[00:00:07]
[I. Welcome and Opening Remarks]
EVERYONE.YOU KNOW, WE, WE PRIDE OURSELVES ON A CASUAL AND INFORMAL ENVIRONMENT HERE,
EXCITED TO WELCOME OUR COMMITTEE MEMBERS, OUR BOARD MEMBERS, AND THE PUBLIC TO THE CHILDREN AND FAMILIES AND EARLY EDUCATION COMMITTEE.
WE'RE EXCITED FOR TODAY'S DISCUSSION.
I ALSO WANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT THIS IS OUR LAST COMMITTEE MEETING THIS SCHOOL YEAR, AND OF COURSE, WANT TO JUST THANK EVERYONE FOR YOUR COLLABORATION, OUR TIME TOGETHER.
UM, THE VOICES ON THIS COMMITTEE ARE POWERFUL AND IMPACTFUL.
UM, AND I'M EXCITED ABOUT THE GREAT WORK THAT WE'VE DONE SO FAR THIS SCHOOL YEAR.
UM, THANKS TO YOUR ENGAGEMENT, WE'VE UPLIFTED REALLY IMPORTANT ISSUES THAT IMPACT OUR EARLIEST LEARNERS AND THEIR FAMILIES.
UM, AND AS WE LOOK AHEAD, THE WORK CONTINUES TO BE URGENT.
WE KNOW THAT PUBLIC EDUCATION CONTINUES TO BE UNDER ATTACK AT THE HIGHEST LEVELS OF GOVERNMENT IN THIS COUNTRY, AND WE HAVE TO CONTINUE UPLIFTING THE NEEDS OF OUR STUDENTS AND DEFENDING AND STRENGTHENING THE SYSTEMS AND PROGRAMS THAT SERVE OUR CHILDREN, ESPECIALLY IN THEIR EARLIEST FORMATIVE YEARS.
TURNING TO OUR AGENDA NOW, UM, IN TODAY'S MEETING, WE WILL HEAR FROM OUR EARLY EDUCATION TEAM ON ENROLLMENT TRENDS AS WELL AS A VERY EXCITING NEW INITIATIVE TO HELP US REACH AND SUPPORT FAMILIES STARTING AT BIRTH.
UM, AND OUR FRIENDS FROM FAMILIES IN SCHOOLS WILL BE HELPING.
AS PART OF THIS PRESENTATION, WE WILL ALSO BE DIS DISCUSSING OUR YEARLY RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE COMMITTEE, UM, SINCE IT IS OUR FINAL MEETING, AND I LOOK FORWARD TO EVERYONE'S FEEDBACK ON THAT.
UM, AND YEP, JUST THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH.
AT THE END, OF COURSE, WE WILL BE HEARING FROM OUR PUBLIC COMMENT SPEAKERS, AND WE, IF YOU HAVE NOT YET SIGNED UP, WE WELCOME ALL THOSE WHO WISH TO PROVIDE PUBLIC COMMENT TO SIGN UP WITH OUR BOARD SECRETARIAT STAFF IN THE BACK OF THE ROOM.
UM, THANK YOU SO MUCH TO EVERYONE.
UH, MAYBE I WILL JUST QUICKLY PAUSE AND SEE IF ANY OF OUR VIRTUAL PARTICIPANTS WANT TO JUST INTRODUCE OR ANNOUNCE THEMSELVES, JUST SO THAT THE PUBLIC KNOWS IT'S NOT JUST THE PEOPLE PHYSICALLY IN THE ROOM.
GOOD MORNING, I'M SCARLET RAMIREZ, HOGE, UM, ALA DIRECTOR AND EARLY ED PRINCIPAL FROM ANTON EARLY.
ANYONE ELSE ONLINE WITH US? ANY COMMITTEE MEMBERS ELSE ONLINE? SEEING NONE.
UM, WE'LL GO AHEAD AND GET STARTED THEN.
[II.1. Enrollment in LAUSD Early Education Programs]
OUR FIRST PRESENTATION.UM, AND FOR THAT, I WANT TO INVITE UP THE MIGHTY RENEE AMITA FROM OUR EARLY EDUCATION DIVISION, UM, WHO WILL BE KICKING OFF THE MEETING WITH A PRESENTATION ON ENROLLMENT TRENDS IN OUR EARLY EDUCATION PROGRAMS. AS USUAL, IF YOU COULD HOLD QUESTIONS TILL THE END, THAT WOULD BE GREAT.
SO GOOD MORNING, UM, COMMITTEE CHAIR, UM, BOARD MEMBER EZ AND COMMITTEE MEMBERS.
THANK YOU FOR ALLOWING ME TIME TO PRESENT WHAT'S HAPPENING, UM, IN EARLY EDUCATION AND TO TALK TO YOU A LITTLE BIT ABOUT OUR CURRENT ENROLLMENT.
SO I'D LIKE TO START OFF THIS MORNING WITH DISCUSSING THE PROGRAMS THAT, UM, THE LOS ANGELES UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT OFFERS FOR EARLY CHILDHOOD.
SO WE HAVE 89 EARLY EDUCATION CENTERS THAT SERVE CHILDREN AGES TWO TO FOUR, AND THOSE ARE FULL DAY, FULL YEAR PROGRAMS. AND THEY ARE OPEN FROM SEVEN TO FIVE 30.
WE HAVE 96 PRESCHOOL PROGRAMS LOCATED AT ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS, AND THOSE SERVE CHILDREN AGES TWO TO FOUR AS WELL.
AND THOSE ARE FULL DAY, PART YEAR.
SO THEY ARE ON THE REGULAR, UM, CA ON THE REGULAR SCHOOL CALENDAR, AND THEY ARE USUALLY FROM EIGHT TO TWO 30.
THEY FOLLOW THE SAME SCHEDULE AS THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL.
WE ALSO PROVIDE TRANSITIONAL KINDERGARTEN, OUR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS WITH WHICH SERVE CHILDREN WHO ARE FOUR YEARS OLD.
AND THEN WE HAVE FOUR INFANT CENTERS.
WE HAVE TWO OF THEM IN REGION EAST, ONE IN REGION SOUTH, AND ONE IN REGION NORTH WHO SERVE STUDENTS SIX WEEKS TO 30 MONTHS.
SO I'M GONNA FIRST START TALKING TO YOU ABOUT OUR PRESCHOOL ENROLLMENT.
SO IF YOU CAN, IF YOU LOOK AT THE CHART, UM, ABOVE, I'D LIKE TO SHOW YOU THE BLUE IS OUR TRANSITIONAL KINDERGARTEN ENROLLMENT.
AND WE STARTED, UM, IN SEPTEMBER AND OUR GOAL WAS TO REACH 30,000 STUDENTS.
I'D LIKE TO TELL YOU WE EXCEEDED OUR 30,000.
THIS DATA ONLY GOES UP TO APRIL 15TH, BUT WE DID EXCEED OUR 30,000.
AND YOU CAN SEE THAT, UM, THERE'S LITTLE, UM, INCREASE IN TK AND THAT'S WHAT HAS HAPPENED TRADITIONALLY, RIGHT OVER THE YEARS.
CONSISTENTLY THERE'S LITTLE GROWTH, BUT THERE IS CONTINUED GROWTH.
AND IN OUR EARLY EDUCATION CENTERS, WE ENROLL THROUGHOUT THE YEAR.
FAMILIES SOMETIMES WILL COME IN JANUARY LOOKING FOR PRESCHOOL EXPERIENCES.
[00:05:01]
GREATEST ENROLLMENT IS USUALLY JANUARY, FEBRUARY AND MARCH, AND WE ARE UP TO 10,888 STUDENTS.UM, AND THEN OUR SPECIAL EDUCATION PROGRAMS, OUR EARLY EDUCATION CENTERS HAVE PRESCHOOL COLLABORATIVE CLASSROOMS IN THEM, AS WELL AS OUR, UM, CSPP PROGRAMS AT OUR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS HAVE PCC PROGRAMS, UM, ALIGNED WITH THEM AS WELL.
WE HAVE, UH, COLLABORATIVE CLASSROOMS WITHIN OUR TK, SO STUDENTS WITH IEPS ARE WORKING SIDE BY SIDE WITH TYPICAL PEERS.
UM, AND IT'S AN INCLUSION PROGRAM.
AND THEN THIS IS A LITTLE HISTORICAL DATA COMPARING 24, 25 TO 25, 26.
SO YOU COULD SEE LAST YEAR IN JUNE, WE HAD 30,259 STUDENTS.
I'M HOPING WE EXCEED THAT 30,259 BY JUNE 15TH.
UM, AND YOU COULD SEE THAT THERE HAS BEEN STEADY INCREASE.
SO IN SEPTEMBER, UM, WE STARTED OUT A LITTLE LOWER THAN THE PREVIOUS YEAR, BUT THEN IN FEBRUARY WE INCREASED TO 21 THOU, 29,106 STUDENTS.
SO PRESCHOOL ENROLLMENT BY AGE, WE RECEIVE A LOT OF QUESTIONS AS FAR AS WHAT ABOUT THOSE TWO YEAR OLDS THAT ARE IN YOUR CENTERS.
HOW MANY TWO YEAR OLDS DO YOU HAVE? SO YOU CAN SEE THE TWO YEAR OLDS ARE, UM, THE ORANGE BAR.
SO WE STARTED OUT IN SEPTEMBER WITH 825, AND THEN ON APRIL 15TH, WE HAD 1025 TWO YEAR OLDS.
AND THEN, UM, OUR 3-YEAR-OLD STUDENTS CONTINUE TO GROW AS WELL AS THOSE TWOS BECOME THREE.
AND I'LL TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE IN OUR CENTERS.
WE HAVE 3000 TWO HUNDRED AND SEVENTY SEVEN THREE YEAR OLDS, AND THEN 4,000 SIX HUNDRED AND SIXTY THREE FOUR YEAR OLDS.
AND THEN THOSE FOUR YEAR OLDS WHO TURNED FIVE, WE HAVE 1,829, UM, FIVE YEAR OLDS THAT WILL BE GOING TO KINDERGARTEN.
SO WE HAVE A BIG GAP THAT WE'LL HAVE TO FILL THIS COMING SCHOOL YEAR AS THOSE STUDENTS TRANSITION TO EITHER TK, UM, AS WELL AS KINDERGARTEN.
SO THIS IS LOOKING AT OUR PRESCHOOL ENROLLMENT CAPACITY FOR OUR EECS AND OUR C SPPS.
THE BLUE SECTION IS THIS NUMBER OF STUDENTS ENROLLED BY REGION IN EECS AND C SPPS.
AND THE GRAY SECTION IS THE NUMBER OF OPEN SEATS THAT ARE AVAILABLE THROUGHOUT BOTH PROGRAMS, THE EECS AND THE CSPS.
SO IN DISTRICT WIDE, AT THE END OF THE YEAR, LAST YEAR WE WERE AT 83% ENROLLMENT.
SO WE HAD 10,032 STUDENTS ENROLLED AT THE END OF THE YEAR LAST YEAR.
AND WE STILL HAD 2095 AVAILABLE SEATS, UM, FOR FAMILIES TO ENROLL.
AND WE HAVE SEEN AN INCREASE THIS YEAR.
BUT YOU CAN SEE THE, UM, EAST IS WAS AT 82% ENROLLMENT, NORTH WAS AT 87, UM, SOUTH WAS AT 82%, AND THEN WEST WAS AT 80% FOR AN OVERALL 83%.
SO THIS YEAR WE'RE LOOKING AT EAST IS AT 88%.
WE STILL HAVE 471 SLOTS AVAILABLE IN OUR EAST AREA.
WE STILL HAVE 186 SLOTS AVAILABLE.
AND THEN SOUTH IS AT 89%, UM, STILL WITH 362 SLOTS REMAINING.
AND WEST IS AT 91% WITH 154 SLOTS REMAINING.
AND THEN OVERALL, SO WE'RE TEETERING BETWEEN 89 AND 90%, RIGHT? SO WE HAVE SOME FAMILIES THAT ARE MOVING OUT OF STATE.
WE HAVE SOME FAMILIES, UM, THAT ARE MOVING OUT OF THE AREA.
AND SO AS ONE ENROLLS TO LEAVE, SO, UM, OUR ATTENDANCE OR OUR ENROLLMENT IS FLUCTUATING, BUT WE CURRENTLY HAVE 10,000.
WE HAVE 10,912 STUDENTS, AND WE HAVE 1,173 SEATS AVAILABLE.
SO OUR HISTORICAL ENROLLMENT, AND THESE ARE AS OF DECEMBER, 2025.
YOU CAN SEE THAT PRIOR TO THE PANDEMIC, WE WERE AT 13,102 STUDENTS ENROLLED.
AND THEN THE PANDEMIC, UM, HIT AND THEN OUR ENROLLMENT STARTED TO DROP.
YOU COULD SEE THAT IN DECEMBER, 2021, WE WERE AT 6,806, AND THEN WE BEGAN TO SEE AN INCREASE IN DECEMBER OF 2022 AS FAMILIES STARTED COMING BACK.
AND THEN DECEMBER, 2023, WE HAD 7,748.
AND YOU CAN SEE THE STEADY INCREASE, UM, OF THIS YEAR.
IN DECEMBER, 2025, WE HAD 9,618 STUDENTS, WHICH REFLECTS A 17% INCREASE.
[00:10:01]
EEC ENROLLMENT.SO OUR OUTREACH, HOW ARE WE, UM, ENCOURAGING FAMILIES TO ENROLL? HOW ARE WE LETTING FAMILIES KNOW THAT OUR PROGRAMS ARE AVAILABLE? WE USED TO SAY WE WERE THE BEST KEPT SECRET IN THE DISTRICT, BUT WE KNOW WE NO LONGER WANT TO BE THE BEST KEPT SECRET IN THE DISTRICT.
SO WE REALLY WANT TO, UM, OUTREACH TO FAMILIES.
SO THIS YEAR WE TRIED SOMETHING DIFFERENT, AND THIS WAS BASED ON ONE OF THE COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATIONS.
WE SENT OUT 80,000, UM, MAILERS TO TARGETED ZIP CODES, AND WE FOCUSED ON THOSE ZIP CODES THAT HAD LOW ENROLLMENT.
UM, AND THEN WE WANTED FAMILIES TO KNOW THAT OUR EARLY EDUCATION CENTERS WERE IN OUR COMMUNITIES.
AND EACH CENTER GOT CAMPUS BANNERS WHERE THEY GOT TO DESIGN THEIR BANNER, BUT WE REALLY FOCUSED ON MAKING IT, IT REALLY BEAUTIFIES THE AREA, BUT IT WAS REALLY TO PROMOTE ENROLLMENT, RIGHT? SHOWING THAT WE ACCEPT TWO YEAR OLDS, TWO YEAR OLDS DO NOT NEED TO BE TOILET TRAINED, AND OUR OPERATIONAL HOURS THAT WE ARE OPEN YEAR ROUND AND FAMILIES HAVE SAID, I WALK BY HERE EVERY DAY AND I DIDN'T KNOW THIS WAS HERE.
SO WE HAVE SEEN A POSITIVE IMPACT ON THAT.
WE HAVE A FEW MORE SCHOOLS LEFT, A FEW MORE CENTERS LEFT TO GET THEIR, UM, BANNERS, BUT WE'RE ALMOST AT A HUNDRED PERCENT.
UM, BILLBOARD, BILLBOARDS AND METRO TRANSIT.
UM, WE HAVE BEEN SHARING THOSE BILLBOARDS AND WE CONTINUED THAT THIS SCHOOL YEAR.
BUT SOMETHING THAT WE'VE REALLY FOUND TO BE VERY BENEFICIAL AND SUPPORT OUR ENROLLMENT IS THAT COMMUNITY CANVASSING, BEING IN THE COMMUNITIES WHEN THERE'S COMMUNITY EVENTS, BEING AT PARADES, BEING AT, UM, DIFFERENT FAIRS THROUGHOUT THE DISTRICT, THE SITE, THE STEAM FEST, THE ENROLLMENT FAIRS, RIGHT? THE COLLEGE AND CAREER FAIRS, THE BSAP FAIRS.
WE, EVERY TIME WE FIND OUT THERE IS SOMETHING HAPPENING, WE HAVE A TABLE SET UP.
WE HAVE TEAMS OUT PASSING OUT FLYERS.
AND WE, AND WE HAVE FOUND THIS TO BE EFFECTIVE BECAUSE WE CAN ACTUALLY TALK TO FAMILIES.
INITIALLY WE WERE KNOCKING ON DOORS OR LEAVING FLYERS ON THE GATES OR, UM, ON THE PORCHES, AND WE REALLY DIDN'T HAVE CONTACT WITH FAMILIES.
SO DEFINITELY GOING TO PARKS AND TO COMMUNITY EVENTS HAS INCREASED OUR ENROLLMENT AS WHEN WE ASK FAMILIES, WELL, HOW DID YOU FIND OUT ABOUT US? WELL, I WAS GIVEN THIS FLYER, RIGHT? BUT WE ARE STILL HEARING THAT THE BEST WAY FAMILIES OR THE MOST WAY THAT FAMILIES ARE FINDING OUT IS BY WORD OF MOUTH.
MY FRIEND TOLD ME, MY COUSIN TOLD ME.
UM, AND THEN DID A LOT DIGITAL ADVERTISING.
SOMETHING WE DID, UM, DIFFERENT THIS YEAR IS WE DID, DID OUR GEOTARGETING, THE GEOMAPPING WITH SOCIAL MEDIA WHERE WE'VE TRIED TO INCREASE OUR SOCIAL MEDIA PRESENCE AND THAT IS CURRENTLY STILL GOING ON.
