LAUSD

Pupil Services

Rockin'the 100th Day of School Marlene Correa, enthusiastic PSA Counselor at Liechty Middle School, organized a myriad of events to celebrate the 100th day of school and to promote the importance of attendance. Students and teachers alike partook in activities to celebrate 100 days of instruction on February 2nd. Ms. Correa's first activity that she organized was an 80s fashion show two days prior to the actual 100th day. The purpose of the fashion show was to raise awareness that 100 days of instruction had taken place and there were 80 more days to go- more learning and days to attend. A red carpet was set up in the middle of campus during lunch and leadership students and staff (including the principal) strut their best moves and 80s gear in front of the student body.

YOUTHSOURCE CENTER CITY PARTNERSHIP Boyle Heights Tech Center

Jessica is an amazing young woman who came to the Boyle Heights Tech Center after being referred by the Nursing Family Partnership program.   Jessica was in her early stages of pregnancy and decided that she wanted to do better for herself and knew that obtaining a high school diploma and/or getting a job was a high priority now that she was expecting.  Prior to enrolling in the WIA program, Jessica described her home life as chaotic and described herself as a "bad" kid who got herself into trouble.  Jessica was in Juvenile Hall and in and out of different schools which resulted in her eventually dropping out.

Jessica now appreciates the support that she receives from the Boyle Heights Tech Center staff.  She owes much gratitude to her Career Coach, Ms. Mary D Miller who has offered her the nurturance and guidance that she very much needed.  She loves the "non-judgmental, positive" environment that the center offers as well as the opportunities that she has to obtain her high school diploma and develop her career readiness skills. 

After returning from maternity leave, Jessica enrolled into the onsite Five Keys Charter School and is one of their star students.  She recently received the "Excellence Award" for her history class. She is also involved in community projects and is fully committed to getting a high school diploma. She ultimately wants to own her own business which would hopefully involve some of her family members.

Student Holiday Extravaganza

LASPD Sponsor a Backpack Giveaway District Wide!

Pupil Services

FOSTER YOUTH ACHIEVEMENT PROGRAM (FYAP)

Karla, a former senior at East Valley High School, received her high school diploma with the support and advocacy of Megan Brown, former Lead Counselor (currently Interim Specialist) of the Foster Youth Achievement Program (FYAP). Karla was honored as a special guest at the Pupil Services "Strengthening Alliances to Promote School Attendance and Support Foster Youth" Symposium, which took place on October 30, 2014.

At the symposium, Karla sat on a panel that consisted of an additional student, Pupil Services Directors from nearby school districts and our very own Executive Director of Student Health and Human Services, Dr. Debra Duardo. After participating in the panel, Karla was presented with her high school diploma by Board Member, Steve Zimmer.This surprise brought Karla to tears.

Karla is a great example of a student who despite her circumstances, overcame obstacles and showed great resiliency. Karla experienced several hardships early on in life. As a young child, her family emigrated from Guatemala to the United States. Due to family difficulties, Karla lived with various family members and in foster homes. Karla was eventually placed in foster care placement with her aunt and uncle. With all of the challenges that Karla continued to face, she decided to drop out of high school during her senior year (with only two classes remaining) and get a job. Thanks to the support and advocacy of Megan Brown, then Lead Counselor; Karla was encouraged to return to school and obtain her high school diploma. Next semester, Karla plans to enroll in Santa Monica City College and pursue a degree in Business Administration.

PUPIL SERVICES

YOUTHSOURCE CENTER CITY PARTNERSHIP

Active Participation Pays Off! Carlos was referred by a friend to the Para Los Ninos (PLN) Workforce Investment Act (WIA) program. He left Lincoln High School with 180 credits and had passed the CAHSEE with high scores. 

The Student shared that at the time of him leaving, his head was not in school due to personal problems.  He had enrolled at ELA Occupational Center Alternative Education Work Center (AEWC) but had not completed the course work and was eventually dropped from the program.  After an educational assessment occurred with the PSA Counselor Griselda Hernandez, it was recommended that the student complete the Diploma Plus program which would require him to take the GED. 

