Los Angeles schools shouldn't only be places where students go to learn; they should also be community centers, after-school gathering spots and hubs for social services.
That principle is better known nationally as the "community schools" model — and it's about to get the endorsement of a newly-formed, powerhouse coalition of labor unions, faith-based groups and social justice organizations who see it as a new organizing principle for the Los Angeles Unified School District.
The coalition, known as "Reclaim Our Schools L.A.," envisions replicating the "wraparound services" already in place at some L.A. Unified schools — like at Garfield High's "Wellness Center," where a non-profit provider offers physical exams, family planning and mental health services — on campuses across the sprawling district.
"We want to build the schools to be the hub of those communities," said Patricia Castellanos, deputy director of the labor-aligned Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy (LAANE), which is part of the coalition. "They're, in most cases, right down the street from us. Unless you have kids, the schools' neighbors don’t really engage otherwise. That [school] should be an anchor for those communities and for those parents."
[For more of this story, written by Kyle Stokes, go to http://www.scpr.org/news/2016/...cation-and-social-s/]
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