This is the fifth story in our series, “A Network of Innovation: Ideas, Questions, and Wisdom from our LA Partner Schools.” This week, seniors at Animo Jackie Robinson are formally presenting their Student Action Projects, the culminating act of their Ethnic Studies course and a rich high school learning trajectory that emphasizes upstanding and community engagement. Ethnic Studies teacher Jasmin Gonzalez describes not only how students complete this challenging project, but how it takes an entire school community and coordinated, vertical planning to pull it off. While the experience is uniquely envisioned and carried out by Animo Jackie Robinson, the connections to Facing History’s focus on upstanding, core pedagogical approach, and support for interdisciplinary learning stand out as core elements that make our partner schools a dream to work with. 

This is the fourth story in our series, “A Network of Innovation: Ideas, Questions, and Wisdom from our LA Partner Schools.” Cleveland Humanities Magnet has a long history of innovative, interdisciplinary, and rigorous educational programming. Upon joining the Facing History Los Angeles Partnership School Network four years ago, two 12th-grade teachers attended a summer seminar on the Holocaust and Human Behavior. Victor Silva teaches the historical anchor of an interdisciplinary unit that combines philosophy, literature and digital humanities. He has also developed a remarkable memorial project that challenges his students to go beyond learning and consider how they will ensure this history is not forgotten.