Alliance Student
News from Alliance College-Ready Public Schools
Every student has the ability. We give them the opportunity.

March 2010
Mr. President, Meet the Alliance

Alliance students traveled to snowy Washington, DC, in February to visit the White House, meet the president and learn firsthand about the indelible impact of music on the civil rights movement of the 1960s and '70s. Organized by the L.A.-based Grammy Museum, students were excited to attend a star-studded White House concert along with President Barack Obama and his family. The group, 10 of about 120 students nationwide selected to participate, spent the evening of February 9 at "In Performance at the White House" concert that featured Smokey Robinson, Jennifer Hudson, Natalie Cole, Morgan Freeman, Bob Dylan, Joan Baez and others. "I was fortunate to have a seat in the third row behind Vice President Joe Biden," said Raul Moreno, a senior at College-Ready Academy High School #4. "I got to shake President Obama's hand and got a hug from Michelle Obama. ... I was part of a great experience that will forever be in my heart."
        


During the trip, students learned about civil rights from many different perspectives. Earlier in the day Harris Wofford (pictured above), special assistant to President Kennedy on matters of civil rights policy, discussed his decision to join Martin Luther King for the historic voting rights march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, in 1965. The Alliance group, some of whom had never flown in an airplane and many of whom had never seen snow before, then visited the State Dining Room of the White House for a workshop titled "Music That Inspired the Movement" where Dr. Berenice Johnson Reagon of the Freedom Singers engaged them in identifying the link between music and the history that she helped shape--a lesson that had a profound impact. "This served as a reminder not just of my culture but a reminder to take advantage of opportunities presented to me," said Daj'shone Bruce, a sophomore at College-Ready Academy High School #7. "Everyday I dread catching the bus, but I forget that someone fought for me to be able to be on that bus, someone who would cherish the chances I have as a student in the 21st century."
Breaking Ground on a New South L.A. Campus
        


Alliance broke ground this month on a new, permanent campus for a high school on a site with a rich educational history of serving South L.A. students -- reaffirming its  commitment to bring a quality education to all students. Heritage College-Ready Academy High School, which opened in 2005 at a temporary site at Cal State Dominguez Hills, will open in fall at the site of the former Sheen Educational Center at 10101 South Broadway Avenue.
"The kids are beyond excited," said Principal Robert Pambello. "They are anxious to set foot inside their new home in the fall." The school, which has 538 students enrolled in grades 9-12, will move into a sleek, two-story 17,500-square-foot building designed by Franco & Associates of Studio City. The campus will open on a site with an educational tradition that started in 1971 when Dr. Herbert A. Sheen opened an arts and cultural center as a "think and learning tank" dedicated to bringing positive self-esteem and personal growth to students in Watts and South L.A. "We are proud to build a permanent campus at the Sheen Educational Center where the roots of educational  innovation in this community began almost 40 years ago," said Alliance CEO and President Judy Burton. Dolores Sheen (second from right, above), daughter of Dr. Sheen and Sheenway Foundation board member, told the crowd: "Developing the land is the easy part. Developing the minds of our future leaders is the real task at hand."
New Faces Join the Alliance Board
        
Alliance welcomes new members Fred Simmons and Greg Sommers to the Board of Directors.

Fred Simmons is a partner in Freeman Spogli & Co., a Los Angeles private equity firm dedicated exclusively to investing with management in retail, direct marketing and distribution companies. Prior to that, Fred worked with Bankers Trust Co. and Commercial Banking Group in New York City. He also serves as Chairman of the Board of LAMP Community, a Los Angeles-based nonprofit organization that works to permanently house homeless men and women living with severe mental illness.

Greg Sommers, a Senior Program Officer at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, works on the foundation's Empowering Effective Teachers strategy which supports districts and school networks across California, Oregon, and Colorado to improve education outcomes for high school students.
Alliance Lauded in Key Anti-Poverty Study

Community development is the key to solving the problem of poverty, according to a comprehensive report "Coming Out as a Human Capitalist: Community Development at the Nexus of People and Place" by Nancy O. Andrews, President and CEO of the Low Income Investment Fund, with Christopher Kramer. The report points to Alliance and other charter schools as being part of the solution. "Putting kids in schools by itself is not enough to reverse the corrosion of poverty. In fact, poor children entering schools struggle to catch up, and in most cases do not," the article says. "... But well-run, well-managed schools that demand active parental engagement can draw forth much higher achievement from students." The report, in the recent issue of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco's Community Development Investment Review, goes on to cite the Alliance and its record of high performance in public school education. The Low Income Investment Fund, which has partnered with the Alliance in Jack Skirball Middle School, William and Carol Ouchi High School and others, has invested $200 million in neighborhood schools like the Alliance.
Official Opening for Ouchi-O'Donovan Campus
        
Veteran education reformer William Ouchi, known for his innovative management theory and tireless efforts to improve Los Angeles public schools, officially added a significant new title to his resume: charter school namesake. Dr. Ouchi and his wife Carol, lifelong advocates for educating young people, were honored during a January 14 celebration at William and Carol Ouchi High School attended by local leaders in education, elected officials, students and community leaders. The event also celebrated the Frank McHugh family for the naming of Christine O'Donovan Middle Academy on the same campus. "The Alliance is the most successful charter school operator in the area, integrating decades of experience running successful public schools with the best instructional practices, and creating a system that works extremely well for the students," said Dr. Ouchi.  "I am honored to be a part of the organization, and to have my name on this great community school." Speakers included Alliance CEO and President Judy Burton, Alliance Board member and former Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan, Alliance Board member and California State Board of Education President Ted Mitchell, California State Superinendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell, Los Angeles Councilman Bernard Parks, LAUSD Board President Monica Garcia as well as Ouchi Princial Ena LaVan and O'Donovan Principal Rosalio Medrano. Ouchi High School, which opened at a temporary site in 2006, now sits on a landmark campus in the Crenshaw District. O'Donovan Middle Academy will add another grade level in the 2010-11 academic year.
Gertz-Ressler Makes National Schools List

In an evaluation of more than 21,000 public high schools nationwide, U.S. News & World Report recently designated Gertz-Ressler High School as a top-performing Silver Medal school on its list of America's Best High Schools. The magazine ranked schools by examining reading and math benchmarks (primarily using 2007-08 data), performance of least-advantaged students (black, Hispanic, and low income) and college-readiness indicators. Of 299 high schools in California examined, 20 made it to the Top 100 list (Gold Medal), 90 were Silver Medalists and 60 were Bronze Medal schools. This marks the first year an Alliance school has been included in the publication's Best High Schools rankings.
Please note our new address!


1940 South Figueroa Street, Los Angeles, CA 90007
(213) 943-4930
www.laalliance.org

"Where kids from L.A.'s lowest performing communities achieve
at the highest levels and go on to success in college"