It’s hard to believe that another school year is coming to an end. What a year this has been! Together, we made it though this year, stronger as a community. While there certainly were challenges brought about by the pandemic, we have many stories of resilience and success.

Last month’s “commUNITY: Stronger Together!” Art Show at Oxy Arts was a huge success. Every one of the schools in our community was represented. Seeing the faces of students, families and friends see the incredible art pieces displayed in such an amazing space was powerful. One parent told me that he never thought his daughter’s artwork would be displayed in a place like this. The sky is the limit for our talented artists!

As the school year winds down, I want to thank the students, families, teachers, school support staff and school leaders for working tirelessly during this school year. You all did whatever it took to thrive. Little by little, our youngest learners demonstrated gains in literacy development. A high percentage of our seniors are on track to graduate college and career ready. Our athletes are thriving. And there are many other positive accomplishments in our Community of Schools!

On behalf of the Eagle Rock/Highland Park Community of Schools Staff, we wish you all a restful summer! For student summer book recommendations please visit our website: eaglerockhighlandparkcos.lausd.net

Dear Los Angeles Unified Family,

To support the development of the Los Angeles Unified 2022-2026 Strategic Plan, we have heard from thousands of employees, families, and members of our larger Los Angeles Unified community about what student success means to them. We greatly appreciate the incredible input you have offered and want to share with you an early roadmap for the Strategic Plan to get even more valuable feedback so we can ensure we are accurately capturing your vision.

To see our planning so far and to let us know what excites you most about our direction, please participate in a Thought Exchange survey by visiting https://bit.ly/Strat-Plan-Roadmap by June 12. Your contributions are greatly appreciated, and we are thrilled to share our process and collaborate together on uplifting our students and our school communities.

Sincerely,

Alberto M. Carvalho

Superintendent

by Won "Alice" Cho, TK-12 Instructional Coordinator

One of the simplest ways to improve our writing skills is to add new vocabulary to our writing. There are many ways to learn more about new vocabulary; however, let’s use some fun ways to add more words to our dictionary.

Text Talk Routine is engaging when learning new words. There are two templates you can use with your child at home. (Refer to the link below) When you use either template, use your child’s reading book to use “text excerpts.” Creating your child’s own definition of the new word is always fun for them to be creative and at the same time, you can check the level of understanding.

A Definition Map is another tool for you to use when your child is learning new words. Some of the questions your child would answer are “What is it?” “What is it like?” and “What are some example?” You and your child can also sketch or draw pictures to describe the new word.

Please use the link below to make a copy of the Text Talk Routine and Definition Map tools when learning and building more new words to your child’s writing. Have fun learning new words and building your vocabulary!

https://bit.ly/LetsBuildWords

The Power of Her Pen: The Story of Groundbreaking Journalist Ethel Payne

by Lesa Cline-Ransome, illustrated by John Parra

“I’ve had a box seat on history.”

Ethel Payne always had an ear for stories. Seeking truth, justice, and equality, Ethel followed stories from her school newspaper in Chicago to Japan during World War II. It even led her to the White House briefing room, where she broke barriers as the only black female journalist. Ethel wasn’t afraid to ask the tough questions of presidents, elected officials, or anyone else in charge, earning her the title, “First Lady of the Black Press.”

Fearless and determined, Ethel Payne shined a light on the darkest moments in history, and her ear for stories sought answers to the questions that mattered most in the fight for Civil Rights.

What I Like Most

by Mary Murphy, illustrated by Zhu Cheng-Liang

What I like most in the world is my window. This morning, through my window, I see the postman at the red gate. . .

A little girl observes, one by one, things that give her pleasure — the apricot jam on her toast, the light-up shoes that make her feet bounce, the sparkling river, the pencil whose color comes out like a ribbon. But even after the jar becomes empty, and the shoes grow too small, and the pencil is all used up, one thing will never change. In a tenderly imagined story, Mary Murphy celebrates the intimacy of the bond between mother and child, while Zhu Cheng-Liang’s wonderfully inviting artwork brings the day-to-day details to life.

