LitRemix

Westside

City of Los Angeles

LAUSD

Engage residents and stakeholders

Implement a pilot or new project

Expand a pilot or a program

Percent of community college students completing a certificate, degree, or transfer-related program in six years

District-wide graduation rates

HS student proficiency in English & Language Arts and Math

Academic Performance Index* scores

College matriculation rates

LitRemix will energize the experience of studying literature in Los Angeles, with a unique tool that helps students delve more deeply into books they are required to read, through a genuine process where reading and writing are intertwined significantly and are expressed uniquely through visual art and songs. These resulting artifacts will be used to connect peers through the LitRemix network, where they may find new motivation to further explore the importance of reading and literature in today’s world.

• INCLUSIVITY: Thanks to the diversity and universality of art, all Angelinos can find a connection to books through LitRemix. The platform is designed to DEMOCRATIZE the user experience as much as possible - enabling a wide cross-section of students to engage, interact and learn - no matter how limited their access is to technology. LitRemix will be accessed through phones, tablets and desktops. Users will listen to songs, view art and watch videos - all inspired by the books that are active in the network. This will be the first interactive database of art inspired by literature, to be enjoyed not only by students, but also by the millions of literature buffs who LOVE this conversation about books and the art they inspire.

• EVENTS: Our vision for LA as the pilot city includes producing a series of LitRemix Events, to be held in neighborhood libraries all across the city, bringing much needed traffic to these under-appreciated community spaces. These concerts, film debuts and art shows will celebrate specific books, the art they inspire, and the young artists responsible for the creation of this new art. These unique events will set an example for other cities that eventually choose to integrate LitRemix into their education system. Los Angeles will lead the way.

• DIVERSITY: With its interactive, collaborative and modular nature, LitRemix holds the promise to become an essential tool for parents and educators in LA. It welcomes all users, regardless of their place of residence, nationality, religion, ideology, culture, education, gender and age. LitRemix is for those who struggle with reading and for those who are thriving readers looking for even more inspiration after they’ve read a book. Our site is completely bi-lingual – in English and Spanish. It reflects the diversity of LA, and we hope the art it generates from Angelinos will be as powerful as the books that inspire its existence.

In the last 10 years, teachers have reported back to Artists for Literacy informally, when they have used our Songs Inspired by Literature CDs in their classrooms. From this experience, we have watched how teachers (and parents) have seen an increase in interest, engagement and comprehension of the specific books our songs connect with. This history has formed the foundation of how we can begin to measure our impact in ELA, ESL, and other learning environments.

For the Los Angeles Pilot, would like to use 4 High Schools and 2 Local colleges. We will evaluate the impact of the LitRemix Platform by studying:

• student engagement numbers (metric from app itself)

• student testimonials

• teacher testimonials

• quality of art created

• frequency of sharing

• online conversations

• lesson plan downloads

• attendance at LitRemix events

• interest in seeing other books added to the network

• community reaction – including media interest, literary community, parents

Money (financial capital)

Volunteers/staff (human capital)

Publicity/awareness (social capital)

Infrastructure (building/space/vehicles, etc.)

Technical infrastructure (computers, etc.)

Community outreach

Network/relationship support

Quality improvement research