Education

Jun 6 2011

Mission Viejo Library

MISSION VIEJO, Calif.—Recent college graduates looking to land a job will be able to get tips from an expert recruiter during a free workshop in Mission Viejo on Tuesday.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, about 51 percent of college graduates found a job in 2007. Three years later, only 21 percent of recent graduates landed a job.

With that in mind, the Mission Viejo Library applied for a grant to help recent college grads in their job search, city spokeswoman Kelly Tokarski said.

May 24 2011

Public School Choice program

LOS ANGELES, Calif.—Citing reports of voter intimidation and other election troubles, the LAUSD Board of Education eliminated advisory votes by parents and other stakeholders from the Public School Choice program that gives control of selected campuses to charter companies or other groups.

The Los Angeles Unified School District board voted 4-3 to eliminate the advisory votes, and called on Superintendent John Deasy to develop an alternative method for collecting input from the community on who should operate specific schools.

May 19 2011

June 3 deadline

Parents who want to transfer their offspring to another school in the Los Angeles Unified School District can submit an application to do so through June 3 during the “open enrollment” process for the 2011-12 school year.

In open enrollment, students’ names can be submitted to transfer to any school that has available space. The transferring pupils will not displace a youngster living in the attendance area of a school from the school.

May 17 2011

"Family Action Teams"

LOS ANGELES, Calif.—Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa urged the Los Angeles Unified School District today to embrace his plan for getting parents involved in the education of their children.

"Parents play a critical role in motivating their children to learn and achieve,'' Villaraigosa said.

"Schools should play an equally critical role ... and do a better job of engaging and empowering them in their children's education.''

May 12 2011

LA's BEST After School Enrichment Program

LOS ANGELES, Calif.—For four girls and four boys who attend the LA's BEST After School Enrichment Program won an all expenses–paid trip to London, England, courtesy of BritWeek, Air New Zealand, the five-star Athenaeum Hotel and several other sponsors. Their winning essays were their ticket to an amazing international adventure. The Joy of Reading Book Club and Essay Contest was conceived by BritWeek's Bob Peirce and Sharon Harroun Peirce in partnership with LA's BEST as a way to introduce students in the after school program to classic British children's literature.

Across Black America

Here’s a look at African American people and issues making headlines throughout the country.

California
San Diego college students and volunteers will carry out their sixth home restoration project on Wednesday, July 10 through Sunday, July 14. as part of the “Healing our Heroes’ Homes” (H3) program created by the nonprofit Embrace. The five-day effort will take place at the home of medically retired Marine Corps Capt. Sarah Bettencourt. Bettencourt served with many different units across the country during the Global War on Terrorism and developed a rare neurological disorder in 2008. With a focus to restore the homes of disabled veteran homeowners, H3 falls in line with Embrace’s mission to mobilize college-student volunteers and community members to serve less fortunate members of civilian and veteran communities. The project for the Bettencourts’ home includes kitchen and bathroom remodeling, building ADA-compliant disability ramps, widening their driveway to ADA standards, widening doorways and landscaping.
 
District of Columbia
The 2013 Smithsonian Folklife Festival will showcase its five-year community research project on African American identity with the program “The Will to Adorn: African American Diversity, Style, and Identity.” This multicity collaboration examines the history and culture of the aesthetics of African Americans. The festival will be held June 26-30 and July 3-7, outdoors on the National Mall between Seventh and 14th streets. “Whether we realize it or not, we are all dress artists. The way we compose our look is a creative expression of our ideas about who we are and who we aspire to be,” said Diana N’Diaye, program curator. “This program explores the diversity of African American traditions of style, but also teaches young people the importance of documenting their own culture and saving that information for themselves and future generations.”