“One Day, One LA” Event Celebrates Teach for America – Los Angeles

LOS ANGELES – Since its founding over thirty years ago, Teach For America – Los Angeles (TFA LA) has been focused on building a stronger, more equitable education system for Los Angeles students. On Thursday, March 2, more than 300 TFA LA partners, alumni, supporters, sponsors and advocates gathered at the Skirball Cultural Center to mark their progress and look towards the future.

Titled “One Day, One LA,” the event celebrated the more than 4,000 TFA LA corps members and alumni—both in and out of the classroom—and shared TFA LA’s commitment to help students achieve key milestones that set them on a path towards academic success and lives filled with opportunity. The event also honored Mónica García, former Board Member and Board President of the Los Angeles Unified School District Board of Education, for her 17 years of bold leadership, advocacy for students and enduring commitment to equity for all Angelenos.

TFA LA Executive Director Lida Jennings started off the event with her remarks, where she introduced TFA LA’s ambitious goal for 2030:

By 2030, in South Los Angeles, we will double the percentage of middle school students proficient in 8th grade math and the number of high school students eligible to apply to a CSU or UC after they graduate.

This effort will be concentrated in South Los Angeles. TFA LA is committed to placing highly qualified, effective, and equity-minded STEM and Special Education (SPED) teachers in that area, all of whom will be working directly with students on math content. Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) or charter schools authorized by LAUSD in South Los Angeles include the highest percentage of TFA alumni and corps members and the largest Black student population, offering a significant opportunity for partnership impact in high-poverty communities that have been historically marginalized and under-resourced.

Achieving this goal, Jennings said, will require real, authentic partnership. “We can’t do it alone. No one organization or leader can. We will work in partnership with others, just as we have for over three decades, in pursuit of this goal. Because while this is definitely a TFA event tonight, long-term partnership and collaboration are at the heart of systemic change.”

Dr. Chaleese Norman, TFA LA Alumna and current Green Dot Public Schools Area Superintendent, was next to speak. As part of her remarks, she created a visualization of TFA LA’s 2030 goal. She had attendees from all 37 tables to stand to represent the 100% of students attending public school in Los Angeles. She then gradually asked tables to sit down to mark citywide graduation rates, CSU/UC eligibility, and ultimately 11th grade math proficiency. By the end, only about six tables were standing.

Next, actor, writer, producer, and comedian Issa Rae, who was taught by TFA LA corps members in high school, shared her support via video. “I didn’t think I was capable until I was taught by TFA teachers,” she said. Actor Jay Ellis, who starred alongside Rae on the TV show Insecure, spoke next, describing how his teachers helped prepare him for life.

Then Dr. Ana Ponce, Executive Director of Great Public Schools Now, introduced Mónica García. She praised García’s commitment to education equity in Los Angeles. “Mónica disrupted the system for the benefit of students by engaging folks in solution design, collaborating with unlikely partners, forging alliances and always keeping students at the forefront of every decision and every vote she made as the elected representative of Board District 2,” she said.

To close, García gave her remarks. She expressed her passion for TFA LA’s ambitious 2030 goal and how it will take continued partnership, dedication, and action from everyone in LA’s educational community to make it happen. She focused on enabling students to fulfill their potential and how we must continue to dream big and set high goals for ourselves and LA’s students. Throughout the event—and especially her remarks—the love, admiration, and appreciation for García was palpable. There were many people who came to the event specifically because she was being honored.

Overall, “One Day, One LA” was a huge success. TFA LA’s 2030 goal will rely on partnership and collaboration—and if the connections and excitement in the Skirball Cultural Center were any indication, it’s clear they are on the right track.