Our region must continue to make progress in ensuring that L.A. County’s youth and adults are educated, prepared, and trained for the highly technical, knowledge-based careers of the future.
Featured Voices
Hanna and Sarah Yocute both attended San Fernando High School and are PGLA College Scholars. The sisters were invited by Guatemala’s national music conservatory, Conservatorio Nacional de Música Germán Alcántara, where they conducted a master class and musical presentation for 15 students. Hanna wrote an article featured in the UCLA Daily Bruin highlighting points of the trip. “[PGLA] allowed me to persevere in music. And not only be diligent but take my musical passions beyond UCLA. I hope this feature brings you great encouragement for the work you are doing at Project GRAD.”
Hanna and Sarah Yocute, Project GRAD College ScholarsGoal 1 Programs
HireEd Career Pathways Video Series
In conjunction with LA County Office of Education and the Center for a Competitive Workforce, representing the 19 LA County community colleges, this new video series is designed to provide middle and high school students with information on finding careers that are in high demand in LA County – industries where employers are seeking trained workers. Each video features an Associate’s degree career pathway, and a Bachelor’s degree career pathway, both offering a livable wage job.
Short-Term Job Training Program
Funded by the Citi Foundation Progress Makers Grant, Propel L.A. is working with El Camino College and the South Bay Workforce Investment Board, and LA Valley College and Goodwill on short-term training in high-demand, good wage jobs for LA County residents.
Upcoming Events
Assemblymember Autumn Burke at El Camino College
Goal 1 Objectives and Strategies
Build human development support infrastructure to focus on the “whole” child.
A. Conduct landscape and gap analyses to better understand, coordinate and scale existing early childhood programs, and fill resource gaps along the prenatal-through-career continuum.
B. Increase system-wide alignment across early childhood, preK-12, family and community engagement organizations, and governmental agencies, to collaborate on all dimensions of human development: physical and mental health; cognitive development; and social and emotional skills.
C. Integrate programs, such as increased school readiness initiatives with community and government public policy reforms, such as foster care aversion and sentence reform.
Establish a strong foundation for future learning and success by improving access to quality early childhood programs and family engagement in each child’s development.
A. Advocate for greater access to affordable child care, high-quality early childhood development, and learning/preschool programs with trained practitioners.
B. Educate expectant mothers and fathers about the importance of prenatal care, developmental screenings and play-based learning, and educate families about available resources.
C. Integrate social and emotional development standards into early child development.
Integrate data systems and technology across agencies to improve education and career training opportunities.
A. Introduce new accountability systems to measure program and education effectiveness including child and student learning and development so that we better understand where service providers and schools are struggling, and how to help them continuously improve.
B. Utilize data/analytics to identify students with low attendance or those who are falling behind, and intervene to keep students in school and on track.
C. Integrate up-to-date labor market and occupational data across the workforce systems in developing and resourcing job training programs.
Re-skill pre-K through 12 education for the information age economy.
A. Provide career path information to students at school and through more school counselors, social media and online platforms.
B. Expand Wi-Fi access in homes, schools and community sites in underserved communities.
C. Employ technology, creative arts and adaptive learning techniques in instruction and development of new courses throughout the preK-grade 12 curriculum, e.g., coding, robotics labs, creative design, and new media.
Improve high school graduation, college matriculation and postsecondary attainment rates.
A. Provide ongoing professional development and/or other incentives to address teacher pipeline issues and attract highly qualified and fully prepared teachers into underserved communities and in high need areas such as STEAM subjects, bilingual and special education.
B. Institute restorative justice (e.g., fewer suspensions and expulsions) initiatives and expand efforts to target young adults who are disconnected from school and work.
C. Better integrate immigrants into the workforce by expanding adult ESL (“English as a Second Language”) programs and bi-literacy efforts.
D. Expose more minority students to computer science and other STEM disciplines and internship programs, role- and peer-model networks, labor-management training programs.
E. Expand innovative educational alignment initiatives (e.g., Long Beach College Promise, L.A. Compact) that connect preK-12 to post-secondary institutions, helping high school students focus on college and career planning before graduation.
F. Institute more after-school activities, implement longer computer lab hours, and support additional after-school mentoring and tutoring.
G. Identify models of high-quality, collaborative, inclusive, engaging and innovative schools and extend their best practices throughout all districts and schools.
Link all levels of education to regional industry demand to upskill the workforce.
A. Tie workforce development activities to economic development goals, sharing metrics across economic development, education and workforce systems and ensuring there is sector alignment between the county’s seven Workforce Development Boards, so that they are suing the same industry definitions and targeting the same key industries.
B. Integrate workplace learning into community college, technical and four-year college curricula, through vehicles such as expanded internship and apprenticeship programs.
C. Offer more career development and placement programs, in addition to on-the-job training and education for veterans, youth, retirees and those re-entering the workforce; develop targeted programs to aid career transitions and upskill incumbent workers for the technology-intensive jobs in the information age.
D. Make college courses more relevant and specialized to match industry trends (e.g., IT for healthcare workers) and implement reforms to improve the relevance, access, outreach and effectiveness of trade and career technical education programs and policies, including sector-specific labs on school district campuses.
Data & Metrics
Each goal can be measured by key indicators of success. These include many factors – micro-inputs and macro-inputs. However, we view it as critically important to have accurate information to gauge current conditions, working with our partners to reach desired outcomes in improving quality of life, business conditions, and, making that data readily available.
See our full and growing list of metrics in Measuring Success, and contact us to learn more.
Public High School Graduation Rates
Public High School Dropout Rates
Children (Ages 0-5) in Early Care and Education Programs