ALLIANCE FOR A BETTER COMMUNITY

1. LATINO/A SCORECARD RESEARCH AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENTIN 2023-2024 FISCAL YEAR, ABC DELIVERED MULTIPLE PUBLIC POLICY WINS AND ADVANCED VARIOUS POLICY AT THE STATE AND LOCAL LEVELS STEMMING FROM RECOMMENDATIONS INCLUDED IN THE ABC 2021 LATINO/A SCORECARD REPORT: A POLICY ROADMAP FOR TRANSFORMING LOS ANGELES, WHICH ANSWERED A SERIES OF CRITICAL QUESTIONS ABOUT THE OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES FACING LATINA/OS IN LOS ANGELES COUNTY AND ESTABLISHED A GRADE/SCORE IN FIVE DIFFERENT FOCUS AREAS. THE SCORECARD REPORT UPLIFTED THE ASSETS THAT LATINA/OS BRING TO THE COUNTY AS WELL AS HIGHLIGHTS OPPORTUNITY GAPS THAT HAVE ACTED AS BARRIERS THAT PREVENT LATINA/O COMMUNITIES FROM FULLY THRIVING. THE SCORECARD CULMINATED INTO A REPORT WITH SECONDARY RESEARCH ANALYSES AND PUBLIC POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS - INFORMED BY ISSUE EXPERTS AND THE COMMUNITY - ACROSS VARIOUS AREAS. THESE RECOMMENDATIONS ARE BEING MOVED FORWARD IN ADVOCACY, ORGANIZING, POWER BUILDING AND COMMUNICATIONS EFFORTS ACROSS SPECIFIC AREAS.2. K-12 & HIGHER EDUCATIONMULTILINGUAL LEARNER SUCCESS NOW IN ITS SEVENTH YEAR, ABC CONTINUES TO CO-CHAIR THE CONSORTIUM FOR MULTILINGUAL LEARNER SUCCESS, FORMERLY THE CONSORTIUM FOR ENGLISH LEARNER SUCCESS. SINCE ITS INCEPTION, ABC HAS EMBARKED ON EFFORTS TO IMPROVE AND ADVANCE A VALUES-BASED POLICY AGENDA FOR ENGLISH LEARNERS (ELS) AND MULTILINGUAL LEARNERS (MLLS) TO HAVE GREATER SUCCESS IN LOS ANGELES. THIS INITIATIVE COORDINATES DATA, RESEARCH, OUTREACH, COMMUNITY ORGANIZING AND COMMUNICATIONS EFFORTS TO ENSURE THAT MULTILINGUAL LEARNERS HAVE A HIGH QUALITY, WELL-ROUNDED, EDUCATION. TWO WORKGROUPS WERE LAUNCHED; ONE FOCUSING ON POLICY AND A SECOND FOCUSING ON GRASSROOTS ORGANIZING. BOTH WERE DEVELOPED TO BETTER ENGAGE PARTNER ORGANIZATIONS AND OFFER MORE WELL-SUITED OPPORTUNITIES FOR ENGAGEMENT THAT ALIGN WITH THEIR AREAS OF WORK. THE GRASSROOTS WORKGROUP CENTERS COMMUNITY VOICES IN GUIDING AND INFORMING THE LOCAL AND STATEWIDE STRATEGIC DIRECTION OF THE CONSORTIUM AND CREATES AWARENESS OF THE CHALLENGES AND ISSUES THAT LINGUISTICALLY DIVERSE RACIAL AND ETHNIC COMMUNITIES FACE. SINCE 2022, ABC HAS CONVENED A GROWING LIST OF GRASSROOTS ORGANIZATIONS THROUGH IN-PERSON AND VIRTUAL MEETINGS ENGAGING A NUMBER OF COMMUNITY BASED ORGANIZATIONS, SCHOOL ADMINISTRATORS, AND RESEARCH FOCUSED ORGANIZATIONS. IN 2025, ABC CHAMPIONED THE NEEDS OF MULTILINGUAL LEARNERS BY ACTIVELY SUPPORTING STATE BILLS SUCH AS AB 48, AB 49, SB 98, AB 419, AND AB 148.ALSO IN 2024 AND 2025, ABC CONTINUED ITS WORK ON A NARRATIVE SHIFT PROJECT FOCUSED ON ENGLISH LEARNERS. NARRATIVE SHIFT INVOLVES SHIFTING, CHALLENGING, AND CHANGING PREVAILING MINDSETS THAT INFLUENCE OUR SOCIETY AND POLICY. THE PURPOSE OF THIS PROJECT IS TO SHIFT PREVAILING NEGATIVE MINDSETS ABOUT ENGLISH LEARNERS SO THAT OUR COMMUNITY AT LARGE CAN RECOGNIZE THE ASSETS THAT ENGLISH LEARNERS AND MULTILINGUALISM BRING TO OUR SCHOOLS AND COMMUNITIES. PHASE 2 IF THE PROJECT WITH IMPLEMENTED IN 