Today's episode will cover the importance of the school-to-career pipeline and managing equity outcomes through industry, governmental, and academic institution/organization coordination during & after COVID-19. This episode is filled with jewels and highlights two Changemakers navigating the culture shift towards equity in the outcomes of the school-to-career pipeline during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.
Joining LISC LA for this conversation are:
In this episode, we explore:
This episode began by discussing the rising crisis in the wake of COVID causing lower school attendance and impacting learning outcomes, making it challenging to transition from school to career. Currently, enrollment is down over 150,000 students in the K-12 system, dropping between the 2019–2020 and the 2020–2021 school years, and there are currently 22 million working-age adults in the state of California.
Joy provides insight on topics, including how more than 50% of Americans read at a sixth-grade reading which presents a barrier in the school-to-career pipeline. She also discusses the importance of community-based organizations like CDF Freedom Schools that support literacy as a foundation for upward mobility. Joy expresses the importance of government agencies and funders to allocate critical resources. These resources are needed to address issues like the digital divide for the whole family.
Benny Torres discussed the importance of leveraging partnerships and an intentional equity lens to ensure the most marginalized communities receive the necessary resources to address the gaps in the school-to-career pipeline. He provides insight on innovative approaches his organization facilitates to develop career pathways in urban planning, policy, social services, and design for impacted people with lived experience.
About our panel:
Joy Masha is an educator, developer, and community organizer. A native of Long Beach, California, Joy learned at an early age the power of education. She is a first-generation college graduate. Her educational accomplishments include a Bachelor of Science in Human Services and a minor in Africana Studies, a Master of Education in Higher Education Administration, and a certificate in Executive Leadership in Education.
Joy is an out-of-school time professional with 15 years of experience in education, higher ed, and non-profit organizations. She works for the Children’s Defense Fund Freedom Schools in Washington, DC.
She is a member of Harriet’s Wildest Dreams, a Black abolitionist hub where she spends her time giving back to her community as a pillar-led and observer for Ida B. Free Court Watch DC. She cares for a 4-year-old chihuahua-terrier named Moses.
Benjamin Torres is the President/CEO of the Community Development Technologies Center (CDTech), a nonprofit organization focused on addressing issues of racial equity and economic justice in low-income areas of Los Angeles. CD Tech’s Community Planning and Economic Development (ComPlan) Program develops leaders and change agents directly from the communities they serve in coordination with LATTC, the oldest higher education institution in the city of LA. Benjamin’s entire career has been focused on placing the tools of democracy directly in the hands of our most marginalized residents through education, training, engagement and multi-ethnic/racial community building.
Tunua Thrash-Ntuk 00:15
Hello, and welcome to the latest episode of the Changemakers LA podcast presented by LISC LA. The Changemakers LA podcast is a tribute to the people and the policies that make LA neighborhoods good places to live, work and play.
Tunua Thrash-Ntuk 00:30
This is Tunua Thrash-Ntuk, I'm the Executive Director of LISC Los Angeles. Today's episode will cover the importance of the school-to-career pipeline. That's right, you heard me, the school-to-career pipeline. And managing equity outcomes through industry, government, and academic institutional organizations.
Tunua Thrash-Ntuk 00:50
We want to make sure that the coordination is happening now that we are as post pandemic as we could possibly be, but in some cases still going through it.
Tunua Thrash-Ntuk 01:00
So for today, joining our conversation, we've got two special guests. I want to first welcome the dynamic Joy Masha.
Tunua Thrash-Ntuk 00:58
Joy is the daughter of an immigrant father from Nigeria. She was born and raised in Long Beach, California by her single mother. She's the first member of her family to obtain an undergraduate and graduate degrees.
Tunua Thrash-Ntuk 01:20
Mrs. Masha is co-founder of Read Lead, a summer after-school program that provides free educational enrichment for low income elementary and middle school students and their families in the Los Angeles area. She believes restorative education is necessary when establishing dignity and relationship building. And important to transformative opportunities for justice in the African American and Black communities.
Tunua Thrash-Ntuk 01:48
Joy currently serves as a program director for the Children's Defense Freedom Schools. Oh wow, that's great Joy! We're so happy to have you here.
Joy Masha 02:00
Thank you so much. I'm happy to be here as well, thank you.
Tunua Thrash-Ntuk 02:05
Great, glad you found that unmute button, thanks.
Tunua Thrash-Ntuk 01:58
In addition, we've got the courageous and always bringing us great ideas have been home in Benjamin Torres.
Tunua Thrash-Ntuk 02:06
Benny is President and CEO of the Community Development Technology Center known as CDTech, a nonprofit organization focused on addressing issues of racial equity and economic justice in low-income areas of Los Angeles.
