Organization now operates John Muir Middle School after LAUSD Board vote

LOS ANGELES, April 12, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- MLA Partner Schools has changed its name to LA's Promise. The new name effectively represents the organization's mission to radically shift the education, health and social outcomes for thousands of youth in one South Los Angeles community.

"The word promise in our name highlights two driving themes for our organization - it refers to the potential of each child who lives within the community we serve, and it refers to our commitment to them, our promise to help each one become college-ready, healthy and successful in life," said Mike McGalliard, President and CEO of LA's Promise.

LA's Promise focuses its work in LA's Promise Neighborhood, a community bounded by the enrollment zones of West Adams Prep High School and Manual Arts High School. Within this zone, LA's Promise transforms chronically underperforming public schools and remakes them into community hubs that offer comprehensive support services for students and families.

With its recent adoption of John Muir Middle School, LA's Promise now operates two large high schools and one middle school, serving nearly 8,000 students. Based on the March 15th decision of the Los Angeles Unified School District Board of Education, LA's Promise will work with the district to restructure and operate John Muir Middle School, extending the reach of LA's Promise into the community's feeder schools.

"When the public schools in a community are high-performing and act as a beacon for a broad network of services and support, we believe a neighborhood turnaround can take place," said Megan Chernin, Chair of the LA's Promise Board. "By concentrating all of our resources into one area and leveraging public schools, we expect to create a national model for large scale community transformation."

By implementing a college preparatory curriculum with extensive interventions for all students and ensuring the engagement of highly effective educators and staff, LA's Promise is poised to continue its successful transformation of traditional LAUSD schools with the goal of reaching more than 15,000 students in LA's Promise Neighborhood.

ABOUT LA's PROMISE

LA's Promise will radically shift the education, health and social outcomes for thousands of youth in one South Los Angeles community.  This will accomplish a "neighborhood turnaround" in an area we call LA's Promise Neighborhood.  LA's Promise Neighborhood is an enrollment zone that encircles two large South LA high schools operated by LA's Promise on a first-of-its-kind performance contract with LAUSD. Within this zone, LA's Promise transforms chronically failing public schools, opens new schools and re-makes schools into community hubs that offer comprehensive support services for students and families. By doing this, LA's Promise will prepare every child in LA's Promise Neighborhood to be college-ready, healthy and successful in life.  LA's Promise also screens and manages more than 50 partners who support these school communities by providing more than 200 wraparound services. To learn more about LA's Promise visit www.laspromise.org.

Contact:
Nichol Whiteman
nwhiteman@laspromise.org
Ph: 213.745.4928 ext 5121

SOURCE LA’s Promise