Education, Youth, and Families
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Schoolhouse Framework
Imagine that tomorrow morning every child within the Los Angeles Unified School District (“LAUSD”) awakens eager to go to school. Imagine that over 700,000 students attend schools offering excellent education and that they graduate prepared for college, work and life. Imagine a school district where neighborhoods are transformed by thousands of college graduates, young doctors, nurses, entrepreneurs, teachers, artists and engineers. Imagine the businesses and community-serving organizations they would build. Imagine the problems they would solve. Imagine a community reinvigorated by a growing middle class in a city where gangs can no longer compete for recruits against public schools offering a genuine pathway to opportunity for every child. And imagine the economic, scientific, legal, and artistic achievements possible in a place of such infinite richness, both of people and talent.
We can't begin to imagine any of these things if we don't first ask the fundamental questions: How do we build great schools? What does a great school really look like?
Over the last year and a half, my team and I have visited dozens of schools in LAUSD that are working for students. We've met with some of the most accomplished educators in the country. We've gone to school ourselves, studying the lessons learned in cities like New York, Boston and Chicago. We've closely analyzed a number of reform efforts. We've talked to thousands of parents, students and educators from LAUSD. Based on listening and learning, we developed a framework for improving our schools called The Schoolhouse.
Why the Schoolhouse? Because the Schoolhouse is a uniquely American institution. Historically, the Schoolhouse has been both the building where young people receive an education and the center of communities. Often, town halls and community picnics were held at the local schoolhouse. The Schoolhouse is both a concrete representation and a symbol of what each community must provide its young people in order for democracy to flourish. The Schoolhouse is four walls with tomorrow inside.
Our Schoolhouse framework is anchored in a firm foundation of community support and resolve, and it is surmounted by a roof containing our ultimate aspiration: a system in which all children receive an excellent public education to cement the opportunity to realize their dreams. Between roof and foundation, connecting the community to its goals, there are six supporting pillars, six critical education strategies, "Pillars of School Excellence," which we believe need to be implemented to ensure success for all students. The pillars are:
• High Expectations
• Safe, Small, Clean
• Empowered Leadership
• Powerful Teaching and Rigorous Curriculum
• Family and Community Involvement
• More Money to Schools
Contained in each pillar is a set of underlying initiatives that have worked for students in schools around the country, initiatives supported by data and guided by best practices. While these initiatives have different levels of priority and urgency for different schools, they are interconnected and should be implemented in a comprehensive, thoughtful, aligned fashion over time, rather than as individual or scattered actions. Taken together, they are what we believe hold up and support great schools.
The Schoolhouse is an intentional framework. We must construct a school system that educates all children living within LAUSD and we will use The Schoolhouse as the basis on which to develop our plan. Not all of the initiatives within the Pillars of School Excellence could or should be implemented at once as they all require different timelines, strategies and resources. Before implementation, they must be further developed, prioritized and customized to conform to the unique needs of different school communities.
When I was sworn in last year as Mayor, I asked you to dream with me. Now I am asking you to work with me. Let’s continue to work together to propel and sustain a Schoolhouse in every school in the Los Angeles Unified School District. We can’t just leave this work up to the district, the superintendent or the School Board. The district can’t do it alone. LAUSD needs new and innovative ideas, dynamic organizational approaches, additional resources, and bold leadership to carry out reform. It will take all of us: parents, students, teachers, the district, community groups, faith-based organizations, elected officials, municipalities, business, and labor organizations. Together, we are the foundation. Together, it is up to us to raise the roof and realize the vision of a great public education for every child in the wider community of Los Angeles.