UM, AND WE, SO AS WE LOOK AT THE DATA, WE SEE THAT THERE IS AN INCREASE OF HITS ON OUR WEBSITE AND VISITS TO OUR WEBSITE.
UM, THEY DID SHOW US THAT THE 32ND REELS THAT WERE BILINGUAL HAVE GOTTEN THE MOST TRAFFIC RIGHT, AND HAVE WATCHED IT.
AND IT'LL ACTUALLY TELL YOU HOW LONG THEY WERE ON THE VIDEO.
THE, SO WE CONTINUE TO WORK ON OUR REELS AND CONTINUE TO WORK ON OUR SOCIAL MEDIA.
WE ALSO MET WITH OUR PRINCIPALS AND WE DID A TRAINING WITH THEM WHERE THEY WERE ABLE TO UPDATE THEIR WEBSITES AND WORK ON THEIR SOCIAL MEDIA WHERE WE SHARED STRATEGIES.
WE WORKED WITH ITS AND WE WORKED WITH ED LEO WHERE THEY WERE ABLE TO SUPPORT OUR PRINCIPALS IN UPDATING THOSE WEBSITES AND INCREASING THEIR SOCIAL MEDIA PRESENCE.
SO IF YOU'RE NOT FOLLOWING US, PLEASE FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA.
YOU'LL SEE THE ONE WE REALLY WANT FAMILIES TO KNOW WHAT'S HAPPENING IN OUR CENTERS.
SO WE'RE REALLY FOCUSING ON SHOWING FAMILIES THOSE PLAY-BASED LEARNING ACTIVITIES THAT CHILDREN ARE EXPERIENCING ON A DAILY BASIS IN OUR CENTERS.
AND THEN HOW DO YOU ENROLL IN OUR PRESCHOOL PROGRAMS? WE ARE IN THE PROCESS OF UPDATING OUR ECD WEBSITE.
UM, BUT IT'S AS SIMPLE AS 1, 2, 3, RIGHT? YOU CLICK ON IT, UM, VISIT ECED.LAD.ORG AND IT'LL TELL YOU SCHEDULE A, A TOUR AT A CENTER NEAR YOU.
THE PARENT CAN TYPE IN THEIR ZIP CODE, TYPE IN THEIR ADDRESS, AND IT'LL BRING UP THE CENTERS THAT ARE IN THEIR AREA.
WE DO HAVE A MAP ON THERE THAT SHOWS THE, UM, SCHOOLS THAT ARE DUAL LANGUAGE SCHOOLS THAT ARE NATURE EXPLORE SCHOOLS.
SO WE CONTINUE TO REVAMP OUR WEBSITE SO THAT IT IS PARENT FRIENDLY AND WE'RE REALLY ENCOURAGING FAMILIES TO SCHEDULE A TOUR SO THAT THEY CAN SEE WHAT'S HAPPENING IN THE CLASSROOMS. AND THEN SOME OF THE ENROLLMENT DOCUMENTS, YOU CAN SEE THERE'S QUITE A FEW ENROLLMENT DOCUMENTS.
UM, BUT THE BASIC DOCUMENTS THAT WE NEED IS A BIRTH CERTIFICATE, A PROOF OF IMMUNIZATION, IMMUNIZATION, A PHYSICAL EXAM, AND THEN OUR DISTRICT REQUIRED FORMS. SO IF FAMILIES ARE WORKING, THEY, THEY HAVE TO BRING A VERIFICATION OF EMPLOYMENT IF THEY'RE GOING TO SCHOOL, A VERIFICATION THAT THEY'RE ENROLLED IN SCHOOL.
UM, IF THEY ARE SEEKING EMPLOYMENT, THEY FILL OUT A FORM THAT THEY'RE GOING TO LOOK FOR EMPLOYMENT WHILE THEIR WHERE,
[00:15:01]
WHILE THEIR CHILD IS IN SCHOOL.UM, AND THEN THE OTHER REQUIRED DOCUMENTS.
AND THEN AGAIN, IF YOU'RE INTERESTED IN FINDING OUT MORE ABOUT OUR CENTERS, PLEASE VISIT OUR WEBSITE@ECED.LAD.ORG AND THEN SCHEDULE A TOUR.
UM, GREAT PRESENTATION AND I KNOW THIS IS INFORMATION THAT WE'RE ALL ALWAYS REALLY EXCITED TO DIG INTO EVERY YEAR.
UM, SO I'LL JUST OPEN IT UP IF ANYONE HAS QUESTIONS FOR RENEE.
UH, LET'S KICK IT OFF WITH BOARD MEMBER THI FRANKLIN.
UM, I DO LOVE THE NEW WEBSITE OR THE REVISED TO REVAMP.
UM, ONE IDEA I JUST HAD RIGHT NOW IS IF WE COULD ALSO DO, AND MAYBE THIS IS A SEPARATE MAP, BUT A HEAT MAP OF WHERE THERE IS CAPACITY OR STILL AVAILABILITY BECAUSE SOME OF MY SCHOOLS ARE, UM, YOU HAVE WAIT LISTS AND THEN OTHERS.
I JUST FOUND OUT WE HAVE A THOUSAND SPOTS ACROSS THE DISTRICT, SO I WONDER IF THAT'S, YOU KNOW, EVENLY DISTRIBUTED OR IF ALL THE, YOU KNOW, FIVE CLOSEST EECS ARE FULL.
AND SO LIKE, IT'S JUST NOT POSSIBLE IN MY NEIGHBORHOOD.
AND THEN THAT'S WHERE WE SHOULD BE OPENING OUR NEW ONES PER OUR RESOLUTION
UM, BUT WHEN A FAMILY COMES AND THERE IS A WAIT LIST, ARE OUR PRINCIPALS ENCOURAGED TO, UH, TELL THE FAMILIES ABOUT OTHER PROGRAMS, UM, SO THAT THEY CAN MAYBE BE SEEN OR ENROLL SOONER? YES.
SO THEY DO SHARE AND WE DO SHARE THAT DATA ON A WEEKLY BASIS WITH OUR CENTERS AS FAR AS WHAT THE ENROLLMENT IS IN THEIR AREA, IN THEIR COMMUNITY.
AND THEY DO SHARE WAIT LISTS WITH OTHER SCHOOLS IN THE AREA.
AND I CAN IMAGINE SOME FAMILIES JUST WANTING TO WAIT UNTIL THEIR NEIGHBORHOOD ECE OPENS UP.
VERSUS GOING A LITTLE BIT FURTHER.
AND SOME OF OUR WAIT LISTS HAVE STUDENTS ON THEM WHO ARE NOT YET TWO YEARS OLD.
SO THE FAMILIES HERE THAT IT'S OPEN AND THAT WE'RE TAKING TWO YEAR OLDS THAT ARE NOT TOILET TRAINED AND THEY ARE PUTTING THEM ON THE WAIT LIST WHEN THEY ARE ONE.
OR WHEN THEY ARE ONE AND A HALF.
AND AS SOON AS THEY'RE TWO, THEY ARE STARTING NOW.
I'M LIKE, ESPECIALLY WE FOUND THAT TO BE TRUE IN SAN PEDRO.
THE DAY THOSE STUDENTS TURN TWO, THEY'RE STARTING.
THAT'S WHAT I DID WITH MY OLDEST OLDEST, WHICH IS REALLY EXCITING.
WELL, DO I NEED TO PUT MY 18 MONTH OLD ON THE LIST?
UM, YOU KNOW, ONE THING, KIND OF ANOTHER RESOLUTION THAT'S KIND OF CONNECTED WAS OUR PARENTAL PACKAGE FROM ABOUT A YEAR AGO.
AND ONE OF THE THINGS WE'VE BEEN HAVING DIFFICULTY WITH IS, UM, TRACKING EMPLOYEES WHO HAVE THEIR CHILDREN ENROLLED.
AND I KNOW WE COLLECT THE INFORMATION, UM, BUT WE'VE HEARD SOME CONCERNS ABOUT, YOU KNOW, WHETHER OR NOT, UM, IT IT'S PROTECTED DATA AND, AND WE WOULDN'T BE ABLE TO KNOW.
BUT I JUST, UH, I WOULD ENCOURAGE THE TEAM, AND I DON'T KNOW IF YOU HAVE A PERSPECTIVE ON THIS, LIKE I'D LIKE TO KNOW HOW MANY OF OUR EMPLOYEES HAVE THEIR CHILDREN ENROLLED IN OUR EARLY ED AND NOT THAT WE NEED TO KNOW THE INDIVIDUAL EMPLOYEES, BUT JUST THE OVERALL NUMBER OR PERCENTAGE.
UM, 'CAUSE IT SAYS A LOT WHEN YOU SEND YOUR KIDS TO, TO THE DISTRICT.
SO WE DIDN'T HAVE A WAY TO COLLECT THAT.
WE ARE WORKING ON A WAY TO COLLECT THAT.
AS WE WORK WITH OUR, UM, MISIS EARLY EDUCATION APP, WE ARE WORKING AWAY ONLY TO IDENTIFY THE NUMBER.
NOT WHO IT IS, NOT WHERE THEY'RE LOCATED, NOT WHICH CENTERS THEY'RE LOCATED IN, BUT JUST WHAT IS THAT NUMBER OF DISTRICT EMPLOYEES.
AND THE WAY WE CAN IDENTIFY THAT IS BY IT, UM, BY WHERE THEY WORK.
SO PRIOR WE WOULD HAVE TO GO THROUGH EACH FILE AND LOOK, BECAUSE WE DIDN'T HAVE A WAY TO TRACK THAT.
SO NOW WE'RE LOOKING AT A WAY TO BE ABLE TO DO THAT JUST TO INFORM US AS FAR AS IS.
IF THERE'S A NEED, THEN WE CAN SAY WHERE THAT NEED IS.
OR WHERE THOSE SPACES ARE AVAILABLE.
LET'S DO OMA AND THEN CAROLYN, WE'LL JUST GO AROUND THAT WAY.
I THINK IT, IT WILL BE A GREAT IDEA TO CREATE SOMETHING THAT PARENTS CAN GO AND, UM, MAKE SURE TO LEARN HOW MANY SPACES AVAILABLE.
UH, UM, UM, CENTER HAS, UM, WE HAD, I OBVIOUSLY I SUPPORT MY FAMILIES WHEN THEY'RE GOING TO DO THE TRANSITION AND ONE OF MY FAMILIES CAME BACK VERY DISAPPOINTED AT ONE OF THE SCHOOLS.
I CAN'T REMEMBER THE NAME, BUT I KNOW IT'S ON THE WEST SIDE.
UM, AND SHE, UH, TALKED TO THE PRINCIPAL AND THE PRINCIPAL SAID THAT THEY, THEY DIDN'T HAVE NO SPACE, SO SHE WAS LIKE, OKAY, WHAT DO I DO NEXT? AND SHE WAS TOLD THAT TO FIGURE IT OUT ON HER OWN AND SHE WAS VERY DISAPPOINTED, BUT HEY, YOU KNOW, I WAS HERE TO HELP.
SO WE FOUND, UH, A DIFFERENT SCHOOL THAT SHE WAS ABLE TO ENROLL.
AND I JUST THINKING ABOUT THAT CASE AND SOME OTHERS THAT WE HAD, UM, I KNOW THAT SOME SCHOOLS ON THE WEST SIDE, THEY HAVE A HUGE WAIT LIST AND YOU KNOW, IT WILL BE GREAT FOR THE FAMILIES TO KNOW, OKAY, THIS ONE, IT'S A CAPACITY, BUT THIS ONE HAS A FEW SLOTS AVAILABLE.
SO JUST THAT WILL BE VERY GREAT FOR FAMILIES TO KNOW.
ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT TK ENROLLMENT? YES.
SO WHAT WE'VE DONE WITH TK AND WHAT WE'RE SHARING THIS YEAR IS WE TALK ABOUT NOT HAVING
[00:20:01]
A WAIT LIST FOR TK TO BE ABLE TO REFER FAMILIES TO EITHER ANOTHER ELEMENTARY SCHOOL IN THE AREA THAT DOES HAVE SPACE OR TO REFER THEM TO AN EARLY EDUCATION CENTER.MANY TIMES FAMILIES WANNA GO TO THAT ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, THAT'S MY HOMESCHOOL, I WANNA GO TO THAT SCHOOL, I'M GONNA WAIT.
BUT THIS YEAR WE DID CREATE FLYERS FOR EACH OF THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS TO BE ABLE TO POST FOR FAMILIES OR PASS OUT THAT SAYS, HERE'S THE EARLY EDUCATION CENTERS THAT ARE AROUND OUR AREA THAT YOU COULD GO AND CHECK OUT SO THAT THEY CAN HAVE, UM, A TK EXPERIENCE AS WELL SO THEY CAN HAVE A PRESCHOOL EXPERIENCE.
AND WE HAVE BEEN SHARING THAT OUR TK UPDATES WITH OUR PRINCIPALS, WE HAVE BEEN SHARING THOSE FLYERS WITH THEM SO THEY ARE ABLE TO REFER FAMILIES.
MORNING AND THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE GREAT PRESENTATION.
UM, SO IT'S VERY INTERESTING AND THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR INCORPORATING THE FEEDBACK THAT THE COMMITTEE PROVIDED AROUND ADDITIONAL WAYS TO OUTREACH TO FAMILIES, INCLUDING THE SOCIAL MEDIA PIECE.
AND IT WOULD BE VERY INTERESTING TO SEE THE IMPACT OF ALL OF THESE NEW EFFORTS ON THE ACTUAL ENROLLMENT, IF THERE'S A WAY OF TRACKING THAT AND KIND OF CONNECTING THE TWO TO SEE KIND OF WHERE TO PLACE FUTURE EFFORTS AND WHICH HAS BEEN MOST IMPACTFUL.
MY GUESS IS THAT THE SOCIAL MEDIA IS, IS PRETTY IMPACTFUL.
UM, AND THEN I DO HAVE A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS AROUND, UM, I SAW THE, YOU KNOW, I KNOW THIS IS SPECIFIC TO ENROLLMENT, BUT IF THERE'S A WAY TO ALSO SEE AROUND ATTENDANCE, I'M REALLY INTERESTED IN SEEING THE IMPACT OF THE ICE ENFORCEMENT ON NOT JUST ENROLLMENT, BUT ALSO ATTENDANCE AND KIND OF WHAT EFFORTS ARE TAKING PLACE TO HELP FAMILIES FEEL SAFE, YOU KNOW, AND SUPPORTED, UM, IN SENDING THEIR CHILDREN TO, TO THESE PROGRAMS. UM, AND THEN ANOTHER AREA THAT WAS INTERESTING WAS THE MAPPING OF PRE PANDEMIC ENROLLMENT VERSUS TODAY AND HOW WE'RE SO FAR FROM THE PRE PANDEMIC LEVEL AND KIND OF WHAT ARE THE FACTORS THAT ARE CAUSING THAT OR IF THERE'S A, IS THAT REFLECTIVE OF THE POPULATION KIND OF DECREASED, UM, BIRTH RATES OR PEOPLE MOVING OUT OF THE, UM, THE CITY OR IS IT SOMETHING ELSE? AND KIND OF HOW ARE WE HELPING TO GET BACK TO WHERE WE WERE BEFORE? UM, SO I DO WANNA CALL YOUR ATTENTION TO DECEMBER, 2023.
IT HAS THE STAR, THE ASTERISK THERE.
AND WE DID SEE A DECREASE IN ENROLLMENT IN OUR CENTERS WITH TK EXPANSION.
SO AS WE LOOK AT THAT, WHERE WE REALLY SHIFTED OUR, UM, OUTREACH TO OUR TWO AND THREE YEAR OLDS.
SO WE HAVE, OUR MARKETING HAS CHANGED, WE'RE USING PICTURES OF YOUNGER CHILDREN.
OUR SOCIAL MEDIA IS SHOWING YOUNGER CHILDREN ENGAGED IN THE PLAY-BASED ACTIVITIES.
SO WE'VE REALLY SHIFTED TO TARGETING SOCIALIZATION WITH OUR TWO AND 3-YEAR-OLD, WITH OUR TWO YEAR OLDS.
AND THEN REALLY LOOKING AT THAT SOCIALIZATION WITH OUR THREE YEAR OLDS AS WELL.
SO OUR MARKETING STRATEGIES HAVE CHANGED.
UM, WE DO GET SOME FOUR YEAR OLDS, UM, BECAUSE WE KNOW IT'S A PARENT CHOICE AND PARENTS MAY NEED LONGER HOURS OR FULL YEAR.
UM, BUT YES, WE ARE, UM, WORKING ON THAT AS WELL.
IT WOULD BE INTERESTING TO SEE KIND OF WITH THE TK ADDED ON IF THE LEVELS ARE THE SAME OR DIFFERENT, LIKE FOR CHILDREN BIRTH TO AGE FOUR.
AND THEN WE'LL TURN TO THIS SIDE.
UM, I WANTED TO FOLLOW UP ON A QUESTION THAT CAME UP IN A PREVIOUS MEETING.
JUST GIVEN WHAT WAS BROUGHT UP.
SO FOR DOCUMENTS FOR ENROLLMENT, I KNOW THERE WAS LIKE SOME DISCUSSIONS TO SIMPLIFY PAPERWORK FOR VERIFICATION OF EMPLOYMENT OR OTHER THINGS TO SUPPORT DURING THIS TIME.
SO CURIOUS WHERE THAT'S AT IN TERMS OF SUPPORTING PARENTS.
SO WE ARE WORKING WITH GOVERNMENT RELATIONS ON THAT BECAUSE THOSE ARE REQUIREMENTS BY THE STATE WITH CD.