Carlos was assigned to his Career Advisor, Fabiola Del Toro to enroll into the program.  Carlos went from being completely disengaged to immersing himself with the program activities, participating in Work Readiness, paid internship, and InnerSight career assessment tool.  Ms. Del Toro mentored Carlos and made sure he was taking the time to study for his GED test.  In May 2014, after re-enrolling in the AEWC program and studying, Carlos took the test and passed it.

Carlos had been such an active participant with PLN that he was recommended to intern at Bank of America.  He applied and interviewed and was one of four students chosen to intern for Bank of America.  Since graduating with his High School Diploma Carlos is now attending Pasadena City College and majoring in Criminal Justice.  At times, Carlos can still be found in the center's computer lab studying for his college classes.

http://achieve.lausd.net/pupilservices

Holiday Play Date at Baby2Baby!

Sponsored by TinyPrints, Baby2Baby hosted a holiday playdate party for over forty 1st grade homeless and most in need students from Telfair Elementary School.  Students were greeted by live ballet dancers dancing to the Nutcracker.  Students were also treated to activities which included; decorating gingerbread houses, taking pictures with Santa Claus, and dancing to music from a live DJ.  After a catered lunch, the students left with gifts.  LAUSD Pupil Services partners with Baby2Baby to provide several student events throughout the year.  More importantly the daily support from Baby2Baby helps fill the material gap by providing diapers and other baby products parents need in order for students to come to school.  

http://pupilservices.lausd.net

This program, event or activity is not presented, endorsed, recommended, supervised, approved or sponsored by the Los Angeles Unified School District.  The District assumes no liability or responsibility for any loss or injury arising out of participation and is merely permitting this material to be disseminated at this facility because of the possible interest of students and/or faculty.

Pupil Services

ESC North

School is Key!

Students from three elementary schools in Pacoima were welcomed back to school early this year with free backpacks!  Families from Haddon, Sharp, and Telfair Schools were invited to Haddon on the Saturday before school started.  Every student was given a free backpack filled with school supplies to help them start the school year off right!  Parents attended a mandatory "School Is Key!" presentation in the auditorium with Pupil Services and Attendance (PSA) Counselor, Randall Edwards.  Ms. Edwards provided information on the importance of all children graduating high school and moving towards a college or professional career.  Parents were taught how attendance is critical in the early years and how regular attendance leads to reading proficiency and the path toward high school graduation.  The presentation included graphs to demonstrate the correlation between educational attainment and income earned.  Parents also learned how attendance in Kinder and First grade impact 3rd grade reading scores. 

The backpacks were provided by Rainbow Pack, an organization started four years ago by Riley Gannt, a 9th grade student at Sierra Canyon School.  Riley was inspired to start Rainbow Pack after visiting Haddon and speaking with Ms. Edwards about education and children in poverty.  Rainbow Pack is "dedicated to providing children with the tools they need to be successful learners" and has been partnering with Haddon each year since it was established. 

This year's event also included activities to engage and entertain the children such as 'drive' the fire truck, a police car, a book give-away table, and coloring thank you cards.  Notable attendees included Board Member Monica Ratliff, ESC North Instructional Superintendent Byron Maltez, and Congressman Tony Cardenas.  Over 2,000 backpacks were given away and an estimated 1,000 parents heard the "School Is Key" presentation, which empowered parents with the knowledge that attendance is vital to academic success! 

ESC EAST

Collaboration: Pupil Services Style!

Elsy Rosado, Pupil Services and Attendance (PSA) Counselor, and Fabiola Salcedo, Attendance Improvement (AI) Counselor, at Lincoln Senior High are the epitome of collaboration!  Lincoln Senior High is fortunate to have more than one Pupil Services staff on campus... they have 2!  Elsy and Fabiola may have different child welfare and attendance foci; however, they find ways to work in cooperation to maximize student outcomes at the school!

Elsy and Fabiola have already implemented many programs at Lincoln Senior High.  Some of the activities they have planned include parent workshops, incentives for every 25 days of school, and opportunity drawings.  The biggest effort has been the Attendance Month campaign.  The school is covered in attendance awareness decorations such as posters, large orange ribbons (school color), flyers encouraging students to be at school every day, twin day... and even an attendance rap!

