Good Monday morning to you, May 21 st,

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1 Good Monday morning to you, May 21 st, We are moving quickly toward the culmination of the Spring semester and my favorite event of the year, our commencement ceremony on Tuesday June 5 th at 6:00pm. Our students would love to see you there. There are plenty of great events that are building excitement as we get closer to the end of the semester. Make sure you encourage students to take advantage of all student services and resources; including tutoring in Academic Connections, UMOJA, and the pathway services available as they go through finals and end-of-the-year projects. Also, please remind students that the enrollment window is open for Summer and Fall 2018 sessions. We all need to work hard to grow our enrollment within the areas of opportunity given the strength of this economy and the pull it is exerting on many of our more traditional students. THE WEEK AHEAD Last Day to Register to Vote for the June Primary Today is the deadline to register to vote if you want to take part in the June 5 th primary. If you have not registered, or you know students who have not registered, our friends at St. John s are running a campaign to register as many folks as possible. There will be five ballot measures and many statewide and local elections which will have an impact on our college. Visit the St. John s table outside of Mariposa Hall today to register, and send your students.

2 ASO Townhall Today in Front of Mariposa Hall Our Vice Presidents will be joining me to provide updates and answer questions on a range of issues today from 11:30am-1pm. Feel free to join in. College Council Today at 1:15pm Today is our final regular College Council meeting of the semester. Our truly representative college panel has put in some great work this year and continues to supply leadership in a number of areas. There will be a final vote on the Building Names and discussion on our upcoming Annual College Council Retreat. Today s meeting will be at 1:15pm in Aspen Hall, Room 101. LAVITA Graduation with Special Guest - Tuesday Back in 2005, when gang crime was claiming over 600 lives each year, largely in South L.A., Connie Rice from the Advancement Project partnered with then- Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa to start the L.A. Violence Intervention Training Academy (LAVITA). The work was to train veteran gang leaders to help stop the violence by defusing retaliations for gang slayings by showing up at the places those retaliations were being planned. The Mayor s Office then redirected unfocused resources into the twelve Gang Reduction & Youth Development (GRYD) Zones where gang crime was highest and funded prevention, intervention and reentry efforts there. LAVITA trained individuals for GRYD Intervention contractors and the LAPD, under Chiefs Bratton and Beck, embraced this work. The Mayor s Office kicked off Summer Night Lights which kept 32 gang-controlled parks open until midnight Thursday through Saturday each summer with massive programming. Amazingly, gang crime plummeted with total city-wide homicides going from 1200 in the late 90 s to less than 250 today. LAVITA continues its work with the current Mayor s Office and the former mayor is coming to campus tomorrow to speak at the graduation. He will be touring the campus beforehand.

3 Black Graduation Celebration at FAME - Tuesday On Tuesday, the district s annual Black Graduation Celebration will take place at 3pm at, for the first time, the historic First AME Church of Los Angeles on Harvard Boulevard just north of Adams Boulevard. All students, faculty and staff are invited to celebrate student success throughout the entire district. Make sure you RSVP. the Los Angeles Community College District in Partnership with the Chancellor s Office Present 2018 Annual Black Graduation Celebration A CULTURAL CEREMONY HONORING STUDENTS At the Historic First African Methodist Episcopal Church of Los Angeles TUESDAY MAY :00PM 5:00PM First AME Church of Los Angeles 2270 S. Harvard Blvd., Los Angeles, CA REGISTER TODAY at bit.ly/blackgraduation2018 GRADUATING LACCD STUDENTS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REGISTER FOR THE CELEBRATION LACCD FACULTY, STAFF, AND ADMINISTRATORS ARE ALL INVITED TO CELEBRATE STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT The African American Outreach Initiative (A AOI) is a district wide collaboration of faculty, staff and administrators dedicated to the overarching expected outcome of improving the access and success rates of African American students in the Los Angeles Community College District. For more information, contact AAOI 2018 Black Graduation Celebration Co-chairs: J. Edward Stevenson at StevenJE@lasc.edu (323) or Dr. Erika Miller at Millerel@lasc.edu (323) laccd.edu/aaoi ALAS Orientation - Tuesday Our very successful Avanza Los Angeles, or ALAS, program remains popular with our service communities. This Tuesday, May 22 nd, hundreds are expected to attend several orientation sessions to learn more about how the program can provide them with an opportunity to experience college training in Spanish and acquire the English skills to be successful in Trade Tech pathways. Veterans Culinary Training Graduation Tuesday Our fourth cohort of veterans and their families are graduating from our Veterans Culinary Training Program tomorrow. We utilize the amazing refurbished kitchen in the basement of Bob Hope Patriotic Hall, the County s Veterans One-Stop Building, just one block from us on Figueroa Street. A special thanks to our County Supervisor Hilda Solis (founder), our WorkSource Center partners, Dean Jackson, and our Culinary Department for making this possible. Just a note which I am sure you have already heard; Department Chair and Chef Steve