SO WE HAVE HAD CONVERSATIONS WITH THEM AND ALL, UM, SUBSIDY BASED PROGRAMS HAVE TO FILL OUT THOSE FORMS. BUT IT IS SOMETHING WE'RE CONSTANTLY HAVING CONVERSATIONS WITH, UM, GOVERNMENT RELATIONS IN THE STATE AT THIS TIME.
NO CHANGE HAS BEEN MADE, NO CHANGES HAVE BEEN MADE.
ONE OTHER QUESTION THAT I HAD FOR TWO YEAR OLDS, SINCE YOU'VE BEEN UPLIFTING THEM, WHAT KIND OF SUPPORTS HAVE BEEN UPLIFTED THAT ARE NEEDED TO ENSURE THE LEARNING THAT WE WANT AND DEVELOPMENTAL APPROPRIATENESS? OKAY, SO WE RECENTLY PURCHASED UM, 2-YEAR-OLD FURNITURE FOR ALL OF OUR EECS FOR ONE CLASSROOM AND OUR EEC.
SO WHEN YOU GO TO THE EECS TO VISIT, PLEASE ASK THEM TO SHOW YOU THEIR 2-YEAR-OLD CLASSROOM.
SO YOU CAN SEE, UM, MS. BROWN, YOU CAN TALK ABOUT MAYBE YOUR EXPERIENCE WITH YOUR 2-YEAR-OLD FURNITURE.
UM, BUT IT WAS DEFINITELY A NEED.
THEY KEPT SAYING THEY NEEDED DEVELOPMENTALLY APPROPRIATE MATERIALS, DEVELOPMENTALLY APPROPRIATE FURNITURE, AS WELL AS WE ARE PROVIDING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT FOR OUR TEACHERS AND AIDES, UM, ON SATURDAYS.
AND WHAT WE ARE GOING TO DO, SINCE WE KNOW EVERYBODY CAN'T ATTEND ON SATURDAYS, WE ARE GOING TO
[00:25:01]
CHANGE THOSE INTO WHAT WE CALL BITE-SIZED PDS, WHERE THEY COULD BE DONE DURING THE DAY DURING THAT NAP TIME WITH OUR TEACHERS AND AIDES AT OUR CENTERS.AND THEN ON OUR BANKED TUESDAYS WHEN WE WORK WITH OUR CSPP TEACHERS, THOSE WILL BE EMBEDDED INTO THOSE BANK TUESDAYS FOR CSPP TEACHERS.
SO WE HAVE ANOTHER ONE ON JUNE, UM, 16TH, UH, I BELIEVE IT'S JUNE 16TH FOR OUR TWO YEAR OLDS.
WE'RE OFFERING IT IN TWO DIFFERENT LOCATIONS SO THAT WE CAN, IT'S OUR SECOND ROUND, IT'S THE SAME PD, BUT WE KNOW, UM, WE DIDN'T HAVE EVERYBODY ATTEND THE FIRST ROUND, SO WE'VE BEEN ASKED TO DO IT AGAIN.
SO WE WILL CONTINUE PROVIDING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT.
UH, BRENDA, LET'S GO AND THEN WE'LL GO THIS WAY.
THANK YOU FOR, UH, THE WONDERFUL PRESENTATION.
UM, ENROLLMENT HAS, YOU KNOW, GONE, GONE UP.
I HAVE A FEW, UH, QUESTIONS CONCERNING MAYBE THE APP.
IS THE APP AVAILABLE MAYBE TO HAVE LIKE THE WAITING LIST ON THAT APP SO THAT WAY IF SOMEBODY WENT TO THE WAITING LIST, THEY CAN ACTUALLY SEE FOR THEMSELVES LIKE HOW MANY SLOTS ARE IN WEST AND HOW MANY SLOTS ARE IN THIS PARTICULAR AREA? YOU MEAN THE LEARNING GENIE APP? I'M NOT QUITE SURE.
I BELIEVE THE APP THAT YOU'RE REFERRING TO, WHAT THE PARENTS CAN ENROLL, UH, STUDENTS.
SO THAT'S THROUGH ENROLL NOW THROUGH LAD'S ENROLL.
NOW I'LL, I'LL LOOK INTO WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT.
I GUESS WHAT I'M TRYING TO SAY, SO WHEN PARENTS GO ON THE APP, THEY KNOW ALREADY HOW MANY SLOTS ARE AVAILABLE.
AND I THINK THAT WOULD CUT DOWN ON MAYBE PARENTS GOING TO PARTICULAR AREAS WHEN IF THEY LOOK ON THAT APP, HEY, THAT AREA'S FULL.
SO LET ME TRY THESE AREAS HERE.
SO SIMILAR TO A DASHBOARD YES.
UM, THE NEXT, UH, QUESTION I HAD, UM, IS THERE LIKE A POSSIBLE DATE, UM, THAT'S EXPECTED LIKE FOR FULL ENROLLMENT FOR THE PROGRAMS OR A GOAL? UM, TO HAVE JULY 1ST PROGRAMS FULLY ENROLLED? JULY 1ST.
OUR GOAL IS, SO, UM, AS WE, WE'VE BEEN DOING DATA DIGS WITH OUR ADMINISTRATORS AT OUR EARLY EDUCATION CENTERS THIS PAST WEEK, AND WE WOULD LIKE TO SEE FULL ENROLLMENT BY AUGUST.
WE KNOW THAT WE SEE A DROP IN JUNE AND JULY AS CHILDREN TRANSITION TO KINDERGARTEN.
THOSE SCHOOLS THAT HAVE WAITING LISTS ARE ALREADY PASSING OUT THOSE APPLICATIONS SO FAMILIES CAN START GETTING READY SO THAT IF AS FIVE CHILDREN LEAVE, WE WANT FIVE CHILDREN TO START.
SO THEY'RE STAGGERING THEIR, UM, DETERMINATION OF THE FAMILIES AS THEY'RE TRANSITIONING TO KINDERGARTEN TO BRING IN THE STUDENTS THAT ARE ON THE WAITING LIST.
SO OUR GOAL IS TO BE AT A HUNDRED PERCENT BY AUGUST, RIGHT? YES.
AND, UM, THIS IS JUST WHAT I'M THINKING.
UM, HAVING MAYBE PARENTS HAVE LIKE A TESTIMONY OR SOMETHING ABOUT HOW INCREDIBLE HAVING THEIR CHILD IN PROGRAMS, I THINK THIS IS A WAY TO ENCOURAGE OTHER, UH, PARENTS AND, UH, JUST TO GET THE WORD OUT OF, UH, POSITIVE FEEDBACK.
SO I THINK THAT WOULD BE VERY, VERY WELL WORTH IT.
YEAH, THAT'S A GREAT SUGGESTION.
THANK YOU MS. SUSANNA, DID YOU HAVE ANY THANK YOU SO MUCH, RENEE FOR THE PRESENTATION AND THANK YOU, YOU HE FOR THE QUESTION.
'CAUSE I THINK THAT'S WHAT'S COMING UP FOR US AS WELL.
SO AS YOU'RE HAVING CONVERSATIONS WITH GOVERNMENT RELATIONS, CCEE, UH, YOU HAVE MANY ADVOCATES AT THE TABLE.
SO IF THERE'S ANY OPPORTUNITIES FOR US TO, UM, BE IN COLLABORATION OR GIVE, UM, OUR THOUGHTS ON HOW TO MAKE THIS PROCESS EASIER FOR FAMILIES BECAUSE THE STRATEGY'S GREAT, BUT IF WE DON'T HAVE FAMILIES ENROLLED BECAUSE SOME OF THESE BARRIERS, IT'S GONNA BE, WE'RE NOT GONNA REACH OUR GOALS.
UM, SO PLEASE LET US KNOW HOW AS PARTNERS AND EVEN PARENTS CAN VOICE THEIR OPINIONS ON THE PROCESS.
GOOD MORNING AND THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION.
UM, GOING BACK TO THE FURNITURE, IT'S GREAT.
RIGHT? MY ONLY CONCERN IS THAT, YOU KNOW, THE AGES ARE NOT ALL JUST TWO YEAR OLDS IN THE CLASSROOM.
SO SOME OF THAT FURNITURE IS A LITTLE TOO SMALL FOR THE BIGGER KIDS.
SO US HAVING TO WORK WITH MAYBE GETTING THE CHILDREN THE TWO YEAR OLDS OR THE SMALLER KIDS IN THAT CLASSROOM WHERE THEY CAN ACTUALLY UTILIZE THAT FURNITURE WOULD BE GREAT.
INSTEAD OF MIXING THEM ALL UP INTO EVERY SINGLE CLASSROOM.
AND THEN AS FOR THE ENROLLMENT FOR EMPLOYEES, UM, WHAT'S THE PROTOCOL FOR THAT? 'CAUSE I DO HAVE, UH, SOME CONCERNS WITH, YOU KNOW, STAFF THAT THEY WANNA PUT THEIR CHILDREN IN THEIR SCHOOL THAT THEY'RE WORKING AT, BUT THEY'RE TOLD THAT THEY'RE NOT ABLE TO.
IS THAT TRUE? OR HOW DOES THAT WORK? SO THE WAY WE'RE COMMUNICATING WITH EMPLOYEES, I'LL, I'LL ANSWER YOUR, IT'S TWO PARTS IS WE ARE DOING, UM,
[00:30:01]
EMPLOYEE MEETINGS WHERE WE PUT OUT A BULLETIN, UM, FOR THE EMPLOYEES TO COME AND LEARN ABOUT OUR PROGRAM.SO WE DO DO MEETINGS WITH THEM TO TALK ABOUT THE ENROLLMENT PROCESS AND TO TALK ABOUT WHERE THERE IS SPACE.
AND THEN AS FAR AS EMPLOYEES PUTTING THEIR CHILDREN AT THE CENTER AS A PREVIOUS ADMINISTRATOR AT AN EEC, UM, I USED TO DISCOURAGE THAT, UM, BECAUSE, AND THERE ISN'T A POLICY AGAINST IT, BUT I USED TO DISCOURAGE IT BECAUSE IT MAKES IT DIFFICULT FOR THE CHILD BECAUSE THE CHILD ALWAYS WANTS TO BE WITH MOM AND SOME CHILDREN AREN'T BOTHERED BY IT, BUT SOME CHILDREN ARE.
AND THEN IT'S DIFFICULT FOR THE CHILD TO LEARN BECAUSE EVERY TIME THE PARENT PASSES BY, BECAUSE OUR CENTERS ARE VERY SMALL AND STAFF ARE WALKING IN AND OUT, UM, SOMETIMES THE CHILD HAS A DIFFICULT TIME AND STRUGGLES.
SO I WOULD ENCOURAGE EMPLOYEES TO PUT IT IN THE CENTER THAT IS NEAR US.
THAT WOULD BE NEAR THE CENTER OR A PARTNER CENTER BECAUSE AT THAT TIME WE HAD TWO CENTERS.
UM, BUT THERE ISN'T A POLICY AGAINST IT.
MR. MELVIN, DID YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? YES, THANK YOU.
UH, APPRECIATE THE PRESENTATION AND WANNA GIVE CREDIT WORDS DUE A LOT OF POSITIVE MOMENTUM HERE.
UM, AND APPRECIATE YOUR ENGAGEMENT WITH OUR OFFICE JUST ON THE DISCREET WHEN WE'RE WORKING WITH OUR EARLY ED CENTERS IN BD FOUR.
UM, IT WAS EXCITING JUST A WEEK OR TWO AGO, I WAS AT WEST VALLEY OCCUPATIONAL CENTER.
WE OPENED, UH, AFTER A FEW YEARS OF IT BEING CLOSED MORE THAN A FEW YEARS, THE EARLY ED CENTER, IT'S FULL.
WE HAVE EMPLOYEES, KIDS THERE FROM NEARBY SCHOOLS.
WE HAVE STUDENTS, UH, WE HAVE KIDS OF STUDENTS AT WEST VALLEY OCCUPATION CENTER.
WE HAVE SOME FEE-BASED PROGRAMS. I MEAN, I THINK IT'S A GREAT EXAMPLE OF WITH THESE CENTERS IN PARTICULAR, IF YOU BUILD IT, THEY WILL COME.
UM, AND THE FACT THAT THAT GOT FILLED OVERNIGHT, UM, IS REALLY EXCITING.
I'LL ALSO SAY TOO, I MEAN ECHO THE, THE SUGGESTIONS AROUND SHARING WAIT LISTS AND BEING TRANSPARENT WITH INFORMATION.
I ALSO THINK IT WOULD BE GREAT TO HAVE ALL THIS ENROLLMENT DATA ON THE EXECUTIVE DASHBOARD.
IT'S NOT RIGHT NOW, LIKE CAPACITY FOR EARLY ED, NOT IT WORKING ON IT.
UM, AND I'LL SAY TOO ANECDOTALLY, AT LEAST AT SOME IN MY DISTRICT, UM, LIKE LAUREL AND VINE, I DO KNOW THAT IF PARENTS TRY TO ENROLL AND THERE'S NOT SPACE, I THINK LAUREL RIGHT NOW IS ALMOST FULL.
HE IS, THEY ARE SHARING THE WHAT, THE AVAILABILITY AT VINE AND AT CRESCENT HEIGHTS AND, AND OTHERS.
AND SO, UM, UH, THAT'S BEEN HELPFUL.
I THINK JUST TO LET YOU KNOW, ANECDOTALLY, WHEN WE TALK TO PARENTS, UM, ON, UH, WHAT DID I WANT TO ASK? OH, A FEW, A FEW THINGS ON, UM, ON RECRUITMENT AND ENROLLMENT.
I MEAN, ONE, IT, IT SEEMS LIKE LOOKING EVEN AT SOME OF THE MARKETING STUFF, SOMETIMES WE CALL THEM PRESCHOOLS, SOMETIMES WE CALL THEM EARLY ED CENTERS.
I STILL THINK THAT LEADS TO SOME OF THE CONFUSION.
AND I JUST DON'T KNOW IF THERE'S BEEN DISCUSSION AROUND STANDARDIZING HIT TO, I MEAN, YOU KNOW, TALKING TO THIS COMMITTEE AND ALSO, UM, FOCUS GROUPS AROUND WHETHER IT'S PRESCHOOL OR WHETHER IT'S EARLY ED CENTER.
'CAUSE I STILL, WHEN I TALK TO CONSTITUENTS ANECDOTALLY AND I SAY THERE'S A PRESCHOOL, THEY'RE LIKE, OH, I DIDN'T KNOW WHAT I THOUGHT AN EARLY ED CENTER WAS MAYBE SPECIAL EDUCATION OR I THOUGHT THAT WAS BEFORE PRESCHOOL OR SO.
BUT I NOTICED THAT SOME OF THE BILLBOARDS AND BUS ADVERTISEMENTS CALL THEM PRESCHOOL.
SO HOW ARE WE LIKE MARKETING, RIGHT? WHAT, WHAT, WHAT IS, WHAT IS THE TERMINOLOGY WE'RE USING? SO WE'VE BEEN ADDING PRESCHOOL FOR THAT VERY REASON.
THAT'S WHAT WE'VE HEARD THAT THEY DIDN'T UNDERSTAND WHAT IT WAS.
SO IF YOU SEE UNDER EARLY EDUCATION CENTERS, WE PUT PRESCHOOL.
AND I DO WANNA SHARE WITH YOU, I'M NOT SURE IF WE SHARED IT AS ONE OF YOUR RECOMMENDATIONS.
WE DID CREATE A ONE PAGER OF WHAT THOSE PROGRAMS ARE AND, UM, WHO CAN ENROLL IN THOSE PROGRAMS. SO I'M NOT SURE IF WE SHARED THAT WITH YOU YET.
UM, BUT I WILL SHARE IT AFTER THE MEETING.
IT'S VERY SIMILAR TO WHAT YOU SEE HERE, BUT IT HAS A LITTLE BIT MORE DETAIL.
AND THE REASON WE'RE CALLING OUR PRESCHOOL PROGRAMS ON ELEMENTARY SCHOOL CAMPUSES, PRESCHOOL PROGRAMS AND NOT CALIFORNIA STATE PRESCHOOL IS BECAUSE WE'RE TRYING TO STANDARDIZE PRESCHOOL.
SO THAT'S OUR GOAL TO STANDARDIZE IT AS PRESCHOOL BECAUSE WE UNDERSTAND THAT FAMILIES AREN'T UNDERSTANDING WHAT, WHAT WE'RE OFFERING.
AND I KNOW, AND I APPRECIATE, UM, BUILDING OFF THE SUGGESTIONS FROM THE COMMITTEE, THINGS LIKE THE DIRECT MAILERS.
I'M CURIOUS TOO, IF WE DONE FOCUS GROUPS, YOU KNOW, I WOULD LIKE, I'D BE CURIOUS TO TAKING A GROUP OF NEWLY ENROLLED 2-YEAR-OLD PARENTS AND SAYING LIKE, WHERE WERE YOU LAST YEAR? LIKE, WHERE WAS YOUR CHILD LAST YEAR? AND THEN REALLY MAKING THAT OUR EFFORT TO TARGET THE, WHATEVER THEIR ANSWERS ARE, LIKE OVER THE NEXT YEAR WE TARGET, IS IT THERE A GROUP OF CHILDCARE PROVIDERS? ARE THERE LOCAL PARKS THAT WE CAN FLY? I MEAN, REALLY JUST GETTING A SENSE OF WHERE WERE YOU BEFORE AND HOW YOU LEARN ABOUT THIS.
SO ARE, ARE WE DOING ANY FOCUS GROUPS CURRENTLY? WE ARE NOT DOING FOCUS GROUPS CURRENTLY, BUT THAT IS IN OUR PLAN AND WE'RE GONNA TALK ABOUT THAT NEXT AND WE CAN ADD THAT TO OUR, TO OUR PLAN AS WELL.
