Oscar De La Hoya Donates $3.5 Million to Green Dot

World champion boxer and philanthropist Oscar De La Hoya donated $3.5 million to fund his namesake Oscar De La Hoya Ánimo Charter High School (ODLHA) and additional Green Dot schools.
       De La Hoya presented the gift to Green Dot at ODLHA's commencement ceremony earlier this month. The money will be used to build a new, permanent school  for Oscar De La Hoya Ánimo in East L.A. as well as other Green Dot high schools, including several new schools representing the re-structured Locke High School in Watts. De La Hoya, whose foundation is dedicated to helping underprivileged families in East Los Angeles, has been actively involved with ODLHA since its founding in 2003.       
       "Growing up in East Los Angeles, I know how important it is to keep a positive attitude and to stay focused on your goals," said De La Hoya. "I'm so proud of these students. Every one of them deserves a quality education and I'm honored to help them realize their dreams! This is a landmark day for everyone involved with Oscar De La Hoya Ánimo Charter High School, and I'm thrilled to be building a new school in my hometown."

Two More Ánimo Schools Celebrate Their First Graduating Classes
Congratulations to the first graduating classes of Ánimo Venice and Ánimo South Los Angeles!  Both schools were founded four years ago, and those 9th graders have beaten the odds and graduated with college-prep educations.
       This is the first year that all five of the original Green Dot schools will have graduating classes, as these two schools join Ánimo Leadership, Ánimo Inglewood, and Oscar De La Hoya Ánimo.
       Students and parents from all of the Ánimo schools celebrated their commencements at Loyola Marymount University earlier this month.
       "It's really tough to say good-bye to these kids," says William Herrera, founding assistant principal of Ánimo Venice. "I've seen them grow and really mature over the years. I'm very proud of them."
        Green Dot's class of 2008 turned out the largest number of graduating seniors ever to be accepted  to Ivy League colleges. Seven seniors, five of them from Ánimo Inglewood alone, were accepted into Ivy League and top-tier universities that include Dartmouth, Princeton, Columbia, Brown, Barnard, and Stanford universities.
     This year's commencement speakers acknowledged the students' achievements and urged them to give back to their communities, work hard to overcome obstacles before them, and strive for success.
      Marshall Tuck, CEO of the Partnership for Los Angeles Schools and former president of Green Dot, urged the first graduating class of Ánimo Venice to continue to take chances and make history throughout their lives.  "Keep pushing to be pioneers and to make history again.  You've all got a lot of Ánimo in you.  And as you go through the next four years, the next ten years, and the next twenty years, let courage and let Ánimo be your guiding light."
     Other speakers included Green Dot founder Steve Barr, athlete and philanthropist Oscar De La Hoya, Father Greg Boyle of Homeboy Industries, Sergio Diaz, and the deputy chief of the Los Angeles Police Department.
      

Green Dot wishes its graduates success in college, leadership and life!

Students Get Firsthand Lessons in Government in D.C. and Sacramento
Sixteen students from Ánimo Ralph Bunche spent one week in the nation's capitol recently and got a first-hand look at politics and government on a national scale. The trip was part of the Close Up Program which introduces students to the workings of government through hands-on activities and personal meetings with political figures. As part of the five-day stay in Washington D.C., the students met with Sen. Dianne Feinstein and staff from the office of Congresswoman Maxine Waters. Among the many other activities, they of course took the time to visit our nation's most important monuments and museums.  "This was a real eye-opening opportunity for these students," says Elizabeth Serna, a teacher Ralph Bunche. "It helped put what they are learning in perspective."

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Ánimo Ralph Bunche and Ánimo Inglewood students also learned about the importance of lobbying when groups from each school  joined hundreds of others in Sacramento recently to participate in the American Heart Association's Annual Lobby Day in Sacramento. This program was made possible by the generous support of the Frieda C. Fox Family Foundation.

Winners Circle
Oscar De La Hoya Ánimo Holds Science Fair

The second floor balcony at Oscar De La Hoya Ánimo looked like a makeshift physics lab with hydroelectric generators, a handmade air conditioner, and many other projects crowding the space.
       Every senior taking physics at ODLHA participated in the second annual science fair, held in May. Sixty projects were submitted, covering everything from ways to conserve energy to thermodynamics, electricity, and magnetism.
      First place winners designed an air conditioner that ran off of a normal fan and a water pump. The second place group tested the affects of heat on living organisms, such as plants and worms. Third place was a tie between students who proved how the height of water falling on a hydroelectric generator affected how much electricity was produced, and another group of students who showed that magnets can be used to slow down and eventually stop a roller coaster.

