LAUSD

Juliana D. Norwood  |   OW Staff Writer
Jul 21 2011

Author strives to embed book into school curricula

Think Like a Leader, Not a Follower (TLALNAF) is a gang prevention, anti-bullying and self-esteem education program based on the story of Frank and Joe, two boys who grow up in the same neighborhood but one becomes a gang member and the other a responsible citizen.

The mission of the program is to strengthen families, build communities and keep kids out of gangs by interactive storytelling projects that will engage students in the subject matter, prompt questions, add humor and re-enforce the need for personal responsibility.

Jun 30 2011

Seven national titles

LOS ANGELES, Calif.—The coordinator for the Los Angeles Unified School District’s successful Academic Decathlon program has been reassigned, making his decathlon work a half-time job, apparently because of budget cuts, it was reported today.

Cliff Ker, who has led the district’s Academic Decathlon program since 2000, said he was told he would become an assistant principal at a high school starting next week, the Los Angeles Times reported. He said he would continue as coordinator of Academic Decathlon as a secondary, half-time position.

Jun 30 2011

2011's glad grads

Students from the final class enrolled in Locke High School when the Los Angeles Unified School District ran the campus were among the 484 seniors who celebrated their graduation from the South Los Angeles school, now operated by Green Dot Public Schools. Green Dot assumed control of Locke in 2008, after the majority of the school’s teachers voted to go with the charter operator. Among the improvements Green Dot says have been made is an increased number of students graduating with the college-prep A-G courses, from 85 to 264.

Jun 14 2011

Opponents claim juice has more sugar

LOS ANGELES, Calif.—Chocolate and strawberry milk will become a thing of the past on Los Angeles Unified School District campuses beginning July 1.

The LAUSD Board of Education today voted to eliminate flavored milk from school cafeterias as part of a move to provide more nutritious food and beverage options.

The board approved the elimination despite some opponents claiming that flavored milk has less sugar that some juices and is often the only way students get milk at all.

Jun 10 2011

Underage drinking

LOS ANGELES, Calif.—Undercover officers from the Los Angeles Police Department and state Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control will be out in force this weekend for the 13th annual "Safe and Sober Graduation Operation,'' designed to combat underage alcohol use.

"Between June 1 and June 30, an estimated 27,000 students will graduate from Los Angeles Unified School District high schools,'' said LAPD Sgt. Lifernando Garcia.

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.”