AGAIN, A LOT OF THIS IS ANECDOTAL BECAUSE WE'RE HEARING FROM PARENTS, BUT WHEN WE HAD PARENTS TRY TO ENROLL AT ONE OF MY EARLY ED CENTERS AND THERE WAS STACKS OF PAPERWORK THAT WERE, WE REACHED OUT TO RENEE IN HER OFFICE
[00:35:01]
AND YOU WERE ABLE TO VERY QUICKLY JUST MAKE IT A FILLABLE PDF, UM, WHICH IS A GREAT KIND OF INTERIM STEP.BUT I'M CURIOUS WHEN IT COMES TO OUR ONLINE ENROLLMENT SYSTEM, AND I KNOW THERE'S UNIFIED ENROLLMENT, BUT THIS IS EARLY ED.
LIKE, CAN YOU SHARE WHERE WE ARE IN THE PROGRESS OF BOTH DIGITIZING IT AND KIND OF CREATING ONE CENTRAL HUB FOR FAMILIES? SO BECAUSE OF THE COMPLEXITIES OF ALL THE DIFFERENT FORMS, WE ARE WORKING WITH, UM, THE TEAM AND WE ARE DIGITIZING THOSE FORMS AND WE WILL BE PART OF THAT ENROLLMENT PROCESS.
WE'RE JUST CLARIFYING SOME OF WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN YOU'RE A WORKING PARENT? HOW DO YOU GET THIS FORM AND NOT THE SCHOOL FORM AND NOT THE, UM, SEEKING EMPLOYMENT FORM.
SO THAT'S WHAT THEY'RE WORKING THROUGH RIGHT NOW.
BUT WE HAVE BEEN MEETING ON A REGULAR BASIS TO REVIEW THE FORMS THAT ARE REQUIRED BY THE STATE.
AND, UH, KEEP US APPRISED AND LET US KNOW HOW WE CAN HELP ON THE IT FRONT.
'CAUSE I WILL SAY, EVEN JUST BEING, I WAS AT THE ED, THE, THE VINE STREET EARLY ED CENTER PRESCHOOL WITH A GROUP OF PARENTS AND LIKE SEEING THEM GET THAT PACKETS AND SEEING THEIR FACE, I WAS LIKE, OKAY, WAIT, THIS IS, AND THEN YOU WERE ABLE TO VERY QUICKLY JUST SEND THEM FILLABLE PDFS, WHICH IS SO MUCH EASIER.
BUT STILL THE NEXT STEP SHOULD BE KIND OF THE FULL DIGITIZATION BECAUSE THEN YOU CAN ALSO SAVE IT AND ALL THAT.
AND TO THAT POINT, AND MY LAST COMMENT IS WHEN YOU WERE MENTIONING ENROLL NOW.
SO I WENT, YOU KNOW, AS YOU'RE SPEAKING TO ENROLL NOW TO ENROLL NOW.
AND THEN IT SAYS CHOOSE YOUR PATHWAY.
AND I WENT TO PRESCHOOL AND THEN I SCROLLED DOWN AND WENT TO ENROLL NOW.
AND I PUT IN MY ADDRESS IN PRESCHOOL AND I FOUND SOME NEIGHBORHOOD, UH, OPTIONS.
BUT THEN WHEN I CLICKED ON IT AND THEN I SAID, SCROLL DOWN TO HOW TO ATTEND, ATTEND, IT TAKES ME BACK TO THAT ORIGINAL ENROLL NOW WEBSITE.
UM, AND SO IN THOSE INSTANCES, IT MIGHT BE BECAUSE WE'RE, THOSE AREN'T ON UNIFIED ENROLLMENT, BUT I COULD SEE PARENTS BEING FRUSTRATED 'CAUSE IT LITERALLY JUST LIKE, IS THIS, UH, ENDLESS CYCLE OF I'LL REACH OUT TO THEM.
SO LET, LIKE IT'S, SO THE FIRST PART WAS GREAT IN TERMS OF PRESCHOOL, PUT IN MY ADDRESS, IT HAD OPTIONS.
AND THEN WHEN YOU GET TO THE ACTUAL SCHOOL AND THIS CREATES, YOU KNOW, JUST KEEP USING VINE, BUT UH, VINE, IT TALKS ABOUT IT AND THEN YOU GO DOWN TO ATTEND AND IT TAKES YOU BACK TO THAT ORIGINAL WEBSITE.
I WILL REACH OUT TO THE OFFICE AND IT'S PROBABLY BECAUSE IT'S NOT READY YET, BUT I WILL FIND OUT.
BUT I, I WANT, I MEAN, WELL THERE'S MORE WORK TO DO.
I JUST WANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE ALL THE, THE PROGRESS THAT'S BEEN MADE.
AND IT HAS BEEN GREAT BOTH TALKING TO NEWLY ENROLLED FAMILIES AND BEING THERE AND SEEING THOSE BANNERS, UM, THAT YOU'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT AND SEEING MORE ADVERTISEMENTS.
AND I THINK JUST TAKING, YOU KNOW, CONTINUING TO IMPROVE AND BEING A LITTLE MORE TARGETED WOULD BE HELPFUL.
I KNOW WHEN I WAS LOOKING AT MY NOTES FOR THIS COMMITTEE MEETING BEFORE IT WAS RESCHEDULED, IT WAS PRIOR TO OUR PASSING THE RESOLUTION.
SO I WAS TALKING ABOUT WHY WE NEED THE RESOLUTION NOW IT'S PASSED.
AND SO IT JUST DOVETAILS VERY NICELY WITH US.
WELL, I AGREE WITH, UM, WHAT EVERYONE ELSE HAS RAISED.
I THINK THAT WE'VE MADE GREAT PROGRESS.
IT'S EXCITING TO SEE THE MAILERS, THE SOCIAL MEDIA ADS.
I THINK, UM, WHAT BRENDA SUGGESTED AROUND THE PARENT TESTIMONIALS WOULD BE GREAT ON SOCIAL MEDIA BECAUSE I THINK HAVING ANOTHER PARENT'S RECOMMENDATION FOR ME AS A PARENT IS LIKE, WHAT I VALUE MORE, WHERE DO YOU GO FOR SWIM LESSONS? WHICH PARK CLASSES DO YOU LIKE? HEARING IT FROM ANOTHER PARENT I THINK IS ONE OF THE MOST REASSURING THINGS.
SO I, I THINK THAT'S A GREAT SUGGESTION ON THE FORMS. I DID JUST WANNA FOLLOW UP.
AND HAPPY TO UPLIFT THIS WITH, IN MY MEETINGS WITH LEGISLATORS.
WE KNOW LIKE THE WOMEN'S CAUCUS IS VERY FOCUSED ON, UM, ACCESS TO EARLY EDUCATION.
SO, UM, MAYBE THAT'S, WE CAN WORK WITH THEM, UM, AS A PARTICULAR FOCUS.
IT DOES SAY ADDITIONAL DISTRICT REQUIRED FORMS. CAN YOU SPEAK TO LIKE, ARE MOST OF THE PA IS MOST OF THE PAPERWORK THE STATE REQUIREMENTS, HOW MANY ADDITIONAL FORMS DO WE REQUIRE? MOST OF IT, SO MOST OF IT ARE THE STATE FORMS, BUT WE, WE REQUIRE THE, UM, PHOTO RELEASE FORM MM-HMM
AND THAT'S ALL I CAN THINK OF RIGHT NOW.
WE DON'T, IT'S NOT, THE MAJORITY OF THEM ARE THE STATE FORMS. OKAY.
UM, I, AND I, YOU KNOW, I KNOW RENEE KNOWS THAT I RECENTLY, IN THE LAST FOUR MONTHS ENROLLED MY, MY YOUNGEST AND YEAH, IT TOOK ME PROBABLY ABOUT A MONTH TO FILL OUT THE PAPERWORK MOSTLY.
'CAUSE I HAVE A LOT OF THINGS IN MY PLACE.
BUT WHAT WE, WHAT WE FIND THAT FAMILIES STRUGGLE WITH IS GETTING THAT PHYSICAL MM-HMM
RIGHT? SO THEY'LL SAY, OH, NOW I HAVE TO WAIT THREE MONTHS TO GET A PHYSICAL.
SO WE HAVE BEEN PARTNERING WITH OUR NURSING SERVICES, UM, AND WE HAVE BEEN DOING MOBILE PHYSICAL CLINICS AT OUR CENTERS WHERE THE DISTRICT HAS PARTNERSHIPS WITH CLINICS THAT ARE ABLE TO DO THAT.
SO THAT HAS BEEN SUCCESSFUL AND WE LOOK TO EXPAND THAT.
SO WE ARE WORKING VERY CLOSELY WITH THEM.
YEAH, I THINK THAT THAT'S GREAT TO HEAR.
AND I THINK THAT KIND OF PARTNERSHIP IS ESPECIALLY IMPORTANT.
YOU KNOW, WE KNOW SOME OF OUR FAMILIES ARE AFRAID TO GO TO DOCTOR'S OFFICES EVEN, AND I KNOW I WAS HEARING A LOT OF THIS FROM ALL OF OUR SCHOOLS AT THE BEGINNING OF THE YEAR, THAT THAT PHYSICAL WAS A BARRIER FOR OUR IMMIGRANT FAMILIES.
SO I THINK UTILIZING MOBILE, MOBILE CLINICS IS GREAT.
OUR DISTRICT WELLNESS CENTERS, LIKE WHEREVER WE HAVE A TRUSTED PLACE WHERE FAMILIES CAN GO, UM, ON THE ENROLLMENT FRONT.
AND YES, IT'S GREAT TO SEE LIKE 90%, THIS IS HUGE PROGRESS.
AND WE DO HAVE THE, I MEAN, WE KNOW THERE'S DECLINING BIRTH RATES IN LOS ANGELES THAT MANY OF OUR FAMILIES ARE BEING PUSHED OUT BECAUSE OF HIGH COSTS.
AND ALSO THAT, YOU KNOW, THE MAJORITY OF ENROLLMENT CONTINUES TO BE
[00:40:01]
FOUR YEAR OLDS, BUT MANY, MANY FOUR YEAR OLDS ARE IN TK NOW.SO THERE ARE SOME PRETTY SIGNIFICANT STRUCTURAL CHALLENGES THAT WE'RE FACING.
BUT I JUST WANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE AND APPRECIATE YOUR TEAM, ALL OF THE AMAZING STAFF AT OUR EARLY ED CENTERS WHO HAVE HELPED US MAKE THIS PROGRESS.
UM, ONE THING I NOTED IS THE CSPP ENROLLMENT IS LIKE, IT'S PRETTY FLAT AND ACTUALLY LOWER THAN LIKE 2022, FOR EXAMPLE.
UM, WHAT DO YOU THINK MIGHT BE GOING ON THERE? IS IT THE, IS IT THE SCHOOL YEAR CALENDAR THAT MIGHT BE A BARRIER OR, OR ANY THOUGHTS ON THAT? SO WHEN WE INITIALLY SAW THAT, WE THOUGHT IT WAS BECAUSE THEY WERE THREE HOUR PROGRAMS. SO WE INCREASED THEM TO FULL DAY PROGRAMS, THEIR SIX AND A HALF HOUR DAY PROGRAMS. BUT TK HAS REALLY TAKEN A BIG IMPACT ON OUR 4-YEAR-OLD, ON OUR CSPP BECAUSE TYPICALLY OUR CSPP WAS FOUR YEAR OLDS AND A FEW THREE YEAR OLDS.
SO NOW THEY'RE HAVING TO GO TO THREE YEAR OLDS.
AND IF THE THREE YEAR OLDS AREN'T IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD, OR AS WE'RE MAKING THAT SWITCH TO THOSE THREE YEAR OLDS, WE NEED TO INFORM FAMILIES.
AND NOW WE'RE LOOKING AT TWO YEAR OLDS, BUT SOME OF OUR, AN ELEMENTARY CAMPUS IS DIFFERENT TO TAKE YOUR TWO YEAR OLDS THAN TO AN EARLY EDUCATION CENTER MM-HMM
SO WE DON'T HAVE MANY OF THEM TAKING THE TWO YEAR OLDS, BUT WE DID UPDATE LICENSES TO BE ABLE TO INCLUDE THOSE TWO YEAR OLDS AT THE CSPS.
SO IT IS SOMETHING THAT WE ARE GOING TO FOCUS ON THIS YEAR, LOOKING AT UPLIFTING THAT ENROLLMENT SO THAT WE CAN GET MORE STUDENTS IN THAT REALLY CREATING THAT FEEDER PATTERN FOR OUR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS.
IF THEY CAN GET THOSE TWOS AND THREES IN, THEN THEY, OH, EXCUSE ME.
THEN THEY CAN TRANSITION TO THEIR TK AND THEN INTO KINDERGARTEN.
IT'S ALL ON ONE CAMPUS FOR SURE.
SO IT IS SOMETHING THAT WE DO HAVE TO WORK ON.
AND, AND I THINK THAT HISTORICAL UNDERSTANDING OF LIKE, IT HASN'T ALWAYS SERVED THESE AGE, SO THE SAME INTENTIONAL EFFORT THAT WE'VE MADE AROUND THE EEC THAT WE ARE TAKING TWO YEAR OLDS AND THEY DON'T HAVE TO BE POTTY TRAINED.
LIKE WE NEED TO DO THE SAME SORT OF MESSAGING CAMPAIGN.
AND I SEE THIS AS A HUGE BENEFIT FOR FAMILIES WITH MULTIPLE CHILDREN TO BE ABLE TO HAVE THEM ALL ON ONE SITE.
UM, SO, UH, HOPEFULLY WE CAN, WE CAN FOCUS IN ON, ON THOSE FAMILIES.
UM, TRYING TO SEE IF I HAD ANY MORE QUESTIONS.
AND PLEASE SHARE THE ONE PAGER.
I THINK IT I'LL, AS WE INTERACT WITH FAMILIES, LIKE I THINK THERE CONTINUES TO BE SOME CONFUSION AROUND LIKE, WELL, WHICH PROGRAM AM I ELIGIBLE FOR? WHAT ARE THE COSTS? WHICH ONES ARE NO COST, WHICH ONES ARE LOW COST? SO I THINK IT WOULD BE GREAT TO BE ABLE TO JUST ALL BE MESSENGERS AND AMBASSADORS FOR OUR PROGRAMS. THANK YOU.
AND THE QUESTIONS ABOUT LIKE HOW DO WE GET THE WORD OUT TO PROSPECTIVE FAMILIES, HOW DO WE SUPPORT THEM? I THINK TRANSITIONS REALLY NICELY TO OUR SECOND TOPIC FOR TODAY.
SO WE'RE GONNA BE DISCUSSING AN INITIATIVE TO SUPPORT FAMILIES FROM BIRTH TO SCHOOL ENTRY.
SO EVEN OUR BABIES WHO ARE NOT YET, UH, TWO YEARS OLD.
UM, AND FOR THAT I'M EXCITED THAT
[II.2. Reaching and Supporting LAUSD Families Starting at Birth]
OUR COMMITTEE MEMBER AS HERNANDEZ FROM FAMILIES AND SCHOOL, UM, IS GOING TO BE PRESENTING WITH OUR EARLY EDUCATION TEAM.SO I'LL PASS IT OVER TO YOU ALL FOR OUR SECOND PRESENTATION.
UM, IT'S NICE BEING ON THIS SIDE AS WELL.
THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO SHARE TODAY.
UH, TODAY WE'RE SHARING AN EARLY STAGE VISION FOR HOW L-A-U-S-D CAN BUILD STRONGER RELATIONSHIPS WITH FAMILIES STARTING AT BIRTH, UH, BY CREATING PATHWAYS THAT HELP CHILDREN ENTER SCHOOL HEALTHY, CONNECTED, AND READY TO LEARN.
THIS IS AFTER A ONE YEAR, UH, ALMOST ONE YEAR COLLABORATION WITH L-A-U-S-D WHERE FAMILIES IN SCHOOLS, THROUGH AN INVESTMENT FROM FIRST FIVE LA WAS ABLE TO SIT DOWN AND BEGIN TO DREAM OF WHAT THIS COULD LOOK LIKE.
WHAT COULD WE LOOK, WHAT COULD WE DO IF WE WERE REACHING FAMILIES, STARTING AT BIRTH.
UM, THAT INCLUDED RESEARCH AND TALKING TO EXPERTS THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY, UM, TO LEARN BEST PRACTICES.
UH, WHAT LED TO A CONVENING IN APRIL WHERE MANY OF OUR PARTNERS HERE AND CROSS-SECTOR PARTNERS CAME TOGETHER TO LOOK AT A DRAFT PLAN THAT WE CREATED, UM, WHERE WE KNOW THAT THERE'S SO MANY SYSTEMS WORKING TO REACH FAMILIES, BUT THEY'RE NOT ALWAYS WORKING TOGETHER.
SO THAT'S REALLY THE INTENTION BEHIND IT.
UM, THIS WORK ALREADY, IT ALSO BUILDS ON THE DISTRICT'S COMMITMENT TO EARLY LEARNING, FAMILY ENGAGEMENT AND THE LEARNING BEGINS AT BIRTH RESOLUTION WHILE ALSO RECOGNIZING THAT FAMILIES ARE ALREADY INTERACTING WITH TRUSTED SYSTEMS LONG BEFORE THEY INTERACT WITH SCHOOLS.
WE KNOW THAT FAMILY ENGAGEMENT BEGINS, UM, AT BIRTH BEFORE A CHILD ENTERS T CARE KINDERGARTEN AND THAT FAMILIES ARE A CHILD'S FIRST TEACHERS ADVOCATES AND STRONGEST SOURCE OF SUPPORT.
