Principals' Message
The Los Angeles Unified School District has begun to push for the restructuring of all high schools by implementing a major reform effort which emphasizes converting large overpopulated high school into smaller high schools. The reform effort which entails physically dividing the campus and creating teams of teachers and students is called Small School Learning Communities. Students in a Small School Learning Community would belong to a family where teachers plan collaboratively and share their experiences regarding the students in their Small School Learning Community. Research has shown that when learning experiences are connected, a deeper understanding of concepts and a greater amount of learning takes place.
Another major attribute of Small School Learning Communities is to personalize instruction. Teachers know their students well, i.e., they know their strengths and weakness especially after having them in their classes over an extended period of time. Imagine what can happen when lessons are developed around a student’s personal needs or learning style. Some Small School Learning Communities are thematic, i.e., they focus around specific themes such as business, engineering, fine arts, etc.
What is important and crucial is that the teachers continue to teach the State Content Standards within their themes. Los Angeles H.S. plans to begin analyzing and developing SSLC at a pace where teachers have developed their own families or teams and we ensure that there is equity and access for all students into the different SSLC. We will need teacher, student, parent and community input before we can fully convert our school into many SSLC. Our teachers need to know that they are extremely important in this entire process, and that is why many are beginning to dialog, discuss and find common themes of interest, thus, leading to the creation of their own SSLC. Please join us and begin asking the relevant question of “What about my child? What type of SSLC is best for him/her?” We believe that is just one way to begin to make LAHS the best high school in the city.
Lastly, we want to remind parents that the California Standards Test on which the state ranks schools on the Accountability Performance Index (API) will begin on March 22 and March 23 for Track C students. Track A and Track B students will test during the month of May. Please ensure that your son/daughter try their best, not only during the testing period, but always. By practicing good study habits now they are preparing themselves throughout their lives.
Dr. Frank Nishimura & Raul Fernandez (Co-Principals)
Another major attribute of Small School Learning Communities is to personalize instruction. Teachers know their students well, i.e., they know their strengths and weakness especially after having them in their classes over an extended period of time. Imagine what can happen when lessons are developed around a student’s personal needs or learning style. Some Small School Learning Communities are thematic, i.e., they focus around specific themes such as business, engineering, fine arts, etc.
What is important and crucial is that the teachers continue to teach the State Content Standards within their themes. Los Angeles H.S. plans to begin analyzing and developing SSLC at a pace where teachers have developed their own families or teams and we ensure that there is equity and access for all students into the different SSLC. We will need teacher, student, parent and community input before we can fully convert our school into many SSLC. Our teachers need to know that they are extremely important in this entire process, and that is why many are beginning to dialog, discuss and find common themes of interest, thus, leading to the creation of their own SSLC. Please join us and begin asking the relevant question of “What about my child? What type of SSLC is best for him/her?” We believe that is just one way to begin to make LAHS the best high school in the city.
Lastly, we want to remind parents that the California Standards Test on which the state ranks schools on the Accountability Performance Index (API) will begin on March 22 and March 23 for Track C students. Track A and Track B students will test during the month of May. Please ensure that your son/daughter try their best, not only during the testing period, but always. By practicing good study habits now they are preparing themselves throughout their lives.
Dr. Frank Nishimura & Raul Fernandez (Co-Principals)