Write! Write! Write!

by Amy Ludwig VanDerwater, illustrated by Ryan O'Rourke

Write! Write! Write! is a poetry collection that explores every stage and every aspect of the writing process, from learning the alphabet to the thrilling moment of writing a thought for the first time, from writer's block to finding inspiration, and from revision to stapling your finished work into a book. These poems also celebrate how writing teaches patience, helps express opinions, and allows us to imagine the impossible. This book, brimming with imagination and wonder, will leave readers eager to grab a pen, pencil, or keyboard--and write!

Your Name is a Song

by Jamilah Thompson-Bigelow

Frustrated by a day full of teachers and classmates mispronouncing her beautiful name, a little girl tells her mother she never wants to come back to school. In response, the girl's mother teaches her about the musicality of African, Asian, Black-American, Latinx, and Middle Eastern names on their lyrical walk home through the city. Empowered by this newfound understanding, the young girl is ready to return the next day to share her knowledge with her class. Your Name is a Song is a celebration to remind all of us about the beauty, history, and magic behind names.

Your Name is a Song includes back matter perfect for parents, educators, caregivers, and young readers who want to learn more about the names featured in the story. The "Glossary of Names" lists each name’s meaning, origin, and pronunciation. Additionally, readers can use a listed link to access an online video of the author pronouncing all the names in the book.

Your Place in the Universe

by Jason Chin

Most eight-year-olds are about five times as tall as this book . . . but only half as tall as an ostrich, which is half as tall as a giraffe . . . twenty times smaller than a California Redwood! How do they compare to the tallest buildings? To Mt. Everest? To stars, galaxy clusters, and . . . the universe?

Jason Chin, the award-winning author and illustrator of Grand Canyon has once again found a way to make a complex subject--size, scale and almost unimaginable distance--accessible and understandable to readers of all ages. Meticulously researched and featuring the highly detailed artwork for which he is renowned, this is How Much is a Million for the new millenium, sure to be an immediate hit with kids looking for an engaging way to delve into perspective, astronomy, and astrophysics. Curious readers will love the extensive supplementary material included in the back of the back of the book

This summer Reading Is Fundamental (RIF) is inviting children across the nation to take a reading road trip! RIF is packing everything students need to spend their summer visiting new and exciting destinations and to keep students reading all summer long! For each destination, RIF offers a variety of suggested titles that are supported with supplemental literacy activities in RIF’s Literacy Central. Visit our official Summer Reading Road Trip site to download your official travel map, brochure and bingo board along with plenty of booklists and activities.

From California to Washington, D.C., students can travel across the country with great books that highlight six exciting destinations. They've even featured some great titles that can be accessed via RIF's digital eBook service, Skybrary, so students can read anytime, anywhere.

If your class is already using Skybrary, be sure to have your students stock their backpacks with our selected road trip books. Or learn more now about this engaging digital library with almost 1,000 eBooks available for schools and homes! Create a new account and enter the promo code SUMMER for 20% off for one-year to our e-book library.

​Don’t let reading hit the brakes over the summer! Let RIF’s Summer Reading Road Trip accelerate reading from coast to coast.

Happy SUMMER Reading!

Among the many remarkable educators within our Community of Schools, there is Ms. Cybulski who teaches 5th grade English within the Dual Language program. She began her career with LAUSD 17 years ago, and with the exception of the first few months, those years have been spent teaching students at Aldama Elementary. Out of the 17 years she has been an educator at Aldama, 11 of them have been within the Dual Language program. When asked why she decided to become involved with the program, she hypothesized it was because of her own background as a child of parents who served in the U.S. Air Force. Since she and her family moved around quite a bit and lived on military bases, she was exposed to people who had different backgrounds and cultures than her own. Through this upbringing, she developed a world view that celebrates diversity. Her students are immersed in an environment where they aim for academic achievement AND language transference. Ms. Cybulski refused to take all the accolades, as she mentions the importance of collaboration between herself and her counterpart, Ms. Olivares. Both work together to ensure the students are becoming bilingual, biliterate, academic-achieving, culturally-aware citizens of the world!