4 Kasmar is retiring from his long-time role here at LATTC on July 31 st for what sounds like an amazing new adventure up in Oregon. Thank you for all that you have done and continue to do for this college and our students. To those C-basis faculty, make sure to wish him well before you are off for the summer. Employee Retirement Luncheon - Tuesday The Academic Senate will hold our annual Employee Retirement luncheon for faculty this Tuesday, May 22 nd, between 11:00am and 1:00pm. We hope to catch up with some of our retirees at this event which will take place in Aspen Hall, Room 101. ICC Banquet - Wednesday One of the biggest student events of the year will take place on Wednesday, May 23 rd, as the Inter-Club Council will hold its culmination banquet and awards ceremony. This will give students a chance to honor those clubs that have really contributed to the student experience this year as well as those on campus who have made large contributions to the well-being of our students. If you received an invitation, please plan on attending. It starts at 2:30pm. Pinning Ceremony Wednesday Later that night, a long LATTC tradition will unfold in the North Tent at 5:00pm. Our nursing program always hold a pinning ceremony for those students who are graduating and moving on in their careers. Pinning has been a tradition since Florence Nightingale started the presentation in the 1860s. This is an unofficial welcome into the medical world. We have a tremendous nursing and allied health program, so we join in congratulating those students on their accomplishments. Transfer Success Luncheon Thursday Another traditional event this week is our Transfer Success Luncheon. At noon Thursday, May 24 th, in Aspen Hall, Room 101, we will honor those students who are transferring to four-year universities. Our transfer numbers continue to trend upward, and our faculty and staff are to be credited for encouraging and mentoring students onto their next educational step.

5 Our Performing Arts Club Presents: The Wizard of Oz - Thursday Also on Thursday, the Performing Arts Club is presenting a version of the Wizard of Oz. The club s performances are always very entertaining, and we encourage everyone on campus to come out and enjoy the presentation. It will take place at noon in the North Tent.

6 Tools for the Trades Dinner - Thursday Following the exciting Tools for the Trades Rally, this Thursday we will be joining in the Tools for the Trades dinner at 5:00pm in the South Tent. Dozens of students will be receiving their scholarships in the form of program tools. It is always an exciting night, and the stories of the recipients are always touching. Thanks go out to faculty and staff for putting together this great program and to our LATTC Foundation for funding these scholarships.

7 Gold Thimble Fashion Show Friday Then one of the true highlights of each and every semester, our Gold Thimble Fashion Show will take place at 7pm on Friday, May 25 th, along the Magnolia Hall south walkway. It is always a stunning show and features some incredible creations by our fashion students. Come on out and support our students and join in an exciting night. Mental Health Awareness Day Thank you, Dean Porche I want to congratulate Associate Dean Saadia Porche and her team for their work in presenting the Mental Health Awareness Day on Tuesday, May 15 th. I had the chance to visit some of the resource teams who were tabling outside of Mariposa Hall and to provide a Certificate of Appreciation to Dr. Porche. Dr. Kaneesha Tarrant joined me in the accolades and then congratulated Saadia for her promotion to a full dean over at LACC. I hope you will join me in thanking Dr. Porche for her great work on our campus and wish her well. Back to the Awareness Day, there is no doubt that the effect of mental health issues, be they caused by trauma, fear, heredity or chemical causes, are deep and broad within our communities and the lives of our students. But the biggest barrier of all in getting help is the stigma of seeking help, and this day helped celebrate the work our student services teams perform to help our students. We must continue to be

8 vigilant in offering services and resources. I was happy to see students taking advantage of the information. Saint Francis Center Partners to Open our Food Pantry Also, this past Tuesday, our partners at the Saint Francis Center, a block away on Hope Street, joined us for a ribbon-cutting event opening our new food pantry program for our students. This was the official start of our partnership with the St. Francis Center and RecycLA (LA City Public Works, Ware, and local grocery stores) to bring fresh food to our students. Every other Tuesday at 10:30am in the K-mall, students will be able to pick up fresh produce, drinks and other food items. All they have to do is show their student ID. This effort is a real response to the recent surveys showing that two-thirds of our students are affected by food insecurity. The Saint Francis Center is working with businesses to capture fresh food from stores, under the new waste franchise system that is requiring recycling, and, after sorting, bringing it here. This has been a great outreach to our students and it has been very successful. Gubernatorial Debate on Children s Issues

9 Later on Tuesday, we hosted a town hall featuring three of the major California gubernatorial candidates. The Children Defense Fund led a group of sponsors who wanted to hear the candidates views on children s and education issues. Former Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, State Treasurer John Chiang, and Former Superintendent of Instruction Delaine Eastin spent about 90 minutes answering detailed questions about their visions for the future of children s issues and public education. I was able to welcome the 600 attendees for the second gubernatorial debate on this campus. APRI Event Features State Controller Betty Yee Last Wednesday, May 16 th, the Black Faculty and Staff Association supported the A. Phillip Randolph Institute event in the cafeteria. The evening featured state Controller Betty Yee, and the focus was on raising money for student scholarships. Our adjunct faculty member Yolanda Toure has put in plenty of work on this program and, while she could not attend due to health, her effort should not go unnoticed. Thank you to SEIU 721, the A. Phillip Randolph Institute members, and Linda Cole for her leadership in creating a beautiful event.

