for post-secondary success
• Joint project with L.A. Trade Tech Community College
• Student demonstrations of competency generate credits

that count for high school, AA degree and/or industry certification

• Collaboration between high school teachers, college

professors and industry experts

• Pilot being developed for the high-growth biotech

industry

Los Angeles Small Schools Center

Linked Learning Field Development: Continuation Schools

• At-risk students who lack credits to graduate high

school

• Working with LACOE and LAUSD continuation schools to

develop and sustain teacher’s capacity to support student learning & socio-emotional development

• Designing four teaching units based on Brain

Science/Neurobiology research focused on how traumatic experiences impact learning

• Apply the Linked Learning Framework to develop and

implement a program of study that prepares continuation school students for college and career.

• We work in historically underserved communities in Los

Angeles where 80% of students live at or below the poverty line.

• We advocate for site-based decision making, where the

people closest to students have decision-making power

• ver budget, curriculum and assessment, governance,

staffing and schedule.

• Our aim is to shift school districts from compliance-

based bureaucracies to service-based organizations.

• We build capacity at the schools and districts by

providing technical assistance, coaching & professional development.