2024 AND 2025 INVOLVED TESTING MESSAGES WITHIN A WIDE LA COUNTY AUDIENCE TO IDENTIFY KEY PERSUASIVE MESSAGES. ABC DEVELOPED A VIDEO FEATURING MULTILINGUAL INDIVIDUALS FROM DIFFERENT INDUSTRIES AND PROFESSIONS TO SPOTLIGHT THEIR EXPERIENCE AS MULTILINGUAL LEARNERS AND ADVANCE THE PERSUASIVE MESSAGES. THE CAMPAIGN ALSO DEVELOPED A NARRATIVE CHANGE TOOLKIT TO DISSEMINATE THROUGH COMMUNITY PARTNERS WITH KEY CONTENT TO PROMOTE THE PERSUASIVE MESSAGES AND THE VIDEO. IN 2025, THE CONSORTIUM FOR MULTILINGUAL LEARNER SUCCESS LAUNCHED THE MULTILINGUAL EDUCATION LEADERSHIP AWARDS TO RECOGNIZE EXEMPLARY SCHOOLS AND SCHOOL DISTRICTS ADVANCING MULTILINGUAL LEARNERS THROUGH THE STATE SEAL OF BILITERACY AND THE BILITERACY PATHWAY RECOGNITIONS AWARDS. THE CONSORTIUM INTRODUCED THE AWARDS AT IS INAUGURAL VOICES OF HOPE CELEBRATION BY RECOGNIZING LA COUNTY HIGH SCHOOLS AND ONE SCHOOL DISTRICT. COLLEGE ACCESS AND SUCCESS IN SOUTHEAST LOS ANGELES (CASS) POLICY FRAMEWORK AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT FOR COLLEGE SUCCESS NETWORK (CECSN)WITHIN ABC'S COLLEGE ACCESS AND SUCCESS IN THE SOUTHEAST LOS ANGELES (CASS) POLICY FRAMEWORK, THE SELA GOES TO COLLEGE INITIATIVE WAS CREATED IN PARTNERSHIP WITH CROSS-SECTORAL COMMUNITY-BASED ORGANIZATIONS IN SOUTHEAST EAST LOS ANGELES. THIS PROGRAM AIMS TO INCREASE COLLEGE PREPAREDNESS SUPPORT OPTIONS IN HIGH SCHOOLS BY EXPANDING THE PARTNERSHIPS BETWEEN K-12 SCHOOLS AND THE LOCAL COMMUNITY COLLEGES. ABC ALSO SERVED AS THE LOS ANGELES REGIONAL LEAD FOR THE STATEWIDE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT FOR COLLEGE SUCCESS NETWORK (CECSN) MADE UP OF COMMUNITY-BASED ORGANIZATIONS IN CENTRAL VALLEY, INLAND EMPIRE AND LOS ANGELES. IN THIS ROLE, ABC LED EFFORTS TO DEVELOP AND IMPLEMENT A COLLEGE ACCESS COMMUNICATIONS PLAN, COORDINATE ALIGNED EFFORTS, AND STRENGTHEN ORGANIZATIONAL CAPACITY. PLATICAS"PLATICAS CON ABC" ARE MONTHLY VIRTUAL CONVENINGS FOR ABC'S PARENT NETWORK. THE PLATICAS SERVE AS AN OPPORTUNITY TO PROVIDE REAL-TIME AND VALUABLE INFORMATION TO OUR PARENT NETWORK BY INVITING EXPERTS TO TALK ABOUT A VARIETY OF TOPICS AIMED AT THE COMMUNITY'S NEEDS. ADDITIONALLY, THE PLATICAS SERVE AS A PLATFORM FOR THE PARENTS TO BE HEARD AND HAVE OPEN CONVERSATIONS WITH ONE ANOTHER, SHARE THEIR EXPERIENCES AND ASK QUESTIONS. AS PART OF OUR VISION TO BUILD UP COMMUNITY LEADERS AND ADVOCATE FOR COMMUNITY-CENTERED POLICY SOLUTIONS, WE NEED TO GIVE PARENTS THE PROPER RESOURCES TO DEVELOP THEIR VOICE AND LEADERSHIP. A NEW TOPIC IS INCLUDED EACH MONTH AND CONNECTIONS ARE MADE ON WORKING TO ACHIEVE THE BROADER GOAL OF IMPROVING THE WELL-BEING OF OUR COMMUNITIES. WE CHOOSE OUR TOPIC BASED ON CURRENT EVENTS AND NEEDS IN THE CONTEXT OF THAT TIME OF YEAR. WE COLLABORATE WITH PARTNER ORGANIZATIONS SO THEY CAN SHARE THEIR ISSUE/CONTENT EXPERTISE WITH OUR PARENT NETWORK. THE PLATICAS ALLOW FOR PARENTS TO CREATE A BETTER SHARED IDENTITY WITH OTHER PARENT LEADERS IN OUR NETWORK AND HELP THEM BUILD RELATIONSHIPS WITH ONE ANOTHER. AS A RESULT PARENTS THEN CREATE MORE AWARENESS ABOUT THE "PLATICAS CON