SO OUR GOAL IS TO DEVELOP A SHARED DISTRICT COMMITMENT, UM, TO SHARE A DISTRICT-WIDE FAMILY ENGAGEMENT INFRASTRUCTURE THAT REACHES FAMILIES AND SUPPORTS THEM EARLY AND CONSISTENTLY.
UM, I THINK WE'RE THE NEXT SLIDE.
THIS APPROACH ASKS WHAT WOULD IT LOOK LIKE FOR FAMILIES EXPERIENCE A COORDINATED NETWORK OF SUPPORT FROM BIRTH THROUGH SCHOOL ENTRY? AND AT ITS CORE, THIS EFFORT IS ABOUT BUILDING TRUST, PROVIDING FAMILIES WITH MEANINGFUL TOOLS AND RESOURCES,
[00:45:01]
STRENGTHENING TRANSITIONS INTO PRESCHOOL AND TK, AND EMBEDDING FAMILY ENGAGEMENT AS A FOUNDATIONAL STRATEGY RATHER THAN AN ADD-ON.OUR VISION IS SIMPLE BUT AMBITIOUS.
UH, EVERY CHILD BORN WITH AN LA'S BOUNDARIES ENTER SCHOOL HEALTHY, SUPPORTED AND READY TO LEARN BECAUSE FAMILIES ARE ENGAGED, INFORMED, AND CONNECTED FROM DAY ONE.
WHAT REALLY EXCITES ME ABOUT THIS PLAN, UH, AND THIS VISION IS THAT IT SHIFTS THE CONVERSATIONS FROM SCHOOL READINESS AS SOMETHING A CHILDREN, UM, CHILDREN NEED TO ACHIEVE TO CREATING THE CONDITIONS THAT HELP FAMILIES THRIVE AGAIN, EVEN BEFORE THEY ENTER L-A-U-S-D.
UH, THIS VISION ALSO RECOGNIZES THAT READINESS IS SHARED IS A SHARED RESPONSIBILITY.
UH, WHEN I MENTIONED THOSE CROSS-SECTOR PARTNERS, WE HEARD, UM, UNANIMOUSLY THAT THIS PLAN WAS WHAT WAS NEEDED TO BRIDGE SOME OF THE EFFORTS FROM OUR LOCAL AND COUNTY PARTNERS.
UM, AND TODAY'S CONVERSATION IS LESS ABOUT PRESENTING A FINISHED PLAN, BUT SHARING WHERE WE ARE.
UM, AND WITH THAT VISION IN MIND, WE'VE IDENTIFIED SEVERAL AREAS THAT WE'D LIKE TO EXPLORE PARTNERS AND STAKEHOLDERS ACROSS THE DISTRICT AND COMMUNITY.
SO I'LL PASS IT OVER TO RENE TO SHARE.
SO AS YOU CAN IMAGINE, THIS IS A BIG TASK, RIGHT? AS WE SAT AT THAT CONVENING AND WE TALKED TO EVERYBODY AND LEARNED, UM, I LEARNED A LOT OF THINGS THAT L-A-U-S-D IS DOING ALREADY THAT I WASN'T AWARE OF, UM, AS WELL AS COUNTY PARTNERS.
UM, SO WE ARE MEETING WITH COUNTY PARTNERS.
IF YOU LOOK UP, IF YOU LOOK AT THE SLIDE, REALLY LOOKING AT COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS, WHAT'S ALREADY HAPPENING IN OUR COMMUNITIES THAT WE CAN TAP INTO AND SHARE THAT INFORMATION WITH OUR FAMILIES.
HOW DO WE CONNECT THOSE RESOURCES RATHER THAN DUPLICATING RESOURCES? UM, HOW DO WE CONNECT THEM FOR FAMILIES AND MAKE THEM AWARE OF IT? AND THEN LOOKING AT THAT HYBRID HOME VISITING PROGRAMS, THERE ARE ALREADY MANY OF THOSE PROGRAMS GOING ON.
HOW DO WE GIVE THEM THE INFORMATION TO BE ABLE TO GIVE TO FAMILIES AS THEY'RE MEETING, AS THEY'RE VISITING THOSE FAMILIES ON A REGULAR BASIS? AND THEN WE'RE LOOKING AT BEING ABLE TO CREATE A BABY AND ME LEARNING HUB AND WE'RE GONNA CHANGE THE NAME FROM LEARNING HUB AS WE'RE MEETING WITH OUR PARTNERS.
THEY TOLD US THAT HUB IS NOT A GOOD WORD, SO WE'RE PLAYING WITH WHAT WE'RE GOING TO CALL IT, BUT REALLY A CENTRAL LOCATION.
YOU KNOW, OUR EARLY CENTERS CENTRAL LOCATION, SOME OF THEM ARE SET UP PERFECTLY, THEY ALREADY HAVE CLINICS CLOSE BY.
WHERE CAN FAMILIES GO TO GET THAT INFORMATION? AND IN ORDER TO DO THAT, WE ARE, UM, WE'RE GONNA BE TALKING ABOUT A SURVEY THAT WE'RE DOING TO HAVE FAMILIES TELL US WHAT THEY NEED, WHAT INFORMATION IS IT THAT THEY NEED, WHAT ARE THEIR NEEDS, AND HOW WE CAN MEET THOSE NEEDS.
SO OUR IDEA AROUND THAT LEARNING HUB IS DOING BABY AND ME CLASSES.
DO WE DO BABY AND ME CLASSES THROUGH YOUTUBE.
SO FAMILIES DON'T HAVE TO COME DO, WE PROVIDE OPPORTUNITIES FOR FAMILIES TO COME IN AND HAVE SOME OF THAT, UM, LEARNING WITH THEIR CHILD AND ENJOY SOME OF THAT TIME ON OUR CAMPUSES.
AND THEN REALLY LOOKING AT BUILDING THOSE TRANSITIONS FROM PRESCHOOL INTO KINDER OR INTO TK AND WORKING WITH OUR LOCAL ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS, WE ARE ROLLING OUT, UM, A TRANSITION PLAN AND ARTICULATION PLAN WITH A VARIETY OF RESOURCES FOR PRINCIPALS TO BE ABLE TO USE TO INVITE EARLY EDUCATION CENTER FAMILIES ONTO THEIR ELEMENTARY CAMP CAMPUSES.
SO OUR FAMILIES TRANSITION INTO OUR LA UNIFIED SCHOOLS.
AND THEN POLICY COLLABORATION, UM, DEFINITELY WORKING ON ESTABLISHING, LOOKING AT WORK GROUPS AND MEETING WITH DIFFERENT, UM, COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS.
AND THEN LOOKING AT REALLY THAT CULTURAL RESPONSIVENESS, REALLY BEING ABLE TO SUPPORT RIGHT AND, AND MAKING THAT CLEAR AT THE FOREFRONT OF OUR, UM, PROGRAM AND THEN THAT SUSTAINABLE FUNDING.
WHAT DOES THIS LOOK LIKE AND HOW DO WE SUSTAIN THIS SO FAMILIES CAN CONTINUE TO REACH OUT AND RECEIVE THE SUPPORT THAT THEY NEED.
SO OUR CORE VALUES, AGAIN, UM, EQUITY IS ALWAYS AT THE CENTER AS A CORE VALUE.
UM, DEFINITELY WE KNOW FAMILIES KNOW THEIR CHILDREN BEST, SO WE WANT THAT INPUT, THAT FEEDBACK FROM FAMILIES.
AND THEN CULTURE, DEFINITELY MAKING IT CULTURALLY RESPONSIVE AND THEN FOCUSING ON CARE AS WE TALKED ABOUT OUR 2-YEAR-OLD, OUR YOUNGEST LEARNERS, DEFINITELY THAT LOOKING ON THAT CARE.
HOW DO WE PARTNER WITH FAMILIES? AND THEN LOOKING AT MEETING THEM AT BIRTH AND PROVIDING THEM THOSE OPPORTUNITIES.
LOOKING AT, UM, WE'RE HERE TO SUPPORT YOU.
THESE ARE AVAILABLE WITHIN YOUR COMMUNITIES.
AND WE HEARD THAT AT OUR CONVENING FROM FAMILIES, FROM PARENTS WHO ARE AT THAT CONVENING SAYING, I WISH I WOULD'VE KNOWN OR I WISH I WOULD'VE HAD SOMEONE THAT I CAN TALK TO.
AND THEN DEFINITELY LOOKING AT THAT COMMUNITY LEADERSHIP AND BEING ABLE TO PARTNER WITH, UM, COMMUNITY LEADERS AND BRING IT INTO THE COMMUNITIES WHERE FAMILIES ARE SO THEY DON'T HAVE TO GO SOMEWHERE ELSE TO LOOK FOR THAT.
SO IT'S A LOT OF COLLABORATION, A LOT OF LEARNING
[00:50:01]
ABOUT WHAT PARTNERS ARE ALREADY DOING AND FIGURING OUT HOW TO CONNECT THOSE DOTS.OUR GOAL IS TO OPEN ONE OF OUR LEARNING HUBS, OUR, UM, LEARNING ONE OF OUR CENTERS, UM, OUR RESOURCE CENTERS, UM, WHATEVER WE DECIDE THAT WE'RE GOING TO CALL IT, UM, BY THE MIDDLE OF THE NEXT SCHOOL YEAR ONCE WE CONNECT ALL OF THE RESOURCES.
SO ONE WAY THAT WE ARE TRYING TO GET INPUT FROM THE COMMUNITY AND GET SOME FEEDBACK FROM THEM IS WE'VE DEVELOPED A SURVEY AND I'M GOING TO HAVE, UM, MARY MELVIN COME UP AND TALK TO YOU A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE SURVEY.
SO WE'VE TRIED TO CREATE A REALLY SIMPLE SURVEY TO SHARE WITH OUR FAMILIES, AND OUR GOAL ULTIMATELY IS TO SHARE IT NOT WITH OUR FAMILIES, BUT WITH OTHER FAMILIES THAT WE DON'T KNOW.
AND SO THAT'S PART OF WHY WE'VE TRIED TO CREATE SOMETHING THAT'S THREE QUESTIONS LONG, GIVES 'EM A LITTLE SNAPSHOT OF WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT TO TRY AND GATHER THAT INFORMATION.
SO WE WANTED TO SHARE IT WITH YOU ALL.
IF YOU WOULD INDULGE US AND TAKE TWO MINUTES AND ACTUALLY TAKE A LOOK AT THE SURVEY, UM, YOU CAN CERTAINLY DO IT AT YOUR LEISURE, BUT IF YOU WOULDN'T MIND TAKING A MINUTE NOW, AND IF THERE'S ANYTHING WE'VE OVERLOOKED IN THE SURVEY BEFORE IT GOES LIVE, WE'D LOVE YOUR FEEDBACK ON IT.
SO WE'VE TRIED TO ALIGN IT, SO WE ARE ASKING IF YOU'RE AN LA UNIFIED PARENT BECAUSE IT MAY GO TO LA UNIFIED PARENTS OR IF YOU'RE A UNIFIED EMPLOYEE.
AND THEN OF COURSE, IF YOU'RE NOT, UM, OUR GOAL IS TO FIND OUT WHAT RESOURCES WOULD BE VALUABLE FOR YOU.
EVEN IF YOU'RE NOT A PARENT, YOU MIGHT BE A GRANDPARENT WHO'S TAKING CARE OF YOUR GRANDCHILDREN AND THESE RESOURCES WOULD BE HELPFUL.
SO WE'VE TRIED TO MAKE IT OPEN-ENDED, BUT WE WOULD LOVE YOUR FEEDBACK ON IT.
IF THERE'S ANYTHING THAT YOU'D LIKE TO ADD, I WILL SHARE THAT WE SHARED IT WITH OUR LABOR PARTNERS AND ONE OF THEIR FIRST CONCERNS WAS, IT'S A LITTLE WORDY, I APOLOGIZE, I'M NOTORIOUS FOR BEING WORDY, SO I WILL WORK ON THAT.
WE'LL CUT IT BACK, BUT I WANTED YOU TO HAVE ALL THE INFORMATION YOU NEED.
WE'VE ALREADY DONE SEVERAL EDITS, BUT I DID WANNA SHARE IT WITH YOU ALL IN ITS ORIGINAL FORM.
I THINK WE'RE ALL DOING IT RIGHT NOW.
I, THAT'S, I'D GIVE YOU A MINUTE.
SO MAYBE WE'LL GIVE FOLKS LIKE ANOTHER MINUTE IF YOU WANNA LOOK UP WHEN YOU'RE DONE SO THAT WE KNOW YOU HAVE CONCLUDED THIS
[00:55:01]
CLASSWORK EXERCISE.DO YOU WANNA, DO YOU HAVE ANY FEEDBACK YOU WANNA OFFER? YEAH, I JUST HAD A THOUGHT ACTUALLY.
UM, UH, HOW TO MAKE THE TRANSITION EASY FROM DAYCARE TO PRESCHOOL.
A LOT OF DAYCARES HAVE APPS WHERE THEY'RE POSTING PICTURES, THEY TELL YOU HOW THEY RESTED ABOUT THEIR, YOU KNOW, POTTY ACTIVITIES.
AND NOT THAT DOJO DOES THE SAME THING, BUT IT HELPS TO KNOW THAT LIKE, OH, THERE WILL BE PHOTOS OF MY KIDS.
I DIDN'T, YOU KNOW, GO FROM GETTING FIVE A DAY TO NOW, LIKE NONE AN ENTIRE SEMESTER.
UM, BUT IT ALSO MADE ME THINK OF ANOTHER APP THAT WE HAVEN'T TALKED ABOUT IN THIS PAGE, WHICH IS THE, THE YUM YUMMY APP.
I CHECK IT ALL THE TIME, YOU KNOW, WHAT IS MY KID EATING TODAY? UM, SO I DON'T KNOW IF THAT'S LIKE BEING ADVERTISED OR PEOPLE ARE USING THAT, BUT UM, THAT'S ANOTHER THING, LIKE, YOU KNOW, WHAT'S BEING OFFERED FOR BREAKFAST AND LUNCH.
I WILL SAY LAST YEAR THEY HAD TOO MANY OF THE LIKE GRAHAM CHARACTER SNACKS IN THE AFTERNOON AND LIKE IT'S, I'VE NOTICED IT GONE DOWN.
AND ALSO THERE WAS LIKE CEREAL TWICE A WEEK LAST YEAR.
AND THIS YEAR IT'S ONLY ONCE A WEEK.
SO LIKE, I ALSO JUST APPRECIATE LIKE SEEING THAT THEY'RE BEING RESPONSIVE TO FEEDBACK.
UM, OR MAYBE THAT'S JUST THE BOARD MEMBER WEIGHING IN ON THINGS.
UM, BUT YEAH, I, I THINK, YOU KNOW, WHEN, WHEN YOU'RE MAKING THAT TRANSITION FOR YOUNG KIDS IN PARTICULAR, IT IS SO MUCH ABOUT LIKE, WHAT IS THEIR DAILY ROUTINE LIKE, AND HOW DO I REALLY UNDERSTAND THAT? SURE.
YOU CAN SEE THE, LIKE, SCHEDULE ON THE WALL.
UM, BUT I, I THINK TO THE POINT ABOUT LIKE VIDEOS OR TESTIMONIALS, LIKE WHAT DOES IT ACTUALLY LOOK LIKE WHEN THEY'RE DOING OUTSIDE PLAY? LIKE WHAT, WHAT DOES THE NAP STRUCTURE LOOK LIKE? THE THE COT AT, UM, DAYCARE MIGHT BE DIFFERENT THAN, OR, YOU KNOW, EVEN THE CRIB AT DAYCARE MIGHT BE DIFFERENT THAN THE COT WE'RE DOING AT PRESCHOOL.
SO JUST LIKE REALLY MAKING IT TANGIBLE FOR PEOPLE TO UNDERSTAND LIKE WHAT THE FULL DAY LOOKS LIKE.
WE'RE HOPING TO UTILIZE LEARNING GENIE FOR SOME OF THOSE CAPACITIES TOO, BECAUSE YOU CAN TAKE IMAGES AS WELL.
IT'S NOT QUITE AS INTERACTIVE, BUT THANK YOU.
YEAH, AND THOSE ARE TOPICS THAT HAVE COME UP IN OUR COMMITTEE BEFORE, AS SOME OF US PERSONALLY HAVE SMALL CHILDREN WHO ARE TRANSITIONING INTO OUR EARLY ED CENTERS.
JUST ENSURING THAT THAT PARENT COMMUNICATION COMPONENT IS THERE AND PARENTS KNOW WHAT TO EXPECT.
ANYONE ELSE WITH THOUGHTS? IT LOOKS LIKE WE'VE ALL COMPLETED THIS, THE THOUGHT EXCHANGE.
DOES ANYONE ELSE HAVE THOUGHTS OR FEEDBACK? AND THE INTENTION, I ASSUME, IS THIS THOUGHT EXCHANGE IS GOING TO HELP US IMPLEMENT THE LEARNING BEGINS AT BIRTH RESOLUTION.
SO WHILE WE'RE THINKING ABOUT WHERE DO WE WANNA EXPAND PROGRAMS, WHAT TYPES OF PROGRAMS? SO JUST, YOU KNOW, KEEP THAT CONTEXT IN MIND.
ANYONE WANNA OFFER ANY THOUGHTS? JUN LET'S GO AHEAD.
UM, I HAVE A QUESTION AROUND HOW THIS SURVEY IS BEING SHARED TO.
HOW ARE YOU REACHING PARENTS? IT HASN'T BEEN SHARED YET BECAUSE WE WANTED TO FULLY VET IT, BUT OUR NEXT GOAL IS WE'RE GOING TO SHARE IT INTERNALLY.
SO WE'RE GOING TO SHARE IT OUT THROUGH OUR SITES.
