We Need Your Support!
Thank you parents for your contributions to support our arts programs. To date, we have raised more than $115K--more than the total of all of last year. As you know, the arts are the essential and vital part of LACHSA.
In the coming weeks you will receive a resend of our parent appeal letter, followed by contact from our arts chairs. Prepared by our partner the Arts High Foundation, the message in this letter is simple: We need your support. Some of our arts events may not continue this year if we do not raise the necessary funds.
Our hope is that all of our families value the arts experience for their children that they feel compelled to contribute something. No gift is too small.
To make a secure online contribution click here.
Thank you as always for your support!
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Save the Date:
Back to School Night!
Tuesday, September 7th
6:30 p.m.
www.lachsa.net |
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Principal's Message
I sincerely hope that you and your family are enjoying a pleasant and energizing summer. We have been busy the last couple of months
preparing for the upcoming year.
This newsletter is our opportunity to keep you informed
about our upcoming school year. After a very difficult budget climate
this past year, I am encouraged and excited about the 2010-2011 school year. Our
parent community has responded to our budget needs in constructive and
creative ways already contributing more in funds than last year's total--and in far
less time! As you will read there is still more support needed, but
there are early and encouraging signs that our parent community will
help to meet the needs of our arts programs. Our school has had to
absorb more than $1 million in budget reductions in two years and for a
school of 600 students, no area of LACHSA is left unaffected. In the
short term, this means larger, but still manageable class sizes, fewer
elective course offerings, and a more intense prioritization of core
arts programming. In the long term, LACHSA budget solvency lays the foundation for more robust fundraising. This will be the first budget cycle in many years where LACHSA will have no deficit. It is important to note that funders are often reluctant to support institutions with such budget imbalances, so eliminating our budget deficit is important.
Even in these uncertain times there is much to celebrate. Our long awaited new facility has achieved another stage of
approval. We are now closer than ever before to our new home. Our
first-ever Summer Orientation, for our incoming students is a couple of
weeks away and we have "all hands on deck" to welcome our newest
students. Our nascent Office of Community Engagement has been bolstered by a $113K grant. This allows LACHSA to continue as a national leader in arts and academics.
While there remains a few weeks until the start of our new school year, I wish you all good rest and rejuvenation.
Sincerely,
George Simpson
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LACHSA One Step Closer to New Facility
The idea for our very own facility began in earnest in the mid 2000s to realize LACHSA's long-held desire for dedicated space. Although plans had been completed and approved and all partners - including Cal State LA - were in agreement, the economic crisis of 2008 stalled the process. This is where we left off: LACHSA's proposed new facility was one of 611 schools on the State Allocation Board (SAB) Office of Public School Construction's list of approved but unfunded projects.
In May 2010, a new opportunity presented itself. Because resources are so scarce and every approved school facility could not be funded, the SAB created a grant opportunity to prioritize funding for these 611 schools. As LACHSA's educational authorizing agency, LACOE applied on our behalf.
On August 4, 2010, the SAB announced 78 grant awards, with LACHSA approved for $31 million. This effectively moved LACHSA from the Unfunded Approved List of 611 projects to a priority list of 78 projects. As a result, LACHSA will begin its bidding process immediately and complete the Funds Release Authorization process, which closes 90 days after our August 4 approval. This next deadline of November 2 is our final hurdle before release of the $31 million for our project.
Assuming the successful submission of the Funds Release Authorization, the physical groundbreaking should begin in January 2011 and doors open on our new facility in September 2012. However, let me be clear: While there is still one major hurdle to clear before we break ground, we have never been this close to a new home for LACHSA.
Although this is indeed exciting news and we have never before reached this final stage of approval, we are still very much in precarious economic times. Given this uncertainty and California's recent budget impasse, I want to caution all of us to temper our excitement until the final completion of the facility. Many in the LACHSA community, myself included, have held heightened expectations only to have them dashed unexpectedly. I am cautiously optimistic about our timeline, but excited nonetheless.
