Local College Students Give Back By Advocating For Quality K-12 Public Education In LA’s Southeast

SOUTH GATE, Calif. - April 8, 2015 - PRLog -- This spring, dozens of students from local colleges and universities – including UCLA, Cal State Dominguez Hills and Whittier College – are canvassing neighborhoods in the southeast cities of Los Angeles as part of an effort to advocate for quality education, engage residents in the education conversation and ask voters to elect Dr. Ref Rodríguez to LAUSD’s District 5 seat in the upcoming LAUSD School Board elections on Tuesday, May 19, 2015. Dr. Rodríguez is one of two candidates vying for the seat, and the candidate of choice for the students who say that their community has been ignored by the LAUSD for far too long.

         The students are part of Students For Education Reform (SFER) Action Network in Los Angeles, a non-profit organization led by college students who work together to make a difference in the K-12 education system in their communities.

         “As L.A.-area college students and former students of the LAUSD, we care about education and understand how important it is to have quality instruction in K-12 in order to succeed in a college,” said Adriana Navarro, a Huntington Park resident and senior at Cal State Dominguez Hills. “We’re outreaching to our communities to let them know that their voice counts, that it’s important that they vote and that we believe that Dr. Ref Rodriguez is the best candidate to address the needs of our students and communities,” added Navarro.

         According to the group, southeast cities like South Gate, Cudahy, Maywood and Huntington Park have disproportionately high drop out rates for low-income students. “Kids are growing up in communities where less than 20% of students enroll in Advanced Placement or Honors Courses, our English Language Learners have low rates of reclassification and fewer students attend a four-year college or university,” said Navarro.

“This is unacceptable! All kids deserve to have a great education, and their families need options. That’s why we’re supporting Dr. Rodríguez,” she added.

         SFER will launch its outreach in South Gate, but will continue to canvass leading up to the election on Tuesday, May 19, 2015.

         For more information about Students For Education Reform (SFER) or to interview a student, please contact Evelyn Aleman at evelyn@mipr.net or call Office: (818) 881-7976 / Cell: (818) 943-2481. To learn more about SFER visit www.sferanla.org.

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Students For Education Reform (SFER) Action Network

SFER Action Network is a non-profit organization led by college students who work together to make a difference in the K-12 education system for their communities. Local students build civic engagement, organizing and advocacy skills in addition to supporting candidates who share their mission to improve public education in underserved communities.

SFER L.A.

In Los Angeles, SFER has tackled key issues like:

Ensuring proper implementation of A-G college preparatory courses needed for high school graduation and admittance to a four-year college or university, and
Leading advocacy efforts at the state level for the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) – additional funding for local school districts aimed at increasing the quality of education for low-income, foster care and English Learner students.