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Schools

Schools Focus On A Smooth Transition From Middle To High School

Teachers work closely with students on grade-level content and curriculum

MIPR, Community Contributor

Posted Fri, Nov 19, 2021 at 9:27 am PT|Updated Fri, Nov 19, 2021 at 10:10 am PT

Cynthia Ybarra principal of Ánimo Ellen Ochoa Charter Middle School, (Photo credit: Joe Macias (MIPR))

Cynthia Ybarra enthusiastically greets students and parents outside the school gate each morning. She is the principal of Ánimo Ellen Ochoa Charter Middle School, a free charter public middle school in East Los Angeles, serving a largely Latinx community. Ybarra is the daughter of an immigrant mother from Michoacan, Mexico, and a Mexican American father born and raised in Boyle Heights, who attributes her success as a school principal to her mother’s incessant advocacy for her education.

“I’m everything because of my mom,” says Ybarra. “I had una mamá guerrera (a warrior mom) who was my advocate for education. She constantly asked questions and found resources when she didn’t know something.” Ybarra says she leads her school by treating parents with the respect that they deserve, focusing on quality education as part of the fight toward equity, and supporting the social emotional needs of the family. “I see my mother in every single one of them. I see my auntie and cousin walking through those doors and tell my staff that whoever walks onto campus regardless of their background – that’s family.”

It’s this focus on the whole child, and the whole family, that makes Ánimo Ellen Ochoa a coveted school for many in the area. Indeed, at a time when parents are worried about how well kids will adjust to the new in-person school environment after 18 months of online learning due to COVID-19, Ybarra and her team of educators offer students a tight-knit, supported, community that infuses joy into its academic curriculum.

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Each classroom is structured to offer safety as well as academic assistance. Teachers work closely with students on grade-level content and curriculum, while building close relationships that help them asses each child’s abilities and needs.

In addition to individualized social-emotional and academic support, students benefit from the school’s rigorous coursework including a collaboration with East Los Angeles College that provides access to college-level classes to middle school students. Students who participate in the program, at high school graduation, have transferrable credits for UC and CSU campuses and will have completed an entire college semester. The school also offers coding and robotics through Project Lead the Way’s STEM-focused curricula.

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Not far from Ánimo Ellen Ochoa, Robert Pambello, principal at Oscar de la Hoya Ánimo Charter High School has already begun to meet with eighth graders to ensure a seamless transition from middle to high school. “We’re the Eastside’s best kept secret,” says Pambello. “We focus on college to and through and should be every student and parent’s school of choice.”

With just 25-30 students per class, parents can rest assured that their students will be seen and heard by advisory teachers who will know them on a first name basis, and will stay with them throughout their four years of high school.

“Unfortunately, many of our students make choices that are generational and based on tradition,” says Pambello. “What they really need to ask is whether they want to attend a 3,000 or 600-student school, and whether they want a college experience or just graduate high school.”

Experience the community of charter public schools near you. Visit these schools in your area:

ALLIANCE COLLEGE-READY PUBLIC SCHOOLS (Middle and High Schools)

For more information: Cristina Aguirre | craguirre@laalliance.org

Alliance Morgan McKinzie High School

110 South Townsend Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90063

Contact: 323.526.8198| www.mckinziehs.org/

Alliance College-Ready Middle Academy 8

113 S. Rowan Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90063

323.269.2156 | www.crma8.org/

EDNOVATE (High Schools)

For more information: Mide Macaulay| mmacaulay@ednovate.org

Ednovate East College Prep