Green Dot Profiles
Ánimo Schools Welcome New Principals 
Four Green Dot assistant principals will take on new leadership roles as principals at Ánimo schools for the new school year. William Herrera, the founding assistant principal at Ánimo Venice, will now lead Ánimo Justice. Leilani Abulon and Harris Luu will move from assistant principals to principals of Ánimo Inglewood and Oscar De La Hoya Ánimo, respectively. And, Xochitl Avellán will take the helm of Ánimo Ralph Bunche.

"Green Dot is fortunate to have such a talented and committed group of leaders serving our schools. The promotion of these four assistant principals to principalships allows our schools to continue seamlessly on their paths to ensuring all students are ready for college, leadership, and life. We know we are succeeding when we can promote our school leaders from within our organization," says Green Dot Chief Academic Officer Sandy Blazer.

Xochitl Avellán
Xochitl Avellán spent five years climbing the corporate banking ladder before embarking on a career in education. Her inspiration was teaching Sunday School at her church.
       "I always looked forward to teaching that class and being in the classroom," she says. "It was so fulfilling."
       She taught middle school for several years and then worked as a high school literacy coach for L.A. Unified before joining Green Dot.  She started at Ánimo Justice in 2006 and oversaw the school's English as a Second Language (ESL) program, the first program directly serving recent immigrants at any Green Dot school. She quickly became the assistant principal of the school before being tapped to take the helm at Ánimo Ralph Bunche.
         As principal, Avellán says she is looking forward to boosting school spirit, building the school's legacy, and creating a sense of family among students, teachers, and parents. "In order to there to be real change, we  have to work together as a family. Everyone has to feel that," Avellán says.
       
Leilani Abulon
Leilani Abulon hails from a family of teachers: her mother taught for over 30 years, and her older sister started as a teacher and then moved on to administration, landing a position at Green Dot.
        Abulon didn't see herself as an educator. She fell into it after college when she applied for a job as a teacher upon the urging of her sister, Cristina de Jesus, who was starting as founding principal of Ánimo Inglewood. Abulon landed a position as a ninth-grade history teacher at Ánimo Inglewood and never looked back.
        After four years in the classroom, she was promoted to the position of assistant principal.  Now, Leilani will take over as principal of the school.
        "I'm excited," says Abulon.  "I'm confident in our staff's ability to move forward. Now I just need to get my feet wet to relieve the anxiety."
        Abulon says her two big goals in her principalship are to increase student achievement by establishing a schoolwide writing program, and to continue to strengthen the culture and relationships among the staff.

William Herrera
William Herrera spent five years as a middle school teacher before learning about Green Dot. He joined Green Dot in 2004 as the founding assistant principal of Ánimo Venice.
        Herrera says his experience watching and helping the original ninth graders mature personally and academically over these past four years at Ánimo Venice has prepared him for his new role as principal of Ánimo Justice.
        Herrera notes that his biggest challenge, and goal, as principal will be helping Ánimo Justice's large English as a Second Language population. "It's a different challenge than what I've had at Venice, but it's the reality of the population of students who Green Dot is educating and who are living in L.A," he says.
        Herrera's other priority as principal will be to meet with students and parents to begin a dialogue about ways to improve the school and build a stronger community.
        "It's a really exciting time to get to work with these students and produce the first graduating class in 2010 at Ánimo Justice," says Herrera. "This is what I was meant to do. I love education."

Harris Luu
Harris Luu's mission in life is to help young immigrants adjust to and succeed in life, as well as to help underserved communities. He first considered accomplishing this as an attorney, but after a stint as a substitute teacher immediately after college, he saw the power in changing public schools to end the gross disparity in resources.
        "I really wanted to significantly change the system," says Luu. "I believe that education enables us to build a society that values and rewards the great assets and diversity that immigrants bring to this country."
        He has made that difference in the classroom and as an administrator. Luu taught middle school in Hawthorne and taught education classes at Loyola Marymount University before becoming a founding teacher at Oscar De La Hoya Ánimo (ODLHA). He became assistant principal in 2005 and will take over as principal next month.
        Luu says he doesn't foresee any drastic changes at ODLHÁ. "I'd just like to continue to harness the great momentum and energy we have right now and continue to identify programs to supplement the core curriculum," he says. "That's a good way to get started."

Green Dot in the News

Green Dot Public Schools' work to transform the troubled Alain Leroy Locke Senior High School was noted in a recent Los Angeles Times editorial as a promising end to the inertia and neglect that has plagued the school for so long. The pending transformation of Locke High was also noted in the first of a continuing series by the L.A. Times that will follow the progress that Green Dot and its supporters will make this coming school year. To read both editorial articles, click here and the link above.