(Originally titled “Future-Proofing Students”) summarized by Marshall Memo below:

When they’re adults, more than half of today’s students will work in jobs that don’t yet

exist, says author/psychologist Michele Borba in this Educational Leadership article. Her research has identified seven skillsets that are vital to success in this ever-changing world. “These strengths are not fixed nor based on scores, IQs, or ZIP codes,” says Borba, “but teachable abilities that can be woven into daily lessons and help prepare kids for life.” Here are the strengths, each with several associated abilities:

• Self-confidence: Self-awareness, strength awareness, finding purpose – “Confidence is the quiet understanding of ‘who I am’ that nurtures inner assuredness and appreciation of one’s unique strengths and interests,” says Borba, “as well as areas in need of improvement.” Schools can develop self-confidence by having students keep digital portfolios of their learning progress and scheduling “genius hours” to encourage students to get deeply involved in a particular area of interest.

• Empathy: Emotional literacy, perspective taking, empathic concern – “Empathy allows us to feel with and understand others,” says Borba, “setting us apart from the machines we create. Its cultivation will be crucial to successfully navigating life in a world dominated by artificial intelligence and augmented reality.” Students can get better at perspective-taking through cooperative learning activities, retelling stories from the point of view of different characters, or acting out a different way of seeing a historical or current event.

• Self-control: Attentive focus, self-management, healthy decision-making – Many young people can’t go more than two minutes without checking their devices, so self-control is a key growth area. Schools can help students set limits and teach mindfulness, meditation, and yoga.

• Integrity: Moral awareness, moral identity, ethical thinking – “Students don’t learn integrity through osmosis,” says Borba; “it must be intentionally taught, and we have to work at it.” Studies show that despite expressing self-satisfaction with their ethical standards and conduct, 57 percent of teenagers agree with the statement, “Successful people do what they have to do to win, even if it involves cheating.” Teachers can lead ethically focused discussions about books like The Outsiders and foster moral consciousness through service projects addressing issues like climate change and income disparities.

• Curiosity: Curious mindset, creative problem-solving, divergent thinking – “If adversity strikes,” says Borba, “this strength helps kids stay open to possibilities and find solutions.” Curiosity is an essential skill in a rapidly evolving job market. Teachers can nurture it by asking provocative open-ended questions, designing lessons that make students pause and wonder, scheduling innovation days where teams can explore topics of interest, and providing time to tinker in maker spaces.

• Perseverance: Growth mindset, goal setting, learning from failure – “Students who attribute gains to their inner drive are more creative and resilient than those who think they have no control over outcomes,” says Borba. Schools need to temper parents’ overprotective tendencies; for example, a school that forbids parents, starting in third grade, from escorting children to their classrooms and dropping off forgotten assignments or nonessential items. Schools also need to cut back on extrinsic rewards like trophies and stickers, foster an “I got this” attitude to challenging situations, and teach students to set goals and track progress.

• Optimism: Optimistic thinking, assertive communication, hope – One in three high-school students report persistent feelings of sadness and hopelessness, reported a recent study, and instant access to disturbing news is making the world seem volatile and scary. Fortunately, research has shown that explicit, skillful teaching of optimism protects against depression, increases engagement and resilience, and boosts learning and work productivity. In their morning announcements, principals can highlight stories about young people who made a difference; schools can play video clips on hallway screens of inspiring local and national stories; and service projects can give students a chance to make a difference, however small.

“Our moral obligation,” Borba concludes, “is to equip this generation with the content and abilities they will need to handle an unpredictable future and thrive. Doing so may be our most important educational task.”

“Future-Proofing Students” by Michele Borba in Educational Leadership, May 2022 (Vol. 79, #8, pp. 18-23); Borba’s book is Thrivers: The Surprising Reasons Why Some Kids Struggle and Others Shine (G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 2021)

Ayleen Torres, 8th grader at Arroyo Seco Museum Science Magnet, made USA Female National Team in Taekwondo this weekend in Texas. She will be representing USA in the World Championship happening in Sophia, Bulgaria this July and at the Pan American Championship in Costa Rica late June.

Congratulations to Ms. Andal, Teacher at Bushnell Way Elementary for being named “Rookie of the Year”.

Congratulations to Adinael Gastelum and Henry Montano of Franklin High School for being recognized in Local District Central’s Second Annual Lifetime Attendance Achievement Ceremony. These two graduating seniors have outstanding attendance dating back to first grade. This significant achievement of resilience, dedication and perseverance is an example for other students!