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Treating schools as integral connection points for accessing community resources makes systemic change and liberatory practices possible.
Weaving together the experience and resources of staff, students, parents, local residents, and organizations, we help transform schools into community resource hubs that address systemic inequities and enact liberatory practices.
LAEP was the first organization to bring community schools forward in Los Angeles. We are experts in implementing community schools in diverse K-12 settings, including 15 years of experience as a Full-Service Community School provider in the Northeast San Fernando Valley, South Los Angeles, and East Los Angeles.
Our approach draws on decades of data and knowledge, and our success relies on listening to community partners and being culturally responsive. This work is community-driven, empowering individuals to harness their creativity and collective resources to meet the needs of the whole community.
Key to our model:
LAEP is a full-service community school provider. We also offer technical assistance for implementing the community schools model. Contact us today to start a conversation.
Here are just a few examples of work we’ve done in community schools.
To support college-going and career-ready cultures at partner community schools, we create age-appropriate opportunities to learn about college and career, starting in elementary and middle school. At the high school level, we go deeper, organizing teachers, partners, and resources to assist students with college and financial aid awareness and applications as well as to create workforce readiness opportunities, such as résumé writing workshops, mock interviews, and more.
At Griffith STEAM Middle School, LAEP partnered with the schools’ Psychiatric Social Worker to support Mindful Gardeners. Seven passionate, dedicated students connected to promote mental health for students, teachers, parents, and the community through their project: “Water your plants, water your mind.” The group quickly grew to more than 100 student leaders and became a school-wide, community-wide initiative.
With a task force of students, parents, alumni, and teachers, LAEP opened a community school center at Morningside High School in Inglewood to address campus inequities. Here, students can now access a food pantry, academic support (like tutoring, college aid guidance, and SAT and ACT preparation), mental health workshops led by Didi Hirsch Mental Health Services, and workshops for LGBTIA+ students. As one student explained, “Students like myself felt undeserving, but that changed when the community school center opened. Throughout my senior year, it was a safe haven. It guided me to a new chapter in life.”
The pandemic amplified community needs around mental health, food access, and accurate medical information. LAEP forged more than 40 new partnerships to meet the demands of the moment. We distributed more than 2,000 backpacks full of school supplies, 1,500 food boxes, 500 dental care bags, and 1,000 meal vouchers. In East Los Angeles, we helped organize a COVID-19 vaccination clinic that reached 400 families. We connected English language learners and special education students to academic resources and learning groups, while facilitating parent workshops on taxes, voting rights, and resources for the undocumented.
The resources, energy, and experience our partners bring to the table help make community schools a success. Contact us to learn more about partnering.
LAEP relies on professional volunteers from a variety of industries to support events like mock interviews, career days, parent engagement activities, and financial aid workshops. Check out our volunteer opportunities!
LAEP can come alongside your community, as thought partners and collaborators, empowering you to drive transformation and liberation.
Dr. Eric Barela has worked as a measurement & evaluation professional for over 2 decades, helping organizations to better understand and act on their social impact. He’s currently a Senior Consultant with Raya Cooper Impact Consulting and previously worked at Salesforce, where he led efforts to measure the social impact of the company’s work with nonprofits and educational institutions across the globe. He began his career working with the Los Angeles Unified School District and with the nonprofit, Partners in School Innovation. Eric previously served on the Board of the American Evaluation Association and currently serves on the Editorial Advisory Board of the American Journal of Evaluation.
Eric grew up in East LA and was educated in the Montebello Unified School District. He holds a Ph.D. in education from UCLA. He loves a good road trip, with his husband serving as trusty navigator.
