Welcome to the Green Dot Blog!
UPAS seeks support from the community for Healthy Checkout Ordinance
United Parents and Students will open their advocacy year at Ánimo Jackie Robinson on February 4 when they will present the Green Dot Public School California parents with a healthy initiative that they hope will make it all the way into an ordinance in Los Angeles County. Healthy Checkout and Keep the Soda in the…
Read More >>
Mentorship was a lifesaver for this Hillcrest student and Fairley HS alum
When Tamaria Bridgeforth, a Senior Project Manager at FedEx, first heard about the work the Green Dot Mentorship Program was doing at Hillcrest High School in Memphis, TN, immediately knew she wanted to be a mentor. After all, Bridgeforth knows firsthand the difference a mentor can make in the life of a young person. A…
Read More >>
Male African American teachers play key role at Fairley HS
Male African American teachers are playing a key role at Memphis’ Fairley High School, mentoring black male students, and helping them make the correct decisions as they prepare them for college, leadership, and life. At Fairley, 52 percent of the enrolled students are male African Americans, as well as 32 percent of the teaching staff.…
Read More >>
Wooddale Middle School increases ESL students in new School Year
Wooddale Middle School’s English as a Second Language students increased to 137 in the 2022-2023 school year. This is the highest number of enrolled students in the last few years, prompting the need to add a fifth specialized teacher to provide the resources to accommodate the mainly Hispanic students. “Our ESL number has increased in…
Read More >>
In 2022 we continued to serve our students and communities as we adapted to the new normal
As we continued adapting to the new normal in 2022, we had the chance to reconnect with our students face-to-face, teachers and staff celebrating their successes and difficulties. We were able to renew friendships, hold extra curricular activities and speak once again with parents and our communities to share their concerns and work together to…
Read More >>
UPAS Assembly approves platform for 2023 Los Angeles communities
When United Parents & Students held their ninth annual assembly, its members unanimously approved the five point Community Invested Platform presented by the community based organization. Over 250 parents and students came to the assembly, held at the Los Angeles Trade Technical College, the first one held with the public since 2020 and the start…
Read More >>
Meet Michelle, a Green Dot Tennessee Growth All Star
Michelle is an eighth grade student at Wooddale Middle School in Memphis, Tennessee who has already set her sights on becoming an obstetrician. She also loves kids and cannot wait for her new brother that is on the way. In her free time, Michelle’s favorite thing to do is spend quality time with her loved…
Read More >>
Mentors and mentees have first face-to-face at Mentorship Match Day
The Green Dot Mentorship Program kicked off its second year with the first ever face to face encounter of mentors and students at Ánimo City of Champions Charter High School after starting virtually during the 2021-2022 school year in both Los Angeles and Memphis. Mentors from various partner companies met for the first time in…
Read More >>
Meet our Green Dot Growth All Stars!
Chad is a 12th grader at Green Dot’s Ánimo City of Champions High School in Los Angeles. Chad radiates kindness – he won’t tell you who his best friend is, instead he casually shares that he is friends with everyone on campus. To bring everyone together around his favorite hobby, he is starting a book…
Read More >>
UPAS presents Community Investment Platform at Annual Assembly
United Parents & Students will hold their next annual assembly this weekend, where leaders will push their Community Investment Platform as a step to reduce poverty in communities served by Green Dot Public Schools. The assembly, the ninth since the community organization was founded in 2014, will be the first one to be held with…
Read More >>
UPAS gets ready for busy semester at Green Dot communities in Tennessee
The 2022-23 school year promises to be a busy one for the Memphis chapter of United Parents & Students, as Regional Organizer Kevin Armstrong prepares to take the Youth Organizing Institute year-round. “We are gearing up for the fall semester, we are going to do YOI year-round in schools as well as virtual, and preparing…
Read More >>
Rodgers will focus on academic achievements at Tennessee
Jocquell Rodgers wants the Green Dot Public Schools community in Tennessee to recognize Fairley, Hillcrest and Bluff City High Schools for their academic achievements and not only their athletics and music programs. “For a long time, Fairley has struggled academically. It has had great success in athletics in the past, it had great success with…
Read More >>
Wooddale MS, Fairley HS students shine in iReady testing in Memphis
Students in Wooddale Middle School and Fairley High School in Memphis reflected significant growth in Math and Reading levels in the Spring iReady testing of the Green Dot schools. “These results are extremely exciting, and they add to what has been a great year for our schools in Memphis,” said Jocquell Rodgers, executive director of…
Read More >>
Organizing is the road toward prosperity, says United Parents and Students
Broad-based Organizing is the best way to fight inequality and improve conditions in our communities, according to United Parents and Students executive director Larry Fondation. In materials prepared by Fondation, he outlines how communities should work together identifying the issues that affect them directly, such as crime, food deserts, low wages, and long hours, as…
Read More >>
UPAS graduates new leaders as part of the YOI program
The Youth Organizing Institute (YOI) of United Parents and Students graduated 14 students this past Summer in California and Tennessee as part of their program to empower them as leaders of their communities. The YOI program has been active for the past six years, and the 2022 graduation ceremony was the first in-person since the…
Read More >>
Hillcrest High School achieves Level 4 in TVAAS for the first time
Hillcrest High School in Memphis achieved Level 4 scores in the Tennessee Value-Added Assessment System (TVAAS) for the first time. When Hillcrest was identified as a priority school by state assessments, the school was placed into the state’s Achievement School District (ASD), who invited Green Dot Public Schools to lead the transformation effort. This is…
Read More >>
Hillcrest HS Launches New Content Creator Course in Memphis
The new Content Creator initiative at Hillcrest High School in Memphis has both students and staff excited about giving them more opportunities on their way to college as well as being a motivation to excel in other courses. The program, generously supported by the Tennessee Valley Authority, will impact 20 students in the 11th and…
Read More >>
Chad Everett selected as Bluff City High’s new principal
Chad Everett was selected to be the new Principal at Bluff City High School, one of five schools that Green Dot Public Schools Tennessee operates in Memphis. He was selected through a competitive process that included input from the community of stakeholders at Bluff City School including teachers, staff, and regional leadership. Mr. Everett began…
Read More >>
Wooddale Middle Principal Takes on Leadership Role
The 2021-2022 school year held many sweet moments for former Wooddale Middle School principal Marysa Utley. In April, she was named to serve as Green Dot Public Schools Tennessee first Chief of Staff. In May, she saw her first class of students get their high school diploma; and two of those students from that first…
Read More >>
Over 1,800 graduates received congratulations and support
Over 1,800 note cards were forwarded to the 2022 Green Dot Public School graduates in the California and Tennessee region as part of the Dear Green Dot Graduate initiative, which is in its second year. The graduates received encouragement and support from Green Dot staff, business, and community leaders as they took their steps towards…
Read More >>
Subscribe to receive the latest updates!
Follow us:
Green Dot Public Schools
1149 S. Hill St., Ste 600
Los Angeles, CA 90015
Phone: (323) 565-1600