Manual Arts High School

Our team's first year of work together under the grant was done at Manual Arts High School. However, during the time of our grant we have designed and implemented three small pilot schools, the Schools for Community Action, at Augustus Hawkins High School. We completed our first year as a school there in the 2012/2013 school year. The Hawkins campus was built to relieve the overcrowding at Manual Arts, so approximately 60% of our students are former Manual Arts students. 

Manual Arts High School was established in 1910 and was the third school in Los Angeles, California after Los Angeles High School and L.A. Polytechnic High School. Although an earthquake in the 1930s forced it to relocate, it is still the oldest high school still on its original site in the Los Angeles Unified School District. 

Augustus Hawkins High School

Augustus Hawkins High School opened its doors for the first time in August of 2012, after a successful community based effort to create a transformative educational space in South Central LA. The TIIP team members were integral members of the design team that wrote the pilot school proposals that were recognized and eventually voted on by the LAUSD school board through the Public School Choice Process. The campus mission and core values ensure all Hawkins students’ skills, talents and intelligence are augmented with the necessary experiences and resources to facilitate their development as young community leaders. This TIIP team was instrumental in the creation of Schools for Community Action, the family of schools at Hawkins High School. 

School and Community Statistics: 

• 82.2% of our students are Latino and 17.5% are African-American.
• 27% of residents earn less than $15,000 and 60% earn less than $35,000 per year.
• 22% of households are headed by a single-parent.
• There were 721 violent crimes in 2007 (averaging 2 a day) and 354 gang-related crimes (approximately one a day).      
  
• The largest absolute number of victims of gang crime continues to be the 18-24 year old age group (121 victims in 2007).

The curriculum and pedagogical drive that has developed with the TIIP grant has gone wall to wall at the Hawkins Campus. Math students are using GIS mapping to better understand Algebra, students in English classes are writing essays explaining their counter-narrative, and Social Studies students of all grade levels are mapping out dominant and counter-narratives throughout time and space. Every Hawkins teacher has participated in a mapping activity that facilitated our end of the year reflection through the use of IPOD touches and GIS mapping programs. The TIIP grant has been fundamental in our development as teachers, and instrumental in the development of school culture and expectation at Hawkins High School.