ABC." ADDITIONALLY, THE PLATICAS HELP ABC IDENTIFY POLICY ADVOCACY PRIORITIES, COLLECT QUALITATIVE AND ANECDOTAL DATA, AND CAPTURE STORYTELLING TO SUPPORT HUMANIZING THE DATA. CLOSING THE DIGITAL DIVIDEABC HAS CONTINUED LEADING EFFORTS TO HIGHLIGHT THE EXTREME INEQUITIES THAT EXIST IN THE SOUTHEAST LOS ANGELES (SELA) COUNTY REGION WITH REGARDS TO THE DIGITAL DIVIDE. DURING THE PANDEMIC, A LACK OF ACCESS TO RELIABLE AND AFFORDABLE INTERNET PREVENTED LOW-INCOME HOUSEHOLDS WITH MAJORITY LATINA/O RESIDENTS ACCESSING SERVICES.ABC LAUNCHED A REVISED PARENT ACADEMY, A PROGRAM DESIGNED TO BUILD LEADERSHIP SKILLS AMONG LATINA/O PARENTS OF LOS ANGELES UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT (LAUSD) STUDENTS, WHO ARE TOO OFTEN UNDERREPRESENTED IN CIVIC LEADERSHIP. THE DIGITAL EQUITY ADVOCACY TRAINING SESSIONS TAKE PLACE ACROSS SOUTHEAST L.A., INCLUDING BELL GARDENS, CUDAHY, HUNTINGTON PARK, WALNUT PARK, AND SOUTH GATE. THIS EIGHT-WEEK PROGRAM DEVELOPS DIGITAL EQUITY CHAMPIONS THROUGH POWER-BUILDING AND ADVOCACY SKILLS. IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENT ENGAGEMENT ACADEMY, ABC ALSO CONDUCTED DIGITAL EQUITY TRAININGS AT THREE SELA SCHOOLS, LIBERTY BOULEVARD ELEMENTARY, MAYWOOD HIGH SCHOOL, AND WALNUT PARK MIDDLE SCHOOL, REACHING OVER 233 PARENTS IN 2024 SO FAR. THESE BILINGUAL SESSIONS, OFFERED IN ENGLISH AND SPANISH, COVERED CRUCIAL TOPICS SUCH AS EQUITY VS. EQUALITY, THE IMPORTANCE OF INTERNET ACCESS FOR EVERYDAY ACTIVITIES, UNDERSTANDING ADVOCACY AND THE ROLE OF ADVOCATES, AND THE LATEST POLICY UPDATES ON DIGITAL EQUITY. THE PARENT ACADEMY HAS ENGAGED COMMUNITY LEADERS IN ADVOCACY EFFORTS INCLUDING LAUSD PUBLIC COMMENT, STATE LEGISLATIVE VISITS IN SACRAMENTO, AND TRADITIONAL MEDIA INTERVIEWS. ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE AND GREEN SCHOOLSIN JANUARY 2024 ABC PUBLISHED THE, "PROTECTING STUDENTS FROM OUR CHANGING CLIMATE" REPORT THAT UPLIFTED THE NEED FOR TARGETED INVESTMENT IN COMPOUNDLY IMPACTED REGIONS OF EXTREME HEAT. THE REGIONS THAT WERE HIGHLIGHTED TO BE HIGHEST NEEDS WERE LOW-INCOME, LATINA/O COMMUNITIES WITH LITTLE ACCESS TO GREEN SPACE. THE REPORT WENT ON TO PROVIDE FIVE POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS, MANY OF WHICH HAVE BEEN IMPLEMENTED BY LA UNIFIED TO SOME EXTENT. BUILDING ON THE REPORT'S MOMENTUM, ABC ESTABLISHED A NEW COHORT OF PARENT LEADERS IN THE EAST SAN FERNANDO VALLEY TO PARTICIPATE IN THE PADRES ORGANIZADOS POR LA SALUD AMBIENTAL (POSA), OR PARENTS ORGANIZED FOR ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH PROGRAM. THIS SIX-SESSION PROGRAM TRAINS PARENTS ON ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH JUSTICE ADVOCACY, AIR QUALITY, STORMWATER CAPTURE, EXTREME HEAT, AND ADVOCACY METHODS. UPON COMPLETION, THE SAN FERNANDO VALLEY AND THE SOUTHEAST POSA PARENTS PARTICIPATED IN ASPHALT TEMPERATURE RECORDINGS ON THEIR SCHOOL CAMPUSES. THE DATA COLLECTION IDENTIFIED THE RANGES OF EXTREME HEAT AT THE SCHOOLS AND ILLUSTRATED THE IMPACT OF CLIMATE CHANGE IN SCHOOLS. THESE TRAINING WORKSHOPS CULTIVATE PARENT LEADERS AND GROW THE NUMBE