SO THAT'LL GIVE US DATA WITH OUR FAMILIES, SO ARE THERE ADDITIONAL RESOURCES THAT THEY MAY WANT? THEN THE NEXT LEVEL IS, UM, AS MRS. AM MOSQUITO MENTIONED EARLIER, WE DO A GREAT DEAL OF OUTREACH IN THE EARLY ED DIVISION.
SO WE'LL GO OUT TO COMMUNITY FAIRS, TO SOCCER FIELDS, TO, UM, THE LOCAL ACTIVITIES IN THE COMMUNITY.
AND WE'VE CREATED A QR CODE THAT WILL BE ABLE TO THEN PASS OUT AND SHARE WITH FOLKS THAT AREN'T OUR FAMILIES YET, BECAUSE THAT'S OUR MAIN GOAL.
THOSE ARE THE FOLKS THAT WE WANNA DO OUTREACH TO.
WE'LL ALSO SHARE IT ON SOCIAL MEDIA.
WE'VE HAD A REALLY LARGE CAMPAIGN FOR EARLY ED, AN INCREASED CAMPAIGN FOR SOCIAL MEDIA, SO WE'D LIKE TO ADD IT THERE, ALTHOUGH EVEN THOUGH IT'S INCREASED, A LOT OF THE FAMILIES ARE STILL OUR FAMILIES.
SO OUR GOAL IS DEFINITELY TO BE ABLE TO GET IT OUTSIDE.
MS, DID I MISS ANYTHING ELSE? OH, YES.
AND I'LL JUST ADD, UM, YOU KNOW, THIS, THIS HAS BEEN A LOT OF THE THINKING, LIKE HOW DO WE REACH FAMILIES THAT ARE NOT ALREADY PART OF L-A-U-S-D? AND AGAIN, SO MANY OF US ARE INTERACTING WITH FAMILIES THROUGH OUR ORGANIZATIONS, THROUGH OUR PARTNERSHIPS.
UH, SO THIS IS AN INVITATION TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE PARTNERING OR, YOU KNOW, THE ASK FOR L-A-U-S-C, THAT THEY'RE PARTNERING WITH LOCAL PARTNERS, UM, TO BE REACHING FAMILIES, UM, AND TO, UM, BOARD MEMBER MEL'S EARLIER COMMENT AROUND FOCUS GROUPS.
UM, YOU KNOW, SO WE WERE REALLY HAPPY TO BEGIN THIS PLAN AND WE DIDN'T WANNA JUST LIKE LEAVE IT TO THE DISTRICT.
SO, UH, FAMILIES AND SCHOOLS IS GONNA CONTINUE TO SUPPORT THROUGH LISTENING SESSIONS.
SO AS THE PLAN IS BEING DEVELOPED, WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT FAMILY VOICE IS REALLY LEADING.
UM, IT MIGHT LOOK VERY DIFFERENT WITH DIFFERENT REGIONS AND DIFFERENT AREAS BECAUSE THE NEEDS ARE DIFFERENT.
SO WE'RE EXCITED THAT WE'LL BE SUPPORTING THROUGH LISTENING SESSIONS TO MAKE SURE THAT FAMILY VOICE IS INTEGRATED IN THE PLAN AND DIFFERENT COMPONENTS OF THE HUBS OR WHATEVER THEY'LL BE CALLED.
UM, JUST A QUICK FEEDBACK ON THE SURVEY ITSELF.
I THINK INSTEAD OF REGION, WE SHOULD ASK PEOPLE FOR THEIR ZIP CODE BECAUSE IF THEY'RE NOT LA UNIFIED FAMILIES, THEY DON'T KNOW WHAT REGION IT IS.
AND THEN ZIP CODE CAN ALSO MAKE IT MORE NARROW FOR WHERE WE ACTUALLY DO NEED TO OPEN MORE CENTERS.
THE ONE, UH, BIT OF FEEDBACK WE GOT WAS THAT PEOPLE HAVE BEEN HESITANT TO SHARE THAT, SO I WAS THINKING OF PERHAPS AN, UH, YOU KNOW, ANOTHER OPTION, BUT WE CAN DEFINITELY ADD IT.
YEAH, I THINK JUST THE SIZE OF THE REGIONS IS, YOU KNOW, LIKE WE'RE IN NORTH, THE VALLEY IS LIKE MANY, MANY MILES, SO THAT MIGHT NOT PROVIDE US THE MOST ACTIONABLE INPUT.
CAROLYN, DID YOU HAVE YOUR THOUGHT? I'M ALREADY AN L-A-U-S-D PARENT, SO I LIKE FILLED OUT THAT VERSION.
I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE OTHER VERSION LOOKS LIKE, SO MAYBE WE COULD MAYBE SEE IT ON PAPER THE QUESTIONS OF WHAT THE DIFFERENT VERSIONS LOOK LIKE.
[01:00:01]
BUT IF IT'S NOT ALREADY ON THERE, ONE QUESTION THAT WOULD BE IMPORTANT IS KIND OF LIKE, HOW DO YOU GET YOUR INFORMATION ABOUT CHILDCARE OPTIONS? UM, AND THEN SOMETHING THAT REALLY STOOD OUT FROM RENEE'S PRESENTATION WAS THE, UM, WORD OF MOUTH AND KIND OF TRUSTED ME MESSENGERS.SO THAT I SEE THAT AS BEING A KEY PART OF THE PLAN OF HOW ARE WE WORKING WITH OUR COMMUNITY BASED ORGANIZATIONS AND TRUSTED ME, MESSENGERS LOCAL R AND R TO FOR, YOU KNOW, TO SHARE THIS INFORMATION WITH FAMILIES ABOUT THE AVAILABILITY OF THE NEW PROGRAMS THAT ARE COMING.
AND, UM, I'M VERY EXCITED ABOUT THIS PROJECT AS WELL AS THE, UM, LEARNING BEGINS AT BIRTH RESOLUTION AND REALLY SEE A LOT OF OVERLAP AND REALLY LIKE THE COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS PIECE, UM, AS WELL AS THE, UH, HEALTH PIECE BECAUSE A LOT OF FAMILIES, YOU KNOW, THAT'S THEIR ACCESS TO INFORMATION IS AT THEIR PEDIATRIC VISITS.
SO HOW ARE WE TAPPING INTO THAT, UM, SHARING INFORMATION? I REALLY LIKE THE FOCUS ON EQUITY, THE FOCUS ON CULTURE, AND I WOULD ADD FOCUS ON LANGUAGE AND LINGUISTICALLY AND CULTURALLY, UM, SUPPORTIVE AND AFFIRMING PRACTICES FOR FAMILIES.
FOR THIS WORK, WE'VE BEEN REACHING OUT TO OUR LOCAL MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS.
UM, KAISER WAS OUR MOST RECENT APPOINTMENT AND IT'S AMAZING THE AMOUNT OF RESOURCES THEY HAVE THAT, THAT WE DON'T KNOW ABOUT THAT.
AND IF WE DON'T, PERHAPS OUR FAMILIES WON'T.
SO THEY HAVE BEEN WILLING TO SHARE OUR INFORMATION WITH THEIR EMPLOYEES AND OUR NEXT STEP IS HOPEFULLY TO HAVE IT, TO HAVE THEM SHARE IT WITH PATIENTS WHEN THEY'RE COMING TOO ULT MED, UM, AND OUR EARLY EARLIER MEETING AGREED TO PASS OUT OUR FLYERS.
SO THE MORE THAT WE HAVE THOSE MEETINGS AND MAKE THOSE CONNECTIONS, I THINK THE MORE WE CAN OFFER OUR FAMILIES.
UH, IT REMINDED ME AROUND LIKE THE SUNNY AND HOW IT, THAT ALREADY SHOWS LIKE HIGHEST NEED AREA.
SO HOW DO WE ENSURE THAT WE'RE PARTNERING WITH COMMUNITY-BASED ORGANIZATIONS IN THOSE AREAS SO THAT WE HEAR DIRECTLY FROM THOSE VOICES AS WELL, AND THEY'RE NOT, THEY'RE DEFINITELY LIKE CENTRAL TO WHO WE'RE REACHING OUT TO.
AND THEN IN TERMS OF THE SURVEY ITSELF, THERE WAS ONE LIKE WHERE WE HAD TO PRIORITIZE WHAT'S MOST IMPORTANT.
THERE WAS ONE AROUND AGE RANGE OF CHILDREN IS A QUESTION TO GET AT IF THEY WANT, LIKE MIXED AGE CLASSROOMS OR WHAT IS THE, WHAT, WHAT IS THAT FOR? IT, IT WAS LOOKING AT TWO OPTIONS.
ONE OF OUR AREAS THAT WITH CSPP, SOME PARENTS ARE VERY HESITANT TO HAVE THEIR TWO YEAR OLDS OR THEIR LITTLE CHILDREN, THEIR YOUNGER CHILDREN ON THE ELEMENTARY CAMPUS.
SO IT WAS REALLY LOOKING AT WHAT'S YOUR PRIORITY? DO YOU WANT SOMETHING THAT'S JUST FOR YOUNG CHILDREN? IS THAT GOING TO BE A PRIORITY? MAYBE YOU'RE A PARENT OF ONLY ONE CHILD.
SO THAT WOULD GIVE US THAT INFORMATION AS WELL.
I CAN FINE TUNE IT A BIT THOUGH, DON'T THINK.
YEAH, I THINK WHEN I READ IT I DIDN'T HEAR THAT.
BECAUSE I THINK I WOULD ALSO BE LIKE, OH MY, I WANT, DO I WANT MY LITTLE ONE AND LIKE A BIG SCHOOL, LIKE I DIDN'T GET THAT FROM THIS RANGE.
I WAS LIKE, OH, DO I WANT MULTIPLE AGE IN MY CLASSROOMS? I WASN'T SURE.
BRENDA SCARLET, ONLINE, PAL LOMA.
ANYONE ELSE WITH FEEDBACK ON THIS? GO AHEAD BRENDA.
I JUST WANNA SAY MAYBE ALSO, UM, THERE'S LOTS OF PARENTS AND CHILDREN, UM, AT THE DENTIST OFFICE AT THE LOCAL, YOU KNOW, DENTAL OFFICES AND UH, I THINK THAT'S A AREA THAT SOMETIMES WE IGNORE.
UM, AND THEN ALSO THERE ARE MAYBE OTHER FACILITIES THAT, UH, CATER TO, UH, THE SMALL CHILDREN WHERE PARENTS ARE THERE, UH, ON A CONSISTENT BASIS.
SO MAYBE, UH, STRATEGIZE AND, UH, MAYBE SET UP PLACES, UM, TO HAVE, UH, YOU KNOW, OPPORTUNITIES FOR THOSE PARTICULAR, UH, PARENTS IN THAT COMMUNITY.
RENEE WAS, UH, WORKING WITH ONE OF OUR EARLY ED DIRECTORS IN, UM, MAKING CONNECTIONS AT COSTCO BECAUSE YOU CAN'T BELIEVE HOW MANY LITTLE CHILDREN THERE ARE ON A REGULAR BASIS AT COSTCO, SO.
ONE MORE PIECE OF FEEDBACK ON, ON THE, THE PLAN OVERALL.
UM, I WAS AT FISS EVENT LAST NIGHT, WHICH WAS AMAZING, AND THEY GAVE US ALL BOOKS AND THAT'S SUCH A MEANINGFUL THING.
I, I KNOW AT ONE POINT WE HAD TALKED ABOUT LIKE A HOSPITAL SORT OF CARE PACKAGE.
UM, IF WE COULD ADD IN LIKE A LITTLE L-A-U-S-D, UH, YOU KNOW, BOOKMARK OR QR CODE, YOU'LL REMEMBER THAT AS A MOM LEAVING LIKE, OH, HOW SWEET MY SCHOOL DISTRICT GAVE ME SOMETHING I CAN USE FOR MY CHILD.
AND I THINK WE HAD DONE LIKE A ONESIE AND A BLANKET.
I DON'T KNOW IF WE NEED ALL OF THAT.
UM, BUT MAYBE WE CAN LOOP IN THE LUSD FOUNDATION AND GET A PARTNER TO MAYBE FUND BOOKS OR SOMETHING THAT FAMILIES NEED.
UM, BUT, UH, I DIDN'T KNOW IF IF WE HAD DROPPED THAT COMPLETELY ON THE, THE ONESIES AND THE BLANKETS OR
THAT'S WHY WE'VE BEEN MEETING WITH HOSPITALS AGAIN.
UM, AND WORKING ON A BOOKMARK THAT SAYS, CAN'T WAIT FOR YOU TO START LA UNIFIED.
SO YEAH, WITH THE QR CODE TO THE ENROLL
AND HOPEFULLY BEING ABLE TO GIVE A LITTLE BOOK TOO, SO WE'RE ABSOLUTELY STILL WORKING ON IT.
UM, I'LL GO AHEAD AND JUMP IN IF, IF NOBODY ELSE HAS ANY OTHER FEEDBACK.
ONE, JUST ON THE SURVEY I REALIZED THAT IT DOESN'T REALLY ASK ABOUT DUAL LANGUAGE PROGRAMS AT ALL, AND WE KNOW THAT THAT'S ONE OF THE MAJOR, UM, AREAS THAT WE WANT TO EXPAND.
SO, UM, I WOULD ENSURE THAT THAT'S INCORPORATED IN SOME WAY FOR SURE.
UM, AND THEN I'M REALLY EXCITED ABOUT THIS PARTNERSHIP WITH FAMILIES IN SCHOOLS AND UM, YOU KNOW, I THINK JUST THINKING TO
[01:05:01]
WHAT MS OR FRANKLIN RAISED, LIKE, YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU'RE IN THE HOSPITAL GIVING BIRTH TO YOUR BABY, LIKE IT'S A BEAUTIFUL EXPERIENCE.IT'S A SCARY AND ISOLATING EXPERIENCE.
AND SO I THINK BUILDING THOSE RELATIONSHIPS EARLY, EARLY ON IS, UM, GOING TO BE VERY IMPACTFUL FOR THE CHILDREN, FOR THE FAMILIES, AND ALSO FOR THE DISTRICT AS A WHOLE.
I THINK HOWEVER WE CAN THINK ABOUT JUST UTILIZING, UM, OUR GREATEST ASSETS, WHICH ARE OUR PEOPLE IN L-A-U-S-D, LIKE OFTEN, YOU KNOW, OUR PARENT REPS OR THE OFFICE MANAGERS AT THE EARLY ED CENTERS, LIKE THESE ARE PEOPLE WHO ARE DEEPLY CONNECTED IN THE COMMUNITY WHO KNOW OUR FAMILIES.
SO, UM, AND I THINK GETTING INFORMATION FROM A TRUSTED MESSENGER IS, IS SUPER IMPORTANT.
SO I WOULD JUST LIFT UP HOWEVER, UM, THOSE FOLKS CAN, CAN BE LEADERS AS PART OF THIS EFFORT, I THINK WOULD BE REALLY IMPACTFUL.
UM, AND, AND THAT I AM JUST EXCITED ABOUT THE HOME VISITING IN PARTICULAR AND THE CONNECTING OF DIFFERENT SYSTEMS. WE KNOW THAT ONE OF THE CHALLENGES ABOUT EARLY ED IT IS, IS IT'S A MULTIPLE STREAM DELIVERY SYSTEM THAT SO MANY DIFFERENT PARTS ARE IN DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS OR DIVISIONS STATEWIDE IN LA COUNTY, ET CETERA.
SO US BEING ABLE TO MAKE THOSE CONNECTIONS FOR FAMILIES WILL BE REALLY BENEFICIAL.
UM, I CONTINUE TO UTILIZE MY LUSD BABY BLANKETS, SO I THINK THAT'S A GREAT, I THINK DIAPERS IS REALLY IMPORTANT.
AND SO IF THERE'S BASIC CARE PACKAGES THAT WE CAN HELP PROVIDE IN SOME OF OUR MOST IMPACTED COMMUNITIES AS WELL.
UM, I DON'T KNOW, LIKE BRAND, THE MAKE L-A-U-S-C BRANDED DIAPERS
SO I TH THAT THAT MESSAGING MAY STICK AND WILL BE BENEFICIAL.
OKAY, WELL THANK YOU ALL AND THANK YOU TO FAMILIES AND SCHOOLS FOR PARTNERING WITH US ON THIS IMPORTANT EFFORT.
[II.3. 2025-2026 Committee Recommendations]
ONE LAST, UH, ACTION ITEM FOR TODAY AND THAT IS OUR COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATIONS.SO, SORRY, I NEED TO PAUSE ON THESE GIGANTIC CERTIFICATES.
UM, IF YOU LOOK AT THE TABLE, THERE IS A COPY, WE ALSO EMAILED THEM TO YOU.
SO IF YOU WANNA JUST TAKE A LOOK AT THE CHILDREN AND FAMILIES IN EARLY EDUCATION COMMITTEE 25 26 SCHOOL YEAR RECOMMENDATIONS.
UM, SO THESE WERE DEVELOPED BASICALLY MY TEAM, MY FANTASTIC TEAM AND I WORKED ON WHAT WERE THE MAIN IDEAS THAT CAME OUT OF OUR CONVERSATIONS, LIKE THINGS THAT WE WANTED TO SEE, UM, AS A RESULT OF OUR DISCUSSIONS THIS YEAR.
SO THAT'S WHAT YOU SEE REFLECTED IN THE DOCUMENT.
UM, I'LL GIVE A BRIEF SUMMARY, BUT PLEASE LET US KNOW IF THERE'S ANYTHING, YOU KNOW, THAT SHOULD BE OMITTED, IF THERE'S ANYTHING THAT SHOULD BE ADDED, UM, AND HOPEFULLY THAT WORKS FOR EVERYONE.
