Dinosaur Hall Teacher Preview Days

Be among one of the first to see the Natural History Museum's Dinosaur Hall on July 12 & 13, 2011!  Receive free admission for yourself with your teacher ID and 1 guest.  Bring up to 4 guests at regular admission and check out the new Dino lessons and activities.

Click here to learn more!

An Educator's Walk in the Park

The California Africa American Museum, The California Science Center, and The Natural History Museum will be holding "An Educator's Walk in the Park" at Exposition Park on Saturday, August 20, 2011.  This Educators' open House will begin at the California African Museum at 8:30am with light refreshments followed by tours at each museum, raffles, giveaways for teachers, and activities for specific exhibits.  It will end at 12:00pm at the Natural History Museum.  The cost is free by RSVP is required.

Please do not miss out on this wonderful opportunity!  RSVP with the California African American Museum at (213) 744-2024.

LA Times Festival of Books at USC!

Join us as USC hosts the LA Times Festival of Books for the first time!

Dates & Location
The annual Los Angeles Times Festival of Books will be held:
Saturday April 30, 2011 from 10am – 6pm
Sunday, May 1, 2011 from 10am – 5pm at:
University of Southern California
Click here for map.
To locate USC on Yahoo! Maps or similar mapping software, you may use the intersection of Exposition Blvd and S Figueroa St, Los Angeles, CA 90089.

Tickets & Admission
General attendance is free!
For information on attending, see our Attendee FAQ.

Parking
Parking at the USC campus will be $10.
Please go to the Getting There page for a detailed map.

LA Math Initiative Recognition Awards!

Last year, the MIND Research Institute, a non-profit organization based in Orange County developed visual approaches to illustrating math concepts and building problem-solving skills as the basis for spatial-temporal approach to math education for elementary and secondary schools.

Here at ECCLA, we wanted to find a way where we could honor schools which were performing well in order to really push students to succeed and help bridge the gap in math achievement in central Los Angeles.  Our hope was to be able to not only recognize these schools for their exceptional work, but also for their collaborative efforts with MIND and ECCLA and root for future success.  The solution?  A monthly recognition award for the schools that out perform the more than 40 ECCLA schools currently implementing the ST Math computer programs!

Stay tuned for the announcement of the first MIND/ECCLA Recognition Award Winners!

Safety Alert: Train Testing to Begin on the Expo Line

Starting today, the Expo Line will be testing trains intermittently along the light rail alignment for several months.  Because the trains will be operating on an unpredictable schedule, please advise your teachers, faculty, students, families, and neighbors to stay off the railroad tracks!  Additionally, please consider the following safety tips: 

Safety Tips

• Please obey all warning signs and traffic signals when crossing the tracks.
• Always look both ways before crossing any street.
• Never walk on railroad tracks.
• Watch for trains from both directions.
• Use the crosswalks. Do not jaywalk across the the tracks.

For more information, please visit BuildExpo.org or call 213.922.EXPO (3976).
Find ExpoLine on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/ExpoLine or follow them on Twitter @ExpoLine

ECCLA Launches New School Liaison Program

Jay Adams, Executive Director of 24th St. Theater, leads teachers
and administrators through a work place tableau.

ECCLA welcomed the first inaugural school liaison class on Thursday, March 3^rd, 2011 at the Kick-off event which took place at 24^th Street Theatre from 4-6pm.  

The kick-off event was the perfect way to welcome our 22 participating schools into the program.  There were over 50 people in attendance including Liaisons, Principals, Local Resource Providers and ECCLA Board Members and Staff.

The newly designated school liaisons and their principals had the opportunity to network amongst each other as well as take part in the mini resource fair with some of the local providers in attendance including California Science Center, Mouth Saint Mary’s College, Natural History Museum, the University of Southern California and our venue host, 24^th Street Theatre.

Jacqueline Hamilton, ECCLA Executive Director, and museum
representatives brief attendants on current programs and resources.

Interactive icebreakers, and small breakout sessions to discuss the challenges each school faces and what types of resources the school  is lacking were a great way to create consensus on how to make this program most successful and beneficial for all those involved.

Teachers and administrators act out workplace
dialogues.

About School Liaison Program:

The goal of the program is to enriched classroom experiences for students and teachers by providing effective and timely communication:

·        between central L.A. educators and museums, colleges and community organizations in the nearby region;

·        about ECCLA’s programs and partnerships; and

·        regarding classroom, field trip, fundraising, and other programs to enhance instruction.

The complete list of schools includes who are participating include:

·        32^nd Street Visual and Performing Art Magnet School

·        Bishop Conaty / Our Lady of Loretto High School

·        Douglass-Marshall Middle School

·        Downtown Value School

·        George Washington Carver Middle School

·        Gertz-Ressler College Ready High School

·        Holy Name of Jesus Parish School

·        Hooper Avenue Elementary School

·        James Foshay Learning Center

·        John Adams Middle School

·        Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary School

·        New Designs High School

·        Normandie Avenue Elementary

·        Para Los Ninos Elementary School

·        Richard Merkin Middle School

·        St. Thomas the Apostle Parish School

·        St. Vincent Parish School

·        Synergy Kinetic Academy

·        Thomas Jefferson High School

·        Tom Bradley Environmental Science and Humanities Elementary School

·        Vermont Avenue Elementary School

·        William J. Clinton Middle School

For additional information about the School Liaison Program please contact Vanessa Ramirez at vramirez@eccla.org or Jacqueline Hamilton at jhamilton@eccla.org or call (213) 743-4516.

School Budget Cuts Could Be Detrimental

The big if is lingering in the shadows for public schools if the June tax extension does not pass.  If the tax extension does not pass funding for K-12 schools will mean millions of dollars of statewide cuts amongst local schools.  This could mean detrimental cuts to teacher's salaries, loss of employees, and shorter school years/days depending on the district.  Surprisingly, K-12 education is the largest expenditure of the state's annual budget, but California has also not provided "funding for public education since 1981 above the national average," said Linda Luna, superintendent of the Millbrae Elementary School District.  During the great recession California spent thousands below to the national average, and it is simply getting worse.  "Teachers and students are doing incredible work with less," said Luna.  

To read the full article this blog post was derived from click HERE.

What are you thought regarding the tax extension? (Also, don't forget to educate yourself about the effects of how powerful your vote can truly be when casting it in June!)