Newcomer students meet with UCLA students taking part in SEIS class on community schooling to share and explore their education journeys
The trip from the UCLA Community School in Koreatown to UCLA is only a few miles by bus or car. But the journey from being a student at a community school in central Los Angeles to becoming a UCLA Bruin can be a daunting one.
Taking a first step toward that goal, 32 newcomer students from the UCLA Community School recently traveled to the UCLA campus in Westwood to meet with UCLA students and tour the campus. There they met with undergraduate students studying community schooling in a course in the UCLA School of Education and Information Studies undergraduate program. Together, the students formed into small groups to discuss in Spanish their educational journeys and see some of the highlights of the UCLA campus.
The UCLA Community Schools’ newcomer students are just that, newcomers, recent arrivals mostly from Mexico and Central America. Representing different cultures speaking little English and many from families with little income, but filled with potential, hope and resilience, they had come to UCLA, ready to explore the possibilities higher education offers and learn about the steps they need to take to pursue them.
The visit and tour, “let students get a glimpse into higher education,” said Gergio Ricacho, a sociology major who is also pursuing a minor in education studies at UCLA. “Hopefully we planted a few seeds that can encourage them to take the necessary steps and seek the information they need to pursue higher education.”
“Our students were a little shy at first, but they had a great time,” said Rosa Jimenez, a teacher and instructional coach at UCLA Community School. “They had lots of questions about how to get there and, interestingly, about the history of the school.”
“The students were really excited about what they learned,” added Leyda Garcia, principal, UCLA Community School. “They were asking what they needed to do to get to UCLA.”
The UCLA students were also excited to meet with the students from the community school, and asked them about their interests, showing them buildings where subjects they were interested in were taught, such as the engineering building. They also took them to see some of their favorite places on campus, including popular landmarks like the Bruin Bear, Royce Hall, and the sculpture garden.
“I’ve been a UCLA campus tour guide and I was able to share some quick facts and tips that they seemed really engaged in,” Ricacho said. “They asked follow-up questions and were genuinely excited.
“It was rewarding. We have been learning so much about community schools and even toured their school. It felt good to give back and return the favor by touring UCLA with the community school students.”
Many of the UCLA students participating in the tour are students in the UCLA Department of Education’s recently established Education and Social Transformation undergraduate major. This quarter, they are taking Education 113: Democracy, Justice, and Education: How Community Schools Seek to Transform Society. This course explores the ideals that define public discourse and scholarship about schooling in context of the century-old community school’s movement.
The course is grounded in the experience of two UCLA community schools in Los Angeles, as well as eight other community school sites chosen by participating students. This quarter, it is being taught by Karen Hunter Quartz, director of the Center for Community Schooling at UCLA.
The course examines community schools as equity-focused, anti-poverty reform efforts providing integrated social supports such as health, nutrition, and after-school programs. The course also explores the movement’s strong democratic roots tied to local control, collective problem solving, and community-based learning — challenging ideas about who has power, how young people learn, and how teachers teach.
“The visit was important to our class because we have been studying and reading about community schools all quarter long, and now we actually got to experience and reach out to the community school itself,” said Chrystal Merino, a junior in the Education and Social Transformation major. “Being able to speak to and learn about the individual students who attend the community schools has only shown me just how important this work is and makes me wonder what comes next for them.”
Many of the UCLA students that took part in the tour are transfer students, with interesting and sometimes challenging educational journeys of their own. The visit gave them the opportunity to share their experiences and a little of what they have learned. After the tours, students shared how they were deeply moved by the experience. One student, an immigrant from Guatemala, connected with two community school students who had recently arrived from her home country.
“The power of connecting first generation students at different stages of their college journeys was very impactful,” said Karen Hunter Quartz. “This new course is helping us realize our original 2006 vision for the UCLA Community School–to be a powerful site of learning for students of all ages, a place where we grow together and make good on the promise of democratic public schooling to transform lives.”