Facing History and Ourselves Partnership School Network

East LA

San Fernando Valley

South LA

City of Los Angeles

LAUSD

Engage residents and stakeholders

Expand a pilot or a program

District-wide graduation rates

HS student proficiency in English & Language Arts and Math

Academic Performance Index* scores

College matriculation rates

Student education pipeline (an integrated network of pre-schools, K-12 institutions, and higher education systems that prepares students for seamless transitions between high school, higher ed

Suspension and expulsion rates (Dream Metric)

Truancy rates in elementary and middle schools (Dream Metric)

Students perceived sense of safety at and on the way to school (Dream Metric)

Facing History instruction does not simply nurture students’ academic growth; it provides them with complementary skills for thriving in a diverse, collaborative 21st century economy. The organization’s approach, which is infused throughout Partnership Schools’ culture and curricula, significantly increases student engagement, empathy, critical thinking skills, and sense of civic responsibility. Facing History students are nearly twice as likely to be motivated to learn, more likely to stand up to bullying, and demonstrate significantly less racist attitudes than students in non-Facing History classrooms.

The 17 Partner School communities come together to examine issues that affect all LA citizens. To kick off the 2015-16 school year, students, teachers, administrators, and parents from diverse neighborhoods across the city attended the annual Partner School Summit on Saturday, October 3. This year’s Partner School Network theme is “The Promise of Los Angeles.” The summit featured the film Tom Bradley’s Impossible Dream. This film tells the powerful story of how Mr. Bradley became the first mayor of a major American city without a black majority. Mr. Bradley built a coalition of African Americans, Jews, Whites, Mexican Americans, and Asian Americans who came together in support of common values. After viewing the film, participants examined its lessons and created action plans to reshape or improve their respective school cultures. These projects empower students to be active participants in building inclusive and effective learning environments and communities.

Throughout the year, Facing History Partnership Schools encourage their students to act as “upstanders”—people who take action to address problems in their communities, as opposed to bystanders who do nothing. At the conclusion of the school year, the network reconvenes for the Upstander Celebration, which honors students who have taken positive action in their schools and communities.

The support of LA2050 and contest voters will help Facing History add four schools to the network this year. If brought to scale, the Facing History Partner School Network will not only help enhance the quality of education in LA by 2050, but also build a future generation of compassionate, inclusive, and thoughtful leaders.

Primary liaisons at each of the 17 Partner Schools will complete a survey (constructed by the Evaluation Team) about their and their colleagues experiences regarding the Facing History school climate initiatives, classroom implementation activities, and network event participation related to the School Summit and Upstander Celebration. This feedback will help inform future improvements to all Partner School Network activity in future years.

An additional measure of success will be the overall renewal rate of Partnership Schools for the 2016-17 school year.

More than 140 internal and external studies have demonstrated Facing History’s positive impact on students. Among many findings, these studies show that Facing History students: have increased understanding and willingness to interact with other ethnic groups; marked decreases in racist attitudes; and reduced fighting behavior.

Money (financial capital)

Publicity/awareness (social capital)

Education/training

Community outreach

Network/relationship support