Education

Cynthia E. Griffin  |   OW Managing Editor
Apr 5 2012

Named ‘Distinguished’ schools

 As schools nationwide struggle with shrinking budgets and injecting academic rigor into curriculums, California’s State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson last week announced that 387 exemplary public schools were named 2012 Distinguished schools for their innovative education programs that both encourage students to learn and help close the achievement gap.

Six of the awardees this year are local schools from the Compton, Inglewood, Hawthorne and Los Angeles unified school districts.

Jan 9 2012

Jonathan Kendrick, Eleni Press

LOS ANGELES, Calif.—Two USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism seniors majoring in broadcast journalism were awarded the Chick Hearn Memorial Scholarship at last nights Los Angeles Lakers game at Staples Center.

Jonathan Kendrick and Eleni Press, the second female recipient in the scholarship’s 10-year existence, were presented with the scholarships at at halftime of the Lakers’ 90-82 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies.

Dominique Barton  |   OW College Intern
Nov 17 2011

Millions in grants geared toward student success

Los Angeles Southwest College (LASC) was recently awarded two grants from the federal Department of Education geared toward encouraging academic success among African American students.

The first grant will fund a five-year program that will allow LASC to improve the educational outcomes of Black students at the school through the Freshman Experience Project. The effort will help approximately 125 incoming freshmen each year with academics and achieve success.

Nov 16 2011

Despite student protest

LONG BEACH, Calif.—The California State University Board of Trustees approved a 9 percent tuition hike for the 2012-13 school year today, despite a vocal student protest that disrupted the panel’s meeting as police tried to usher people out of the meeting room.

Nov 14 2011

Over 600,000 LAUSD parents to receive gift cards to fund their children’s classroom projects

 LOS ANGELES, Calif.—DonorsChoose.org, the innovative national online education charity that allows public school teachers to seek independent funding for classroom supplies and resources via its website, announced today that the Wasserman Foundation has made a two-year commitment of $4 million to support Los Angeles School District and charter teachers. This includes a $2 million gift card campaign to parents and the community and a $2 million challenge grant to Angelenos to fund Los Angeles schools through DonorsChooseLA.org.

Across Black America

Here’s a look at African American people and issues making headlines throughout the country.

California
Allied Integrated Marketing recently announced it is launching a new African American marketing division, Allied Moxy. The new division will create innovative campaigns that integrate publicity, promotions, digital and grassroots outreach to speak directly to the full diversity of African American consumers. Spearheading Allied Moxy are industry veterans Kim Walters and Gloria Jones. Walters will oversee national strategy from Los Angeles, while Jones will oversee regional/local strategy from Washington, D.C. Walters brings more than a decade of marketing experience working with entertainment companies such as Codeblack Entertainment, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, and A&E Lifetime Television, as well as consumer brands such as KIA and L.A. Gear and awards programs such as NAACP Image Awards and Soul Train Music Awards. Jones has been with Allied for five years running publicity and promotional campaigns for clients, including Universal Pictures, Focus Features and Relativity Media, and previously worked for WBDC-TV in D.C. and MTV Networks’ Nick @ Nite and TV Land.

 

Representing Los Angeles and Center Theatre Group, Tyler Edwards, a senior at the Orange County High School of the Arts, placed third at the national finals of the fifth annual August Wilson Monologue Competition (AWMC) at Broadway’s August Wilson Theatre in New York City. “I am thrilled . . . I’m so glad that I took it for L.A. the first time we got up . . . that’s what we’re talking about!” said an elated Edwards following the competition. Edwards, an aspiring actor, describes the soaring, lyrical monologues found in the plays by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright August Wilson as “very inspirational,” and said prior to the Los Angeles Regional Finals of the August Wilson competition, “I would love to share a bit of that inspiration with any audience, in hopes that they leave with more appreciation than they walked in with.”

 

Georgia
Bounce TV, the nation’s first-ever over-the-air broadcast television network for African Americans, will launch a second new original comedy series, “Uptown Comic,” on June 18, immediately after the series premiere of the just-announced sitcom “Family Time.” “Uptown Comic” is a half-hour series featuring stage and skit performances by some of the hottest up-and-coming comics in the country. The show is currently in production in front of a live studio audience at the longest-running African American comedy club in the U.S.—Uptown Comedy Corner in Atlanta. Actor and comedian Joe Torry (Russell Simmons’ Def Comedy Jam) hosts. “Family Time,” a half hour situation comedy created by Bentley Kyle Evans ( “The Jamie Foxx Show,” “Martin,” “Love That Girl”) and produced by Evans and partner Trenten Gumbs is set to launch Monday, June 18, at 8 p.m. The series premiere of “Uptown Comic” will follow and be seen weekly at 8:30 p.m. (All Times Eastern.)