In addition to maximizing outcomes at the school, Elsy and Fabiola are demonstrating the variety of resources and services available and delivered through Pupil Services.  These ladies, in the short time they have been at the school, have impressed the faculty and have become an integral part of the campus.  Their picture is even featured on the school website. Their teamwork is seen by all stakeholders on campus as well as the importance of their services.  Thank you Elsy and Fabiola (shown in picture below) for all of your wonderful work and efforts!

PUPIL SERVICES PROGRAM HIGHLIGHT

ATTENDANCE IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM (AIP) 

In the 2013-2014 school year, the Attendance Improvement Counselors (AIC) did an amazing job of implementing targeted support and increasing the number of students attending school at a Proficient or Advanced rate.  The Transitional Kindergarten/Kindergarten AIP schools had over a 10% decrease in the number of students with chronic absences in comparison to the previous year.  They also showed an increase in the number of students attending at a Proficient/Advanced rate by over 18%.  

The Grade 9 AIP schools had a 7% decrease in the number of students with chronic absences.  They had an increase in the number of students attending at a Proficient/Advanced rate by more than 8%. 

During this time of year, counselors are working hard to create a welcoming environment for students and their families.  

Click here to learn more about how AICs are creating a welcoming environment and improving attendance.

PUPIL SERVICES

FAMILYSOURCE PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM

New Partnership Program Launches!

In August 2014, the FamilySource Partnership Program (FSPP) launched in 13 FamilySource Centers throughout the City of Los Angeles. This new city partnership utilizes the established model of the YouthSource City-Partnership by co-locating Pupil Services and Attendance (PSA) Counselors in FamilySource Centers. FamilySource PSA Counselors are co-located at 13 FamilySource Centers (FSC) that primarily service families with children ages 5-17.

The FSPP is a collaborative effort between the Los Angeles Unified School District and the City of Los Angeles Housing and Community Investment Department to service students and families in FamilySource Centers in low-income communities. The partnership's systems and collectively-aligned approach provides services through a multi-agency collaboration to promote academic achievement, graduation for all students, help family systems thrive and strengthen communities. The FSC system's outcome goals are to increase Family Income/Resources and increase Academic Achievement.

In addition to the partnership with the City of Los Angeles, FSPP has been working collaboratively with other divisions and units throughout the district. FSPP PSA Counselors were trained in Abriendo Puertas/Opening Doors parent class curriculum through the Parent Community Student Services Branch (PCSB) and have launched classes throughout the city. 

The FSPP is also a core collaborator with the Los Angeles School Police Department with the Diversion Referral Program, a "non-punitive" enforcement model that supports strategic problem-solving models rather than citation and arrest-driven enforcement. FSPP PSA Counselors are the primary service providers to support students and families

We thank our partners for their support in a successful launch of the FamilySource Partnership Program!

pupilservices.lausd.net

LAUSD Homeless Education Program Sponsor a Family Program!   

The LAUSD Homeless Education Program is pleased to announce the annual Sponsor-a-Family project for this holiday season.  This is a great opportunity for our homeless families to be matched up with sponsors for the winter holidays.

Sponsors can sign up to sponsor families at: http://lausdsponsorafamily.wordpress.com

November is National Homeless Youth Awareness Month!   

LAUSD Homeless Education Program is sponsoring activities to commemorate November as National Homeless Youth Awareness Month.    

You can participate by supporting November awareness efforts by:

Identifying activities you can support or organize by accessing our an Awareness Month Toolkit

Visiting California Pizza Kitchen (330 S. Hope St. LA, CA 90071),      during the month of November to benefit the Homeless Education    program.  If you visit CPK, mention LAUSD Homeless Education  Program or bring the attached flyer. 

Support the LAUSD Homeless Education Program HomeWalk Team!

Each year we wish our LAUSD graduates the best in all their future endeavors. It is with great pride that we share many of the success stories of our former students. Click below for an update on Joshua Rodriguez, Garfield High School alumnus.