10 GAIN/CalWorks Graduation Linda Cole and her team also do a great job with their graduation. This semester was no different as she honored ninety-three students who have thrived under her program. Congratulations for another successful year under the GAIN/CalWORKs banner. L.A. College Promise Alive and Well at LATTC We welcomed dozens of LA College Promise students this past week from high schools throughout the city. These are students who are taking advantage of the program which pays for the student s first year of community college within the LACCD campuses, provides key classes, and supports full-time enrollment. This program is helping us to build our enrollment and is a real connection with LAUSD students. Thanks to our teams for reaching out.

11 The Hemp Club Pours Hempcrete There was a surprising level of activity as the Hemp Club on campus sponsored Hemp History in the North Tent. Our students were interested in showing all of the potential uses of hemp in architectural and construction areas. Several of our LACCD colleges have Hemp Clubs, and so do we. Day of Dialogue Becomes a Town Hall Thanks to all of you who attended our LACCD forum last Thursday featuring Vice Chancellor Ryan Cornner, Ed.D. This was a slightly different version of our usual monthly Day of Dialogue. Dr. Cornner gave us the district assessment of various issues facing the district including the state funding model. The new funding model proposes that 60% (instead of the current 100%) of our funding will depend on enrollment, 20% on equity measured by financial aid participation, and 20% on completions and performance. The net effect will be that student services and administrative services will have an increasing role on our campus in order to guarantee financial aid participation and completions, which is probably a good thing. Of even greater consequence, the subject then focused

12 on AB705, which will require us to put all students directly into college-level math and English and to provide tutoring and corequisite classes. AB705 is based on research that shows a dramatic increase in student success with this formula. Staff, faculty, and students had plenty of questions about how the best to proceed with our campus. Dr. Cornner did a great job framing the challenges and opportunities. Child Development Program Graduation This past Saturday, May 19 th, the Child Development faculty hosted their annual graduation celebration luncheon for the students completing the Child Development program. Department Chair Maryanne Galindo served as emcee for the event and had each student share a bit of their story. It was a wonderful event that once again showed the impact our faculty and staff have on our students.

13 Foster & Kinship Care Education Program & Guardian Scholars Program Mardi Gras Fundraising Mixer This past Friday was a joyful night to remember as the Foster & Kinship Care Education and Guardian Scholars Program brought it in New Orleans-style with a Mardi Gras fundraising mixer. The Lavender Blue Lounge in Inglewood was livened by guests adorned in beautiful masks and with kindred spirits to honor Foster Care Awareness Month. This event was well attended with over 175 guests throughout the evening where some of our program supporters were acknowledged, such as Dennis Duban and Kevin Montgomery from LACOE Foster Care Division, The LACCD Foundation, The South Central Foster Parent Association, The WATTS Heart Foundation, The Pritzker Family Foundation, Foster Care Count, The Jewish Foundation, LATTC Staff and Administrators, AFT 1521A, Student Leadership, and a host of other guests and supporters.

14 SLATE-Z Connects Our Students to Careers Finally, our partners at SLATE-Z, our South L.A. Promise Zone, supported the college in bringing the representatives of the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art to meet our graduating students on Wednesday. Then, on Friday, we conducted an orientation with 83 community applicants recruited by SLATE-Z for our next Apprenticeship Prep Training program, which starts June 11 th. We will be working to prepare about thirty participants (and 30 more from ARC) to start their construction apprenticeship at the Lucas Museum and the Coliseum this Fall. (MARIA, LETICIA OR EFFIE MAY HAVE A PHOTO FOR US OF THIS EVENT) So, as we get near the end of the semester, it is always busy on campus. We have a short week next week with Monday being a holiday as we observe Memorial Day. I hope you take a moment to reflect on those who have made the ultimate sacrifice in service to our country. We are so fortunate to have a thriving Veterans Center, and a college that has a deep tradition of welcoming military veterans as they move into their civilian careers. Memorial Day is Monday, May 28 th, and it is a college holiday. Looking toward a great week.

15 Larry Larry Frank President, LATTC College to Career, It s All Here L. A. Trade-Technical College