For years, Pupil Services and Attendance Counselors have worked with Operation School Bell (OSB) to ensure that students in need receive new clothing, shoes, backpacks, and school supplies. The ESC-South District office team includes Dionne Ash, Pupil Services Administrator, Cecilia Alexander, SARB Chair, Velma Davis, SARB Chair and Graciela Ortiz, PSA Counselor who advocated for two events of OSB on Wheels in order to service as many students possible in the ESC-South area.  Due to the efforts and continued collaboration, we were able to host OSB on Wheels at Theresa Hughes Elementary School on October 18, 2012 and on March 12, 2013 at Meyler Elementary School. 

 

Events such as Operation School Bell on Wheels require much effort and preparation from the Pupil Services and Attendance Counselors at the host schools. Elba Patino-Villanueva, PSA Counselor at Theresa Hughes Elementary School and Debra Villescas, PSA Counselor at Meyler Elementary School ensured that their schools were welcoming to all students who attended the event. They also had parent volunteers ready to assist the Pupil Services staff as well as the OSB Staff. 

 

Providing students with essential items such as new school supplies and uniforms, has proven to enhance students' self-esteem, thus promoting their learning and improving regular school attendance.  This is another example of how Pupil Services not only addresses attendance but every child as a whole.  Events such as OSB on Wheels help break down the barriers that impede our students from attending school daily.   

Gabriel Murillo, PSA Counselor and students with their brand new school supplies.

The Grad Van visited University High School on April 11th to participate in their Bi-annual Attendance and Dropout Prevention Meeting and College Knowledge Night.  Tanya Mercado, Pupil Services and Attendance Counselor at University High school, organizes meetings for parents each semester.  Students from all over LAUSD attend University High School, making parent engagement an on-going challenge for the school.  In an effort to increase parent participation at her meetings, Ms. Mercado plans them to coincide with other school events, including Parent Conference Night during the Fall Semester and College Knowledge Night during the Spring Semester.  Ms. Mercado's goal is to create a welcoming and inviting experience for parents by providing refreshments and collaborating with other School staff and Central Office staff (Yvette Zavala and Steve Blustajn) with Uni students greeting parents at the door as they arrive.  

 

Ms. Mercado also provides Community Service Hours for students who participate and/or attend the meeting.  On April 11th, over 90 parents and  students heard presentations from various disciplines. Garyn Valdemar, SARB Chairperson spoke to families about LAUSD's Performance Meter goals, compulsory attendance laws and consequences, as well as the negative impact of poor school attendance on academic achievement and graduation rates.  In addition, Mr. Kessler, Academic Counselor, informed parents about graduation requirements and Ms. Bacal, PSW spoke about Dropout Prevention and support services available to students.  Following the meeting, families were encouraged to attend College Knowledge Night, as well as to visit the Grad Van.

 

Veronica Navarro, ESC East PSA Counselor from Wilson Senior High, participated on a panel discussion with Earl Perkins on the subject of positive behavior support and alternatives to suspension which aired on KLCS on April 17, 2013.  Other panel members included Jose Huerta (Principal of Garfield Senior High), Arlene Fortier (Principal of 54th Street Elementary), and a parent from an LAUSD school in the ESC South area. 

 

Each panel member shared the best practices at his/her school site and how his/her position was important in the implementation of a positive behavior support plan.  Veronica had the opportunity to discuss her role as a team member at Wilson HS and highlight the work which PSA Counselors do at their schools. She explained the importance of changing school culture around discipline and preventative measures at the school site.  She described how Wilson SH holds Beginning of the Year assemblies for all grade levels to introduce all staff members, teach behavior expectations, and to discuss school policy regarding conflict mediation.  Veronica also stated that it was imperative to engage family members as collaborative partners in order to resolve issues or situations that might constitute a suspension. Veronica works with all school personnel to implement strategies focused on suspension reduction and behavior modification through positive collaborative efforts.   

Sally Stevens, PSA Counselor at Roybal Learning Center took 50 students to the "I Stand for Peace" Summit at USC, sponsored by Mark Ridley Thomas' Office on Friday, April 12.  This organization empowers young people to take a stand against bullying and violence. It was an amazing opportunity for the students and works toward the school goal of creating and maintaining a safer environment at Roybal.  Sally is also sending out a "Safety" survey created in collaboration with school police. Students have reported that they are not coming to school due to the violence within the community.  This field trip served as an intervention to address that concern.  

  

Horace Brown, PSA Counselor at Dorsey High School, coordinated multiple spring attendance incentives. On Saturday, April 6th, 40 lucky young ladies from Dorsey HS were invited to the Hyatt Regency in Culver City to receive and model new prom dresses, shoes, accessories and make-up. The event, sponsored by the LA Clippers and coordinated by Chris Paul, provided over 500 prom outfits to high school seniors.  The young ladies were allowed to bring a friend, many of whom also received new outfits. The students modeled their new ensembles to their peers and enjoyed lunch. Dorsey's prom is scheduled for May 10th. 

 

Horace also received 30 donated tickets to the movie premier '42'. These tickets were raffled off to students with perfect attendance.  The movie, about Jackie Robinson, played at the Rave Theater at the Crenshaw Mall on Sunday, April 14th.  The famous ball player's grandniece attends Dorsey.  She and her mother (Jackie Robinson's niece) were honored at the event as well as a recent Dodger game.

 

LAUSD Foster Care received hundreds of donated Nike flip-flop sandals.  PSA Horace Brown acquired 200 sandals to use for attendance incentives. This is a labor of love, as Mr. Brown assembled each flip-flop by hand with a special tool prior to distributing them to winners. Finally, an Attendance Motivation meeting was held Monday, April 15th. Parents of students with 10 or more absences were invited to hear about the importance of attendance and were provided with strategies and resources to reduce absences.

  

Students and staff from Fremont and Dorsey High School joined the City Year team and hundreds of community volunteers on January 21, 2013, for A Day of Service at Belmont High School. Students were engaged in beautification service projects that included painting educational related murals, inspirational quotes and college logos.  All students received credit towards their service learning requirement as volunteers for this event.

 

Service learning encourages students to use their skills,  thoughts, and contribution to the community, while performing the service. This partnership helped empower our students to earn course credit and utilized their skills to honor an important figure in Civil Rights History.  In addition, City Year is working closely with identified Diploma Project students at Leichty Middle School and Belmont High School.  The Diploma Project would like to acknowledge City Year Deputy Director, Andrew Glazier, for his continued support to the Diploma Project.

If you would like to request the GradVan for an upcoming school event, click here for the flyer and referral form. Please note: A minimum of three weeks advance notice is necessary. All requests are reviewed carefully and confirmation of the event is based on staffing availability.  

Attendance Works   

 

Attendance Works and the Campaign for Grade-Level Reading have joined a partnership working to recognize September as Attendance Awareness Month.  A toolkit was recently released to help schools and communities start planning for September's activities.

 

The Count Us In! Toolkit offers talking points on the importance of good attendance, template proclamations and press releases, ideas for engaging students and parents, and advice for tracking data to identify and intervene with chronically absent kids. 

 

AMERICAN GRADUATE GRANT