SO MAJOR, MAJOR RECOMMENDATIONS.
ONE IS STRENGTHENING CAREER PATHWAYS INTO EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION.
UM, THIS IS AROUND SUPPORTING OUR AIDES AND ASSISTANTS ADVANCING INTO ASSOCIATE TEACHER AND CERTIFICATED POSITIONS.
UM, REALLY IMPORTANT AND ENSURING ALL EMPLOYEES HAVE, HAVE AWARENESS OF PROFESSIONAL ADVANCEMENT OPPORTUNITIES SUCH AS EARLY CHILDHOOD CREDENTIAL PATHWAY.
THE SECOND ONE IS AROUND WORKFORCE DATA TRANSPARENCY AND PLANNING.
UM, SO PROVIDING MORE REGULAR REPORTING ON EARLY EDUCATION, WORKFORCE TRENDS LIKE RECRUITMENT RETENTION AND CAREER ADVANCEMENT PATHWAYS.
UM, WE HAD A COUPLE, WE HAD SOME PRESENTATIONS ON WORKFORCE NEEDS EARLIER IN THE YEAR.
UM, WE ALSO WANT TO KNOW, UM, EQUITY BASED INFORMATION LIKE WHAT THE RACE AND LANGUAGE ASSETS OF OUR EMPLOYEES.
UM, AND UNDERSTANDING HOW HOW MANY ARE TRANSITIONING, YOU KNOW, ADVANCING THROUGHOUT THEIR CAREER.
UM, ON THAT PATHWAY THERE IS EVALUATING STAFFING STRUCTURES TO STRENGTHEN RE RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION.
UM, AGAIN RELATED TO, UH, HELPING OUR CLASSIFIED EMPLOYEES IN PARTICULAR TRANSITION FROM PART-TIME ROLES INTO LONGER WORKDAY OPTIONS, PROVIDE GREATER STABILITY FOR EMPLOYEES AND FOR STUDENTS, AND ALSO LOOK FOR MORE SUPPORT AROUND SUBSTITUTE COVERAGE.
WE HAVE HEARD FROM OUR CENTERS THAT THAT'S A BIG, BIG NEED.
ON THE BACK, UM, SOME TOPICS WE COVERED TODAY ACTUALLY STRENGTHEN OUTREACH AND MARKETING TO INCREASE ENROLLMENT IN EARLY EDUCATION PROGRAMS, CONTINUE TARGETED MARKETING, DIRECT MAIL, MULTILINGUAL COMMUNICATIONS, MULTIMODAL COMMUNICATIONS, SOCIAL MEDIA CAMPAIGNS, AND UTILIZING SURVEYS AND OUTREACH DATA TO BETTER UNDERSTAND HOW FAMILIES ARE GETTING INFORMATION.
UM, MAYBE WE WANNA ADD FOCUS GROUPS SINCE THAT THAT CAME UP TODAY AS WELL.
THE NEXT ONE IS IMPROVE CLARITY AND ACCESSIBILITY OF INFORMATION FOR FAMILIES SEEKING EARLY EDUCATION PROGRAMS. RENEE DISCUSSED THIS AS WELL, JUST SIMPLIFYING AND STREAMLINING HOW WE'RE SHARING INFORMATION ABOUT OUR EARLY EDUCATION PROGRAM SO FAMILIES CAN REALLY EASILY UNDERSTAND WHAT'S THE RIGHT PROGRAM, WHAT ARE THE OPTIONS AND WHAT'S THE BEST PROGRAM FOR ME CONSIDERING MY NEEDS.
OH, THE FOCUS GROUPS IS ACTUALLY IN THERE ALREADY.
UM,
PRETTY SELF-EXPLANATORY, LOOKING AT OUR ENROLLMENT TRENDS, OUR STAFFING NEEDS, ANY IMPLEMENTATION CHALLENGES FOR SERVING OUR TWO YEAR OLDS, INCLUDING UNDERSTANDING HOW THAT'S IMPACTING FAMILIES AND STAFF.
UM, WITH, WITH THE UNIQUE NEEDS OF THIS AGE GROUP, MAKING SURE WE'RE PROVIDING APPROPRIATE TRAINING AND SUPPORT FOR OUR EMPLOYEES WITH A PARTICULAR FOCUS ON POTTY TRAINING, UM, AS THAT HAS COME UP AS AS A NEED.
UM, SUPPORT EARLY LEARNING THROUGH PLAY-BASED AND STEM FOCUSED INITIATIVES.
[01:10:01]
THE COUNT, PLAY, EXPLORE, WHICH WHICH WE COVERED IN ONE OF OUR COMMITTEE MEETINGS.AND CONTINUED ACCESS TO EXPANDED OUTDOOR LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS SUCH AS OUR NATURE EXPLORE OUTDOOR CLASSROOMS AND LOOKING AT HOW THOSE LEARNING OUTCOMES ARE IMPACTED BY THOSE TYPES OF PROGRAMS. FINALLY EXPLORE COMMUNITY-BASED OUTREACH MODELS TO CONNECT FAMILIES WITH EARLY EDUCATION PROGRAMS. UM, WE GET VERY CONNECTED TO THE FAMILIES IN SCHOOLS PRESENTATION.
WE JUST HEARD CONSIDER PILOTING COMMUNITY-BASED OUTRE OUTREACH APPROACHES, INCLUDING MOMMY AND ME AND THE URA MODEL, LEVERAGING TRUSTED COMMUNITY MEMBERS TO CONNECT FAMILIES WITH EARLY EDUCATION LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES, UM, SHARING INFORMATION AND HELPING SUPPORT FAMILIES IN NAVIGATING THE PROGRAMS. SO THOSE, THOSE ARE THESE EIGHT RECOMMENDATIONS, UM, THAT WE'VE DRAFTED FOR THE GROUP.
BUT WOULD LOVE TO HEAR IF ANYONE HAS FEEDBACK.
DO YOU WANNA ADD SOMETHING? DO YOU WANNA OMIT SOMETHING? ANYTHING THAT WE MAY HAVE MISSED? SO FEEL FREE TO LET ME KNOW IF YOU WANNA HOP IN.
YES, CAROLYN
I KNOW OVER THE YEARS WE'VE GIVEN REC, LIKE WE'VE COME UP WITH RECOMMENDATIONS AND THEN WE TALKED ABOUT PROVIDING AN UPDATE ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS AND SOME OF THESE ARE KIND OF THEMES THAT WE'VE HEARD ACROSS THE YEARS OR MAYBE LIKE HOW ARE WE KEEPING TRACK OF ALL OF THE INFORMATION FROM THE PAST SESSIONS AND THE PROGRESS THAT IS BEING MADE.
UM, AND THEN MAYBE PROVIDING AN UPDATE ON THAT AT THE NEXT ONE WOULD BE HELPFUL OR JUST LIKE A COMPILATION, UM, OF THESE THEMES.
AND I AGREE WITH ALL OF THESE.
UM, I WOULD ADD TO THE OUTREACH AND MARKETING THE ISSUE THAT CAME UP FROM JUNE, HE AND SUSIE AROUND REDUCING BARRIERS TO ENROLLMENT AND THEN THE, THE FORMS, UM, AND HOW ARE WE SUPPORTING FAMILIES IN THE ACTUAL ENROLLMENT PROCESS AND THEN ALSO THE DIGITALIZATION PIECE, UH, TO MAKE THAT EASIER.
UM, AND THEN ADDING TO THE COMMUNITY BASED PIECE.
YOU KNOW, ANOTHER UM, AREA THAT WE'VE TALKED ABOUT IS PARTNERING WITH COMMUNITY BASED ORGANIZATIONS, NOT JUST, UM, IN, IN THIS CASE HERE, BUT REALLY ABOUT EXPANDING ACCESS TO WRAPAROUND SERVICES, PARTNERING WITH HOME-BASED PROVIDERS SPECIFICALLY.
UM, AND THEN THINKING ABOUT ADDITIONAL SERVICES THAT WE'RE CONNECTING THEM TO AS WELL AS HOW ARE WE SERVING YOUNGER CHILDREN THROUGH THOSE PARTNERSHIPS.
UM, AND THEN BUT ALSO ADD EXPANDING MULTILINGUAL AND BILINGUAL PROGRAMS THAT'S NOT ON HERE BEGINNING AT BIRTH AND I KNOW THAT REALLY ALIGNS WITH THE NEW, UM, LEARNING BEGINS AT BIRTH RESOLUTION.
UM, AND THEN FINALLY AROUND THE WORKFORCE, DATA TRANSPARENCY AND PLANNING, ADDING ABOUT TRANSITIONING INTO ROLES SUCH AS TK AND ALSO DUAL LANGUAGE.
UM, AND THEN THINKING ABOUT THOSE PATHWAYS, BILINGUAL PATHWAYS AND GETTING THAT BILINGUAL TEACHER PIPELINE, ESPECIALLY IN THOSE, UM, LESS FREQUENTLY SPOKEN LANGUAGES AND HOW ARE WE SUPPORTING UM, THOSE, THOSE PATHWAYS AND CONTINUED OPPORTUNITIES FOR CHILDREN.
I THINK JUST ON THE, IN BARRIERS TO ENROLLMENT, I THINK I MIGHT HAVE MISSED ONE.
I WANNA MAKE SURE MY TEAM MIGHT HAVE IT, BUT IF YOU COULD JUST REPEAT, SO BESIDES, UH, LOOKING AT THE DOCUMENTATION THAT'S REQUIRED, THERE WAS ONE OTHER PIECE YOU SAID THE DIGITALIZATION DIGITIZATION.
AND ON THE PAST RECOMMENDATIONS, I MEAN I THINK WE'VE MADE PROGRESS IN SOME OF THESE DIFFERENT AREAS, LIKE ON THE, UH, OUTREACH AND ENROLLMENT CAMPAIGNS AND MARKETING, THAT THAT HAS DEFINITELY GREATLY EXPANDED AS A RESULT OF OUR COMMITTEE'S, UM, RECOMMENDATIONS AND WORK WITH THE, WITH THE WONDERFUL TEAM AT ECED.
UM, WE CAN WORK WITH RENEE TO, TO GIVE AN UPDATE ON WHERE WE ARE ON OTHER ITEMS. UM, AND THEN AS Y'ALL PROBABLY KNOW, LIKE SOME OF THE ONGOING ITEMS WHICH UM, MAYBE REQUIRED UPLIFTING A LITTLE BIT MORE, WE'RE PART OF THE LEARNING BEGINS AT BIRTH RESOLUTION AROUND REOPENING SHUTTER AT SITES, EXPANDING PROGRAMS AND DUAL LANGUAGE EXPANSION, PARTICULARLY IN UNDERREPRESENTED LANGUAGES.
UM, BUT THANK YOU, THAT ALL SOUNDS GOOD TO ME.
SO I THINK WE CAN, WE CAN INCLUDE THAT FEEDBACK.
CAROLYN, ANYONE ELSE? FEED BRENDA, GO AHEAD.
I THINK I WOULD ADD SOME UH, WAY WHERE WE CAN HAVE MAYBE A SYSTEM MORE, UH, HOW CAN I SAY? UM, WHERE IT COMES TO THE NATURE EXPLORER OUTDOOR, WHERE WE AT? UM, I KNOW THE LAST TIME WHEN WE HAD THIS CONVERSATION THERE WAS A LIST, THERE WERE MANY SCHOOLS UH, THAT WAS ON THE LIST AND I REALLY HAVEN'T HEARD ANY FEEDBACK.
UM, THE PROGRESS IN UM, HAVING THE NATURE EXPLORER OUTDOOR PROGRAMS. SO IF WE CAN HAVE SOME KIND OF SYSTEM TO KIND OF UPDATE US, UH, WHERE WE ARE, THE COURT OF LIKE WOULD BE GREAT REGULARLY TRACKING PROGRESS
[01:15:01]
ON NATURE EXPLORER EXPANSION.AND THEN FOR THE UM, PROGRAMS WHO ACTUALLY ARE TAKEN IN THE YOUNGER KIDS TO CONSIDER ALSO, UH, MAKING SURE THAT THE EQUIPMENT IS AGE APPROPRIATE OUTDOORS, I'M SO HAPPY, UH, THAT WE HAVE RECEIVED UM, THE FURNITURE FOR INDOORS AND THERE'S A NEED FOR OUTDOORS BECAUSE THE CHILDREN ARE ON APPARATUS AND UH, IT'S NOT QUITE AGE APPROPRIATE.
SO THAT WOULD BE A CONCERN THAT, UH, WE NEED TO LOOK INTO.
THOSE, THOSE MAKE A LOT OF SENSE.
ALRIGHT, ANYONE ELSE? PALOMA AND THEN UNI.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ALL OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS.
I WILL AGAIN GO BACK TO SAY, UM, THAT I WOULD LIKE TO SEE MORE, UH, PARTNERSHIPS WITH FAMILY CHILDCARE PROVIDERS.
I KNOW THAT THE DISTRICT IS ONLY OPEN SOME SCHEDULES AND WE ARE OPEN 24 7.
UM, SO I KNOW THAT ENGLEWOOD, UM, SCHOOL DISTRICT USED TO HAVE LIKE VOUCHERS FOR PROVIDERS.
MAYBE THAT CAN BE SOMETHING THAT WE CAN CREATE.
SO, UM, THAT WILL BE GREAT BECAUSE FAMILY CHILDCARE PROVIDERS CAN TAKE THE BABIES TO YOU GUYS AND THEN PICK THEM UP, WHOEVER YOU KNOW DOESN'T, DOESN'T WORK.
UM, AND ALSO I WILL SAY THAT I WILL GO BACK TO THE SIMPLIFYING THE DOCUMENT DOCUMENTATION AND UM, YES, MAKE EVERYTHING DIGITAL PARENTS ARE NOW, UM, THEY ALL DEPEND ON, UM, PHONES AND COMPUTERS.
SO I WOULD LIKE TO SEE, UH, PROGRESS IN THAT TOO.
PALOMA UNI, MY THOUGHTS ARE A LITTLE SCATTERED, BUT I'M TRYING TO CAPTURE ALL OF THEM.
I THINK EVERYTHING THAT EVERYONE SAID, ESPECIALLY THE NATURE, UM, UPDATE ON THE OUTDOOR SPACES, I THINK THAT'S REALLY VALUABLE FOR FAMILIES AS WELL AS THE DUAL LANGUAGE AND BILITERACY PROGRAMS. AND HOW DO WE ENSURE THAT THAT'S BEING SHARED AND LIKE CONTINUE TO LIKE DEEPEN FROM BIRTH.
AND I THINK GIVEN WHAT PALOMA SAID AROUND THE COMMUNITY-BASED THING, THIS IS LIKE SUCH A GREAT OPPORTUNITY.
LIKE WHEN I WAS HEARING THE PRESENTATION FROM SUSIE AND RENEE AROUND COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS WITH CLINICS, A MOBILE CLINIC, THERE'S SO MUCH HAPPENING IN EARLY CHILDHOOD THAT'S A SUCH A GOOD EXAMPLE FOR THE LATER YEARS TO SHOW WHAT A SCHOOL SITE CAN BE LIKE, A TRUSTED PLACE WITH WELLNESS RESOURCES AND LIKE WRAPAROUND SUPPORT.
SO I FEEL LIKE IT'S AN OPPORTUNITY FOR EARLY ED TO REALLY SHINE IN THAT SPACE AND SHOW HOW COMMUNITY SCHOOLS CAN REALLY LOOK LIKE.
AND I DON'T KNOW WHERE THAT BELONGS, MAYBE IT'S THIS LAST BULLET, BUT SOMETHING AROUND THAT PIECE.
GIVEN HR ONE CUTS AND LIKE JANUARY 1ST, 2027, THERE'S GONNA BE MASSIVE JUST CUTS AROUND HEALTHCARE.
SO I THINK THE MORE WE CAN DO TO REALLY BUILD THAT SCHOOLS CAN BE SITES OF TRUST AND RESOURCES FROM THIS PROCESS WOULD BE REALLY HELPFUL.
GIVEN LIKE DURING COVID, I KNOW A LOT OF MEALS WERE GIVEN THROUGHOUT THE DISTRICT AND THAT WAS A GREAT WAY FOR JUST FAMILIES TO BE AWARE OF WHAT THE DISTRICT WAS DOING AND I THINK THIS IS AN OPPORTUNITY TO DO THAT.
SO YEAH, THAT PIECE, WE CAN DEFINITELY ADD THAT FOR UNDERNEATH THE COMMUNITY BASED, UM, MODELS SECTION.
ANYONE ELSE THOUGHTS? OH, AND OKAY, LET'S TAKE BOARD MEMBER ART FRANKLIN AND THEN WE'LL DO SCARLET ON ZOOM.
I WAS JUST THINKING ABOUT OUR, UM, RECENT RESOLUTION FOR INTENTIONAL SCREEN TIME AND HOW WE'RE BANNING THEM FROM THE YOUNGEST LEARNERS UP THROUGH FIRST GRADE.
AND SO I MAYBE JUST SOME SORT OF, I DUNNO, MONITORING OR REMINDING, I'VE ONLY SEEN A FEW ONE-ON-ONE DEVICES IN EARLY EDS, BUT YOU KNOW, GOING FORWARD WE WON'T BE SEEING THAT ANY LONGER.
UM, AND I, I LOVE THE, THE PLAY-BASED PD.
I, I, I DUNNO IF IT WAS THIS YEAR OR LAST YEAR, UM, BUT I'D LOVE FOR KINDER TEACHERS TO ALSO BE ABLE TO PARTICIPATE IN THAT.
