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Thumbs up for our principals!
LA’s BEST invited principals from all 186 LA’s BEST sites to attend a celebratory breakfast in honor of their work during and after school. LA’s BEST staff and special guest Al Cortes, Executive Director of LAUSD’s Beyond the Bell, joined principals at the Grace E. Simons Lodge in Elysian Park for a morning program highlighting the partnership between schools and LA’s BEST. It was a great opportunity to mingle and converse about working together to create a brighter future for children in Los Angeles. We also asked for feedback from principals about how LA’s BEST contributes to their schools and ways to improve the program moving forward. Many thanks to all our principals for their dedication and support!

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Trinity Street Elementary Principal Marta Jevenois
Young Authors Culmination
Fair Ave Students Perform for Carlos Santana
Dean Spagna Visits Noble
Young Author
Mariachi students perform for Carlos Santana
CSUN Education Dean Spagna visits LA's BEST program at Noble
LA’s BEST and Loreto Elementary hosted a culmination event for more than 200 LA’s BEST students who have participated in the Young Authors program funded by Target. Primary (Kindergarten through 2nd grade) students from 12 schools in the Central Region came together to share the books they had written and illustrated in the program,  and do literacy-themed crafts. Authors Alma Flor Ada and Isabel Campoy, co-creators of the Young Authors curriculum, read aloud to students and congratulated them on their work. Many enthusiastic volunteers from Target, the program’s primary sponsor, were on hand to lend support to students and join in on the fun.
 
A mariachi band from Fair Avenue Elementary, including several LA’s BEST students, was asked to participate in a celebration of the naming of a North Hills elementary school as Carlos Santana Arts Academy. The mariachi band, called Mariachi Arco Iris, along with several other musical acts from nearby elementary schools, performed for an audience that included guitarist Carlos Santana and his wife, drummer Cindy Blackman. Carlos Santana asked the band for an impromptu performance before they went on stage and later signed students’ instruments.
 
Dean Michael Spagna of the Michael D. Eisner College of Education at California State University, Northridge, paid a recent visit to the LA’s BEST program at Noble Elementary. After a roundtable discussion with staff about the role of after school enrichment and preparing the next generation of educators, he observed LA’s BEST activities ranging from insect identification to literacy-themed arts to class discussions on immigration and the California DREAM Act. Dean Spagna spoke with students about what it takes to become a teacher. We are proud to have so many CSUN students and graduates in LA’s BEST who have found their path to teaching through work in our program.
 
Grants Round-Up
Rockin' Supporters
of LA's BEST
Launching a Parent Newsletter
Thank You!
Cymphonique performs at the LA's BEST Health Festival
New parent newsletter for sites
LA’s BEST is incredibly grateful for the generosity of our donors. Since December, LA’s BEST has received support from the following foundations:
 
The Rose Hills Foundation; $25,000 for general support
 
The Mark Hughes Foundation; $35,000 for general support

The Wells Fargo Foundation; $25,000 for general support
LA84 Foundation; $300,000; for athletics programming
 
The David and Lucile Packard Foundation; $125,000 for summer enrichment programming
Rosenthal Family Foundation; $50,000 for  After School Arts Program (ASAP)
Congratulations to LA’s BEST supporter Cymphonique Miller on the debut of her new show “How to Rock” on Nickelodeon. Cymphonique and her father, recording artist Master P, have had a long involvement with LA’s BEST and, most recently, both performed at the LA’s BEST Family Health Festival.

In December, LA’s BEST began the launch of a bi-monthly parent newsletter for use by individual sites. Along with space for individual sites to customize information for parents, such as important dates and announcements for their specific school, the newsletter includes an article written by child development experts June and Laurie Sale, in which they address an issue pertinent to parents and families, such as bullying or the importance of family meals. The site-specific newsletter is handed out by site staff after customization. The featured articles are available on our website.
 
Read the most recent Parent Newsletter article
Change Starts Here
LA's BEST After School Enrichment Program
200 North Spring Street | Suite M-120 | Los Angeles, CA 90012
T 213.978.0801 | F 213.978.0800 | www.lasbest.org

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