LACHSA will enjoy its own dedicated space some day, and I am hopeful that the proposed timeline is met. This is exciting news and as always I will keep you informed along the way.
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LACHSA Welcomes New Faculty
This year we are pleased to welcome some new additions to LACHSA.
Monica Cole Jackson, English
A native of Chicago, Illinois Mrs. Jackson brings vast experience and a dynamic approach to her teaching. She maintains high expectations for her students, is a great communicator, and is readily available to work with all LACHSA stakeholders--parents, students, faculty and staff--to ensure all her students achieve their goals.
Mrs. Jackson has taught elementary, middle, and high school students both in the classroom and in one-on-one settings. In addition, she has taught at the community college and university level. Mrs. Jackson also has experience counseling college bound students navigating the higher educational system.
As a true life-long learner she has also begun her Ph.D. in Educational Administration and anticipates a completion date of 2012, her commitment to teaching and learning is second only to her husband and two children. Mrs. Jackson is excited to join the LACHSA family.
Steven Lorenze, Resource Specialist
Steven Lorenze is honored to be a part of the LACHSA community. Mr. Lorenze's brings a long career spanning a breadth of experiences in public schools serving at various times in assistant principal, principal, and district coordinator of special education services positions. Mr. Lorenze holds degrees from UCLA, Cal State LA, and Chapman University.
Mr. Lorenze's work as a resource specialist will be closely involved with our Student Support Team. Student support and special education has been an area of focus for several years and Mr. Lorenze has found it to be a very meaningful way to serve students and families. His spare time is spent with his wife and two young sons. They enjoy traveling, attending LA Kings hockey games, and playing ice hockey.
Girum Jiru, Mathematics
Born and raised in Ethiopia (East
Africa), Girum Jiru has a wide range of experiences in life. He completed his bachelor
of science degree in engineering and subsequently worked for World Vision as an
engineer and project coordinator at various international community development
programs until 2000. He continued
his career as a programs officer for Christian Children's Fund of Canada
helping more than twenty community development programs focused on youth and
children until he moved to Los Angeles in 2002. Mr Jiru continued his post graduate studies and received his teaching credential in
mathematics in 2004 and his graduate degree in education with emphasis in
instructional technology in 2006 from California State University, Northridge
(CSUN). Mr. Jiru joined LACOE in 2007 to work closer to home and be able to spend more time with his wife and two children. Mr. Jiru is excited to begin his assignment at LACHSA
as a Math teacher. Together with
his co-workers, he will strive to make mathematics meaningful and exciting for our aspiring students, not simply problems or tasks to be solved.
Patricia Navarro, School Psychologist
Patricia Navarro comes to LACHSA as our school psychologist where her responsibilities will be closely aligned with our Student Support Team. Her main experiences have been in advising Student Planning Teams, parent consultation and conferences, crisis counseling and intervention, and general education assessments for special education services. A native of Southern California, Ms. Navarro is also fluent in Spanish. She is excited to join LACHSA. |
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What We're Working On: Technology Update
Last year, technology workstations were installed in every classroom to increase access to technology for all students and faculty. In the coming year you will continue to see technology utilized by all LACHSA faculty to improve communication and enhance instruction. We will be focusing on increasing the use of technology both at school and at home in the following ways:
Posting homework assignments and projects on the lachsa.net
Posting all test and assessment dates on the lachsa.net
Keeping parents informed of student attendance daily using Parent Portal
Keeping parents informed of students grades every 4.5 weeks using Parent Portal
Working to enhance instruction through the use of technology
As a parent, it is extremely important that you ensure you are able to access the Parent Portal, also known as ABI (secure online student information database). Many parents already have access. For those who have yet to sign on or are new to LACHSA you will receive instructions for setting up an ABI account in the mail. These can also be directed to these instructions by clicking here. If you have any issues setting up or accessing your account, please e-mail Mary Cholko at Cholko_Mary@lacoe.edu.
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