AND WE'VE TALKED A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE PIPELINE BETWEEN TK AND KINDER AND HOW UM, YOU KNOW, YOU GO FROM HALF OF YOUR DAY BEING OUTSIDE TO THEN KINDER, IT FEELS REALLY DIFFERENT AND INSIDE STRUCTURE.
SO JUST MORE ON, ON THAT LIKE TRANSITION.
UM, AND THAT MIGHT BE FOR, FOR NEXT YEAR AS WELL, BUT JUST SOMETHING I'M THINKING ABOUT.
YEAH, THAT MAKES A LOT OF SENSE.
OKAY, WE CAN ADD, WE CAN ADD THAT AS WELL.
UM, THIS IS GREAT I THINK, UH, NOTHING TO TAKE OUT OF ANYTHING, WHAT TO ADD AND I JUST WANNA REITERATE WHAT SOME OF MY PARTNERS HAVE SAID.
UH, 'CAUSE I KNOW IT'S IMPORTANT.
UH, I WAS ALSO GONNA MENTION COMMUNITY PARTNERS FOR EXPLORE COMMUNITY BASED OUTREACH MODELS, UM, AND JUST CROSS-SECTOR PARTNERSHIPS ALL AROUND.
UM, AND THEN ALSO, YOU KNOW, I THINK BEING INTENTIONAL ABOUT EQUITY AND HAVING THE EQUITY LENS AND LANGUAGE IN HERE AS WE THINK ABOUT PRIORITY SCHOOLS, SENDING COMMUNITIES, UM, AND HOW THIS IS AMAZING THINKING ABOUT THE WORKFORCE AND ALSO PRIORITIZE PRIORITIZING OUR HIGHEST NEED COMMUNITIES.
UM, AND THE LAST PIECE, JUST A QUESTION AROUND THE DATES, JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THOSE ARE ACCURATE.
SEPTEMBER, 2025 TO OCTOBER, 2025.
JUST THOSE WERE MEETING DATES, BUT UM, WE CAN ADD THE NEW YEAR MEET.
I DON'T, I THINK WE'RE MISSING OUR 2026 MEETING DATES.
THANK YOU FOR FLAGGING MONICA.
[01:20:01]
UH, GOOD AFTERNOON.UH, I, I THINK THE RECOMMENDATIONS ARE REALLY GOOD, ESPECIALLY THE FIRST TWO LOOKING AT THE STRENGTHENING CAREER PATHWAYS INTO THE EARLY EDUCATION WORKFORCE AND IMPROVING WORKFORCE AND DATA TRANSPARENCY AND PLANNING.
BECAUSE AS A, A, A, A DIRECTOR AND REPRESENTATIVE FOR, UM, OUR PRINCIPALS, THAT'S SOMETHING THAT'S BEEN COMING UP A LOT LATELY IS LIKE, UM, SUBSTITUTES, LACK OF SUBSTITUTES AND MAKING SURE THAT YOU KNOW, THAT THERE ARE SUBSTITUTES TO COME INTO THE SITES BECAUSE WE PUT THEM IN THE SYSTEM.
HOWEVER, YOU KNOW, NOBODY'S SHOWING UP BOTH FOR CLASSIFIED AND CERTIFICATED.
UM, AND SO I THINK THAT THOSE TWO, UM, RECOMMENDATIONS ARE GOOD, BUT UM, ALSO FOCUSING ON BUILDING THAT SUBSTITUTE SYSTEM.
CERTIFICATED MORE THAN CLASSIFIED ARE THE CONCERNS THAT HAVE BEEN COMING TO, TO, UM, OUR ALL A REPS.
SO THE RECOMMENDATIONS FOR, YOU KNOW, THE NATURE EXPLORER WERE ACTUALLY GREAT BECAUSE WE DO NEED THE RIGHT MATERIAL FOR THE STUDENTS THAT OUTSIDE THAT THEY'RE PLAYING WITH, UM, THE SUBSTITUTE AS WELL.
WE HAVE A BIG PROBLEM WITH THAT WHEN IT COMES TO SUBSTITUTIONS.
UM, SO AS YOU KNOW, I WORK WITH OUR EARLIEST CHILDREN EVERY DAY, SO I GET TO SEE EVERYTHING THAT WORK GOES ON FIRSTHAND.
SO WITH THAT BEING SAID, YOU KNOW, IT'S JUST MY STATEMENT.
UM, I WANNA EXPRESS, I'M GONNA READ IT HERE.
SO I WANNA EXPRESS THE DISAPPOINTMENT I FEEL IN THE DISTRICT DECISION TO DESTABILIZE THE VERY WORKFORCE THAT SUPPORTS OUR STUDENTS AND OUR FAMILIES.
THESE RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE VISION OF THIS COMMITTEE FOR THRIVING SCHOOLS, COMMUNITIES THAT MEET THE NEEDS OF OUR WHOLE CHILDREN, OUR WHOLE FAMILY ARE ONLY POSSIBLE WITH FULLY FUNDED AND ADEQUATE, UM, PROVIDERS AND STAFF TO DELIVER THOSE SERVICES AT THE TIME WHEN THE STUDENTS CONTINUE TO FACE ONGOING ACADEMIC, ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL EMOTIONAL CHALLENGES, REDUCING INVESTMENTS IN HIGH AND HIGHEST NEED SCHOOLS WOULD MOVE THE DISTRICT IN THE WRONG DIRECTION.
SO RATHER THAN BALANCING THE BUDGET ON THE BACKS OF THE STUDENTS AND FAMILIES AND THE FRONTLINE EDUCATION WORKERS, LUSD SHOULD, UM, PRIORITIZE PROTECTING EQUITY CENTERED INVESTMENTS AND PURSUE, PURSUE ALL AVAILABLE STATE FUNDING SOLUTIONS BEFORE IMPLEMENTING CUTS THAT WOULD DEEPEN EDUCATIONAL INEQUITIES ACROSS THE DISTRICT, ESPECIALLY FOR OUR YOUNGEST LEARNERS.
ANYONE ELSE WITH THOUGHTS ON THE RECOMMENDATIONS? OKAY, SEEING NONE, THANK YOU ALL.
SO WE'LL WORK ON AN UPDATED VERSION OF THIS AND SHARE IT WITH YOU ALL AS SOON AS WE HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO.
UM, I THINK A LOT OF WHAT YOU SHARED, UM, CERTAINLY REFLECTS THE CONVERSATIONS WE HAD AND IS NICELY ALIGNED WITH THE DRAFT THAT WE HAD ALREADY, WHICH IS EXCITING.
UM, BEFORE WE TURN TO PUBLIC COMMENT, WE DID WANT TO RECOGNIZE OUR COMMITTEE MEMBERS, UM, FOR YOUR TIME, YOUR EFFORT.
WE KNOW YOU ARE NOT LIKE PAID EXTRA TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS COMMITTEE, SO, UM, THE WORK THAT WE'VE DONE THIS YEAR WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN AS IMPACTFUL WITHOUT, UM, YOUR EXPERTISE AND YOUR WISDOM AND WE'RE JUST REALLY GRATEFUL FOR YOU.
SO WE DO HAVE CERTIFICATES THAT WE'D LIKE TO PRESENT.
UM, MAYBE I'LL DO THAT DOWN THERE.
UM, AND IF WE COULD TAKE A PHOTO, THAT WOULD BE GREAT.
UM, AND BEFORE I TURN TO THAT, I DO ALSO WANNA APPRECIATE AND RECOGNIZE THE BOARD SECRETARY AT STAFF WHO HELPS MAKE THESE MEETINGS POSSIBLE, OUR TRANSLATION STAFF, UM, ALL THE PEOPLE WHO HELP THESE MEETINGS RUN SUCCESSFULLY.
ALRIGHT, SO I'M GONNA GO DOWN THERE WITH THEIR CERTIFICATES AND THEN I'LL CALL YOU, CALL YOU ALL DOWN AND WE'LL TAKE A PHOTO.
OKAY, SORRY, PUBLIC COMMENT SPEAKERS, WE'LL GET TO YOU SHORTLY.
SO I GUESS WE'RE ALL GONNA WALK A LITTLE BIT.
I DIDN'T THINK OUT THE LOGISTICS OF THIS TOO.
WELL,
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR PARTICIPATION THIS YEAR.
UH, SUSANNA HERNANDEZ,
IF YOU WANNA START HEADING DOWN
[01:25:16]
AND THEN LAST OF OUR UM, NON-BOARD MEMBERS, BUT CERTAINLY NOT LEAST IS BRENDA BROWN.AND THEN WE ALSO APPRECIATE AND RECOGNIZE BOARD MEMBERS OR FRANKLIN AND MELVOIN.
WE DON'T HAVE A CERTIFICATE FOR YOU, BUT WE DO APPRECIATE YOU.
IF YOU ALL WANNA COME DOWN FOR THE PHOTO, THAT'D BE GREAT.
CAN I GET A PICTURE? YOU, MONICA? ALL RIGHT.
WE'RE GOING TO NOT TO RUSH YOU WHILE YOU, Y'ALL ARE GOOD.
[IV. Public Comment]
TO TRANSITION TO PUBLIC COMMENT NOW.UM, SO I'LL GO AHEAD AND TURN IT TO MR. MCLEAN.
ALRIGHT, THE FIRST IN-PERSON SPEAKER ALREADY AT THE PODIUM IS MR. DAVID KOSKI.
YOU'LL HAVE TWO MINUTES TO SPEAK ONCE YOU BEGIN.
I'M SURE THE COMMITTEE IS GOING SETTLE IN MOMENTARILY AND THE TWO MINUTES IS YOURS, SIR.
FIRST OF ALL, CONGRATULATIONS TO THE TWO BOARD MEMBERS WHO WON REELECTION.
UH, LET ME JUST SAY, IN THE NINTH YEAR IN OFFICE IS WHEN I BEGAN TO DO FULL DAY KINDERGARTEN.
NOT LITTLE PIECES OF EARLY ED, BUT SOMETHING SIGNIFICANT AND BIG AND BOLD.
THE NUMBERS YOU SAW TODAY WERE THE SOFT BIGOTRY OF LOW EXPECTATIONS.
TO ADD ONE EARLY ED CENTER PER BOARD MEMBER'S AREA IS THE POLITICS OF LA UNIFIED, NOT THE NEEDS OF THE COMMUNITY AND THE STUDENTS.
FOR EXAMPLE, IF YOU HAVE 25,005 YEAR OLDS IN THE SCHOOL SYSTEM, MAYBE MORE, YOU SHOULD HAVE 25,004 YEAR OLDS ROUGHLY AND THREE YEAR OLDS, NOT 800 OR 1,002 YEAR OLDS.
THIS SHOULD BE A MASSIVE PROGRAM.
AND WELCOME TO THE NEW LEADERS.
I'VE BEEN THROUGH EIGHT LEADERS OF EARLY ED.
THEY'RE ALL WONDERFUL AND DEDICATED AND CARING, BUT IF THE ORGANIZATION DOESN'T PRIORITIZE THIS, IT WILL BE BALKANIZED.
NOT ONE WORD TODAY ABOUT SPECIAL EDUCATION.
THAT MEANS THERE'S 15,000 SPECIAL ED KIDS BETWEEN AGE TWO AND FIVE, OKAY? THEY PUT THAT IN ANOTHER PART OF THE DISTRICT FACILITIES.
YOU DON'T EVEN HAVE A INVENTORY OF HOW MANY ROOMS WITH, UH, BATHROOMS FOR KINDERGARTEN ARE NOW AVAILABLE FOR FOUR YEAR OLDS AND SO ON.
YOU DON'T HAVE A BUILDING PLAN WHATSOEVER IN FRONT OF YOU TO DO THINGS.
YOU'RE SPENDING 1.5 BILLION ON PANCAKING EARTHQUAKE WHEN THAT SHOULD BE LEGISLATION FROM SACRAMENTO, TAKING CARE OF THE 63 DISTRICTS THAT HAVE THE SAME PROBLEM, NOT TAKING IT OUTTA YOUR BOND MONIES.
OKAY? SACRAMENTO HAS 10 DAYS LEFT.
WHAT'S THE AGENDA? THE BOARD, UH, CHAIR SAID THAT THE WOMEN'S CAUCUS IS KEY, BUT WHAT IS THE ITEM THAT BRINGS A HALF A BILLION OR 3 BILLION THE WAY WE DID WITH THE COLA? THAT WAS SAID RIGHT AT THIS COUNTER BY THE DISTRICT THAT WE'RE NOT GONNA GET A SUPER COLA.
AND THEN SHORTLY THEREAFTER, YOU GET IT, RE-ENVISION YOUR FACILITIES, YOU SHOULD BRING THE PERSONNEL DIRECTOR IN HERE, LET HIM KNOW THE SHORTAGE, THE SUBSTITUTES, THE OTHER ISSUES.
AND FINALLY, LET ME JUST SAY, UM, MOST OF THE PRINCIPLES ARE HAVING THEIR BUDGETS CUT THEIR IMA CUT.
AND IT'S NOT THE FAULT OF THE LEADERS HERE, BUT SOMEBODY ELSE IS CUTTING EARLY YET ACROSS THE BOARD.
THANK THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME.
ALRIGHT, THE NEXT TWO SPEAKERS ARE LISTED AS SPEAKING REMOTELY.
PLEASE PRESS STAR SIX TO UNMUTE YOURSELF AND YOU'LL HAVE TWO MINUTES TO SPEAK ONCE YOU BEGIN.
I SEE YOU'RE WITH US, MR. SING, PLEASE PRESS STAR SIX TO UNMUTE YOURSELF, AND YOU'LL HAVE TWO MINUTES TO SPEAK ONCE YOU BEGIN.
OKAY, WE'LL COME BACK TO YOU MOMENTARILY.
THE NEXT SPEAKER IS KELLY ANDEL.
I DON'T SEE YOU ONLINE, BUT ARE YOU
[01:30:01]
IN THE ROOM? KELLY ANDEL NOT HERE.COMING BACK TO YOU, MR. SANG, PLEASE PRESS STAR SIX TO UNMUTE YOURSELF AND YOU'LL HAVE TWO MINUTES TO SPEAK ONCE YOU BEGIN.
GOOD MORNING, UM, MEMBERS OF THE BOARD.
UH, BOARD MEMBER EZ, BOARD MEMBER FRANKLIN, BOARD MEMBER MEL, AND EVERYONE ELSE.
UM, I'M HERE AGAIN TODAY TO SPEAK ON THE MATTER THAT I AND MY PEERS HAVE RAISED AT, UM, PRIOR BOARD MEETINGS.
UM, IT SEEMS THAT, UH, LATASHA BACH, JESUS AND GLO AND MARIA, SO ARE STILL WORKING FOR LUSD.
NOW, I UNDERSTAND THAT THERE HAVE BEEN CONVERSATIONS THAT HAVE OCCURRED.
UH, WE HAVE NO IDEA, OF COURSE, WHAT THESE CONVERSATIONS HAVE ENTAILED.
AND, YOU KNOW, WE UNDERSTAND THERE ARE THE, THE REGULATIONS RIGHT AROUND, UH, DISCLOSING WHAT ACTION IS TAKEN AGAINST, UM, EMPLOYEES IN CASES LIKE THESE.
HOWEVER, I DID LEARN, UM, THAT IN THE PAST THERE HAVE BEEN ACTUALLY INCIDENTS INVOLVING TEACHERS THAT HAVE INCLUDED DISCLOSURE, UM, TO THE COMMUNITY, UM, INCLUDING FROM SOME OF THE BOARD MEMBERS HERE TODAY.
UM, BUT WE'VE HEARD ZERO UPDATES AND WE, WE WONDER WHY IS IT THAT L-A-U-S-D AND RIGHTLY SO RESPONDED SO QUICKLY TO THE ALLEGATIONS AGAINST HEATHER CHAVEZ, BUT NOT AGAINST, BUT NOT WHEN IT COMES TO ONE OF THEIR OWN, WHO AGAIN, LOCKED A STUDENT IN A ROOM FOR HOURS AND BADGED HER AFTER SHE REPORTED SEXUAL ABUSE.
THAT WAS MARIA SOTO MAY AND JESUS ULLO OR LATASHA BUCK SAYING IT WAS OKAY THAT A RAPE OCCURRED SINCE IT WAS 20 YEARS AGO.
THESE ARE SPOKESPEOPLE FOR L-E-U-S-D.
IF THIS WAS A PRIVATE BUSINESS, I THINK YOU GUYS WOULD FIRE THEM IMMEDIATELY.
SO I, YOU KNOW, WE'RE CURIOUS TO UNDERSTAND WHAT IS THE, THE, THE HOLDUP HERE.
UM, AND LASTLY, I WOULD JUST LIKE TO KNOW, I FOUND OUT THAT THEIR NAMES HAVE ACTUALLY BEEN MENTIONED ON SOME NATIONAL NEWS POD, POD, UH, PODCASTS, UM, NEWS PODCASTS, UM, IN THE PAST FEW WEEKS.
SO THIS IS GAINING MEDIA, NATIONAL MEDIA ATTENTION, WHICH I HAD NO IDEA ABOUT UNTIL VERY RECENTLY.
UM, SO I THINK IT'S VERY IMPORTANT FOR LEUC TO ACT QUICKLY TO ADDRESS THIS.
GIVEN ALL THAT IS GOING ON IN TERMS OF INVESTIGATION, THIS CAN REALLY BE AN OPPORTUNITY FOR YOU TO RESTORE LEO'S REPUTATION.
THAT CONCLUDES PUBLIC COMMENT.
[III. Closing Remarks]
A GREAT YEAR OF THE, UH, CHILDREN AND FAMILIES IN EARLY EDUCATION COMMITTEE.WE WILL BE IN TOUCH ABOUT NEW YEAR'S DATES AND HOPE YOU ALL HAVE A GREAT SUMMER.