New Emergency Mobile Application Offers Preparedness at Your Fingertips Los Angeles—With one key tap, employees have access to school site emergency preparedness information. The Los Angeles Unified School District Office of Emergency Services, today announced the new “In Case of Crisis Mobile Emergency Management Application.” It offers step-by-step actions administered by school personnel in case of fire, severe weather and earthquakes, among other possible situations. The crisis application is ready and available to all LAUSD employees and first responders. Three versions of the app are slated for parents, students and the greater community offering visual icons, resource links and detailed instructions that will help users in any school-related crisis situation. Select versions will be developed in Spanish. “The app allows me to place essential emergency information in the hands of every LAUSD employee and first responder in a convenient, easy-to-use format. Emergency informed is emergency prepared!” said Dr. Jill Barnes, Coordinator for Emergency Services. Accessible on Apple and Android smartphones, tablets and Kindle (including Kindle Fire), the crisis app content includes 21 categories of emergency response procedures, all taken from the LAUSD Safe School Plan. Plus emergency response procedures, phone numbers and links to District documents and other resources. More information about the new “In Case of Crisis Mobile Emergency Management” app can be found at link below.

Student Recovery Day held at 3 ISIC Schools         

Despite the fact that Student Recovery Day was postponed, Fremont, Washington Prep, and Roosevelt High Schools still carried on with their own Student Recovery Day.

Fremont SH Pupil Services and Attendance (PSA) Counselor, Melecio Castillo led the efforts which resulted in over 100 home visits and over 80 phone calls, to recover students with the strong support of over 20 stakeholders, with representatives from school staff, parents, and partner organizations. Several parents and students returned to the campus to inquire about credits, classes, and other services or resources for drop-out recovery.   

Washington Prep SH PSA Counselor, Garyn Valdimar, extends a thank you to Ms. Tucker-Jones who completed 20 home visits by herself, and the team of Ms. Jefferson and Mario Vega (ISIC SARB Chair) who also completed 20 home visits! In addition, a thank you to Ms. Campos and Mr. Uzoegwu who both volunteered their conference periods to make phone calls.  Principal Dechele Byrd has a great team!

Roosevelt SH PSA Counselor, Acuzena Luna coordinated the school staff and collaborated with the City of Los Angeles Youth Opportunity Movement - Boyle Heights in making Student Recovery Day (SRD) a success.  Principal Bruce Bivins believes it takes a community effort to support Student Recovery Day.  A special thank you goes out to the Boyle Heights Technology Youth Center (BHTYC) Director, Laura Cantu and her staff, as well as City Partnership PSA Counselors, Sara Puma and Teresa Wainwright who worked collaboratively to make SRD a success.  A total of 82 home visits were conducted.  Nine teams consisting of nine LAUSD certificated staff and 13 city employees went out in the Boyle Heights community to do outreach.  The teams were able to make contact with 40 families and seven students returned to RSH on the same day.  

Thank you for all your hard work!

pupilservices.lausd.net

Pupil Services

Using Bassinets to Get to Basics

Pupil Service and Attendance (PSA) Counselor Leslie Prieto is always thinking of creative incentives to boost attendance at Thomas Riley High School.  Riley specializes in fulfilling the academic, social and psychological support to pregnant and teen mothers.  This time she used the "Baby to Baby" program as an avenue to instill excellent attendance practices in her students. Once she got her program underway, she offered a six-week challenge to her pregnant and teen mothers.

This was an inspiring program because being pregnant or being a teen mother can have a huge impact on maintaining high attendance achievements but this did not stop Leslie.  Her program offered brand new bassinets to a group of 150 girls who could maintain perfect attendance for SIX WEEKS.  She made sure that the girls got a peek at what they could expect.  There was much anticipation.

By the end of the six-week period, three girls were deemed the all-time champions for having perfect attendance.  They ran to the stage to collect their brand new bassinets.  10th grader Felicia reported that she was not able to purchase any items for her baby.

Her bassinet would be the first piece of essential equipment that she now possesses.  For all of the girls who missed one day or less, Mrs. Prieto threw an ice-cream social.  She staged it at lunch time, complete with banners and balloons.  The girls were so surprised and grateful for all attention that was being bestowed upon them.

Kudos to Leslie Prieto, who is another great example of a PSA Counselor at their best!