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College and Career Readiness Through the Arts at Ánimo Venice
In underserved communities, students typically have less access to an arts education and receive significantly less exposure to the arts compared to their more affluent peers. To change that, Ánimo Venice Charter High School provides students with both a rigorous core curriculum and an arts education.
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What My First College Tour Taught Me About My Future
This year, I had an eye opening experience during my very first college tour as a sophomore at Ánimo City of Champions Charter High School. Together with my classmates and teachers, we visited Stanford University, University of California, Santa Barbara; Cal Poly San Luis Obispo; California State University, Fresno; University of California, Merced; San Jose State University; San Francisco State University, and the University of California, Berkeley.
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Why Sarai Traveled Two Hours a Day for School
Ánimo Pat Brown Charter High School (APB) senior Sarai Flores is one of the many students whose academic trajectories have been dramatically changed since they arrived at a Green Dot school. “I was not a very good student; I felt like school wasn’t important, but my mindset changed when I came to APB. I went from failing all my classes to getting mostly As,” reflected Flores.
Hillcrest Senior ‘Gives Her Best Shot,’ and Lands a Basketball Scholarship
Chancey Jackson, a Hillcrest High School alumna, is heading to Northeast Mississippi Community College in Booneville, Mississippi in the fall on a basketball scholarship. Reflecting on her senior year, Jackson is proud of the strong season she and her teammates had. The Lady Vikings were 14-0 this season, and were the top ranking team in the district.
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Second Annual Ánimo Cup Soccer Tournament Turns Out Two School Winners
This spring, Green Dot middle school and high school students competed in the second annual Ánimo Cup, an intramural soccer tournament for teams in our network. In the middle school division, Ánimo Ellen Ochoa Charter Middle School won against Ánimo Phillis Wheatley Charter Middle School with a score of 2-0 to place first in the middle school tournament.
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Middle School Students Organize a Clean Up in the Wetlands
Styrofoam, plastic straws, and cigarette butts were just a few of the items Ánimo Ellen Ochoa Charter Middle School (AEO) students collected at Ballona Creek this spring.
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How a Dream Helped This Student Rise Above Challenges
“When I was in ninth grade, I would have never thought I’d be going to college with a $20,000 scholarship. If I would have gone to another school, I know I wouldn’t be in the position I am in right now,” said Mecca Herron, a senior at Ánimo College Prep Academy.
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Nearly 3000 Miles From Home But Closer to Their Dreams: How These Alumnae Turned Ivy League Dreams into Realities
This summer, Roxana Andrade, an Oscar De La Hoya Ánimo Charter High School alumna; Maggie Vallejo, an Ánimo Inglewood Charter High School alumna, and Londy Hernandez, an Ánimo Pat Brown Charter High School alumna will join other Green Dot graduates in leaving their homes for the first time to pursue their dreams at some of the nation’s most elite universities.
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Making College Real: Why All Green Dot Schools Tour College Campuses
At Green Dot, college tours are a critical component of our students’ path to higher education. Most importantly, exposing students to college campuses feeds a vision for their future, and allows them to imagine themselves walking the campus as a student one day.
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How this student Shared a Stage with Michelle Obama
When Jenissi Gyan, a seventh grader at Excel Public Charter School, joined her local Girl Scout troop four years ago, she never imagined that her participation would lead her to sharing her future dreams in front of former First Lady Michelle Obama and a sold out crowd of 27,000 at the Tacoma Dome.
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How a Student Group Helped Promote a More Inclusive School Environment
“The reaction when you hear the word ‘gay’ on this campus is not the same as it once was. What was once pervasive is no longer,” recalled Sarah Ducker, English teacher at Ánimo Leadership Charter High School.
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Happy Campers: Bluff City Students Experience the Great Outdoors
Last year, a group of 40 founding freshmen from Bluff City High School spent one night at Camp Chia La Key in Huntsville, Alabama. Participants were offered a spot on the trip based on behavior and attendance. The trip began with a tour of Alabama A&M University, where students had lunch on campus and learned more about the university, and ended at the YMCA campground.
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Why this Parent Loves Wooddale Middle School
Antoine Stone is a proud Green Dot parent who considers Wooddale Middle School a second home. “It feels so family oriented and that’s what I love. It’s not just teachers that come to teach kids, but it’s mothers and fathers that come to teach their kids, who they call their kids away from home,” said Stone.
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Hillcrest Sweeps at Annual ACT-SO Competition
This summer, two students from Hillcrest High School will be heading to the Afro-Academic, Cultural, Technological and Scientific Olympics (ACT-SO) National Competition in Detroit. The competition was first organized over 30 years ago by NAACP branches across the U.S. to encourage African American high school students to aspire for excellence in 26 academic areas of competition.
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How Middle Schoolers are Creating Safe Spaces for LGBTQ+ Students
“I’m kind of mad I didn’t come to this school earlier. I came here a month ago and I finally feel like I belong,” admitted Yair Montano, an eighth grader at Ánimo Mae Jemison Charter Middle School. “In other schools, I felt shut out like I was nothing, but now I feel like I’m really a part of something.”
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Why This Government Class Was Recognized by the California Department of Education
This year, Ánimo Pat Brown Charter High School received the Civic Learning Award, a recognition by the California Department of Education awarded to schools that engage students in civic learning and help prepare the next generation of leaders to participate in our democracy.
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Jewish Journal: L.A. Charter High Schoolers Learn About the Holocaust by Meeting a Survivor
More than 100 10th graders from Ánimo Jackie Robinson Charter High School (AJR) gathered May 9 to listen to Holocaust survivor Rita Lurie’s story of how she survived in Poland.
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Chad Soleo Appointed National CEO of Green Dot Public Schools
After a rigorous and extensive hiring process, Green Dot’s National Board has announced its appointment of Chad Soleo as the next National Chief Executive for Green Dot Public Schools.
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Four Green Dot High Schools Named Top Los Angeles Public Schools for Underserved Students
In an effort to highlight Los Angeles schools successfully serving African American and Latino students in historically underserved communities, a report issued by Innovate Public Schools and USC provides a glimpse into the best institutions for closing achievement gaps.
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