SERIES:

Faces of Growth
School

Why Sarai Traveled Two Hours a Day for School

July 9, 2019
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Ánimo Pat Brown Charter High School (APB) alumna 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.

ALUMNI

How Math Will Help This Future Nurse Practitioner

August 27, 2019
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“People always joke that the Pythagorean theorem isn’t going to help you in the real world,” chuckled Ashley Perez, a 2019 Ánimo College Prep Academy alumna.

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Inglewood

Rising So That Others Can: Meet Alumna Yaritza Gonzalez

August 5, 2019
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During the 1980s, my parents migrated from Mexico to California in search of better opportunities. In California, I grew up in the fields of Oxnard and the streets of Inglewood, where I witnessed members of my community discriminated against, deported, jailed, and murdered.

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African American

How African American Students are Closing Achievement Gaps

April 22, 2019
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Growing up, I didn’t know what path I wanted my life to take. I did, however, understand early on that my path was different because I am an African American male–being stopped and questioned by police officers was a regular part of my childhood.

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USC

USC News: Parents’ Sacrifices Drive First-Generation USC Student to Succeed

January 28, 2019
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Seeing her mom and dad work tough jobs to survive motivates USC Mork Family Scholar Jacqueline Martinez to provide them and others in similar circumstances with a better life.

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Drama

Perry Shields: Journey of a Second Career Teacher

December 4, 2018
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“I’m 57 years old, and I’m in my twelfth year of teaching — I’m late to this,” chuckled Perry Shields, drama teacher at Oscar De La Hoya Ánimo Charter High School (ODLH). Shields doesn’t mind that his teaching career began later on, as he’s been able to bring his life experiences and passions into his role as an educator.

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OUR MISSION:

to help transform public education so all students graduate prepared for college, leadership, and life.