This Friday at Mark Twain Middle School we will be celebrating and highlighting the amazing language programs that have been growing  in the Venice Family of Schools in an event we are calling Kaleidoscope: A Celebration of World Languages and Arts. When I first came into office, the 5th graders who were graduating from Grandview Elementary's 20 year old Spanish Dual Immersion program didn't have a Middle School program to continue their studies.  My office worked hard to change that, and this year, these now 8th graders will be graduating, and will become the first class to matriculate into Venice High School where a thriving World Languages program exists.  We also will be celebrating the growth of the Mandarin Dual Immersion program that has been growing exponentially at Broadway Elementary. Undoubtedly, the Venice Family of Schools is becoming the mecca of language learning, so there's much to celebrate.

  

Study after study shows that learning a second language has tremendous benefits. It has both social and economic payoffs that last a lifetime - which is one of the reasons I fought so hard to give District 4 kids the chance to have this kind of continuity in their learning. Santa Monica and Culver City have both run immersion programs that grow past the elementary schools for a number of years - I strongly believe it is time for LAUSD to champion these learning opportunities for our own kids.

That's why this month I will be presenting a resolution to the LAUSD Board to ensure the support and funding is in place to grow these programs not just in Venice, but throughout LAUSD.

In an era when budget cuts have decimated visual and performing arts at many facilities, the Venice Family of Schools, including Mark Twain MS, have built successful core programs around them that build stronger schools by drawing in diverse and active families who might not have considered public schools without these offerings. We need to make our public schools work for all kids, those who struggle and those who need more than the basics. That's what Mark Twain Middle School has achieved.

As part of festivities, the world-renowned Bell Ringers of Mark Twain Middle School will perform in a joint concert with the 44-member KingFar School Orchestra visiting from Xi'an China. The 17-members of the Mark Twain Bell ringers, who must maintain a 3.5 grade average, headed to London last fall to perform as part of the Olympic ceremonies. They are truly an outstanding group of kids who work hard every day both at their academics and their art. The event also includes a dance performance by the Carolina Mendizabal Dancers and an Art Walk from the talented student artists of the Venice Family of Schools.

  

I hope that you will join us to see firsthand what these kids can do, and what our public schools can do with the right direction and the backing of parents, teachers, administrations and the LAUSD Board. I strongly believe that these types of models are a key part of the future of our schools and I will continue to fight to expand and fund them. Please stop by if you can and see what vision and hard work can accomplish.

Best Regards,
Steven Zimmer, LAUSD District 4 Board Member