Will California's $4.1 billion bet on 'community schools' transform K-12 education?
LOS ANGELES — When students returned to the Social Justice Humanitas Academy campus in August 2021, many could barely focus on their high school assignments. They walked out of class. They refused to do work. Drug use and the number of students hospitalized because of suicidal thoughts were on an alarming incline.
Teachers and staff at Humanitas saw the crisis before them — and turned to their long-established playbook for solutions.
"Our philosophy is to meet kids where they're at," Principal Jeffrey Austin said, "and take them far as we possibly can."
Teachers led group discussions about how hard it had been to be separated from friends for 16 months. They focused instruction on addressing learning gaps, even if it meant students were not on track to meet state standards. Teachers called parents regularly and learned of lost jobs and lost loved ones. Many students missed class because they were working, so the school shifted class schedules to accommodate them.
By the end of the school