Tunua Thrash-Ntuk 02:19
CDTech’s community planning and economic development program develops leaders and change agents directly from the community. They serve in coordination with LA Trade Tech Community College, the oldest higher education institution in the city of LA.
Tunua Thrash-Ntuk 02:37
Benny's entire career has focused on placing the tools of democracy directly in the hands of the most marginalized residents in the community. By making sure that they've got the education, training, engagement, and multi-ethnic racial community building.
Tunua Thrash-Ntuk 3:00
Thank you both so much for being here. Benny, thanks for being a guest again on our show.
Benjamin Torres 02:59
Thank you Tunua. It's an honor to be here with you, and of course with Joy, thank you.
Tunua Thrash-Ntuk 03:04
So I really appreciate you all sharing your insights for today. You know, many of the folks who are on the line have heard the term school to prison pipeline. But, today we're going to be talking about a different kind of pipeline, focusing on the school-to-career pipeline.
Tunua Thrash-Ntuk 03:21
As a result of the pandemic, many Los Angeles communities are undergoing an enormous economic and educational transformation. This has profoundly impacted residents’ access to academic institutions, organizations, programming, and services.
Tunua Thrash-Ntuk 03:37
Which is what we're going to focus on today. Some of these institutions and organizations continue to face some serious implications as a result of the pandemic.
Tunua Thrash-Ntuk 03:49
And there is a rising crisis in attendance and learning outcomes in our community among youth. Making it even more difficult to transition from school to career, which is where we want to see young people go.
Tunua Thrash-Ntuk 04:05
Currently, enrollment is down, over 150,000 students in K through 12 systems are dropping. That's between 2019 and 2020 and the 2020 and 2021 school years, right as we've seen the major pandemic crisis happen. Our guest today, not only will talk about mitigating challenges in creating and making sure that there are school-to-career pipeline opportunities, innovations, and approaches. But they'll also be addressing some of the challenges that the most impacted communities in our area are experiencing. So let's talk to the both of you.
Tunua Thrash-Ntuk 04:46
Let's get into this conversation about school-to-career pipeline. How do we make sure that is happening, even in the middle of a pandemic?
Tunua Thrash-Ntuk 05:00
Joy, you're with the freedom school. It was born out of a program, in the freedom summer, in the 1960s war on poverty. Tell us more about that and why a multicultural-centered curriculum is critical to the outcomes of your organization.
Joy Masha 05:21
Sure, and I want to also say, as we are seeing the numbers of students, not as engaged in school. But, we are seeing an increased number of students who are interested in jobs, and careers, and wanting to take an opportunity where they can get some work experiences.
Joy Masha 0:42
And so, for us circling back to why their education is as equally important to succeed in those jobs and to be able to have upward mobility. It really is going to rely on community organizations to fill that gap.
Joy Masha 05:57
For us, the children's Defense fund which was founded in 1973 and led by the incredible Marian Wright Edelman.
Joy Masha 06:06
Who is someone who is near and dear to me and gave me the opportunity at a young age to learn about this industry and the work we can do in the community space.
Joy Masha 06:17
But, when talking about the history of our work, we're going back to freedom summer. Which happened in the state of Mississippi in 1964 by a group of young people. Black young people, in particular, who founded an organization called SNCC, The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. Students had participated in lead sit-ins, freedom rides and said, you know what, we need to go into the heart of the Jim crow south.
Joy Masha 06:43
There we want to increase voter registration among black Mississippians, we wanted to establish freedom schools. Increasing voter registration was the whole goal of ensuring that there was representation for black people politically. The economic landscape needed to change, housing needed to change and, of course, quality education was needed.
Joy Masha 07:05
By establishing freedom schools, they had over 40 freedom schools across the state. And it was young people who were leading the schools and were teaching a curriculum that was culturally responsive. And the whole idea was to leverage literacy as a way to have critical conversations about reality and activate their agency to make a difference.
Joy Masha 07:26
Today we have the CDF freedom schools, which was officially established in 1995. Again, to target black children, but this is a program that benefits all children and it is still led by young college students. As we're bringing an intergenerational leadership model to the community, we are saying that young people are here. Young people need to be served and need to be guided. They are ready, they are hungry, and we let them know that they have a pipeline from K through 12.
Joy Masha 07:55
And they can come back to the community as teachers to begin their journey and serve their community. But also looking at a career in education, should they choose.
Tunua Thrash-Ntuk 08:06
Joy, I am so glad to have you here. I have first-hand experience with a number of freedom schools throughout southern California, particularly in LA County. I know how critical it is that the freedom schools exist in the neighborhoods that they exist in and that they operate in the churches that they operate in.
Tunua Thrash-Ntuk 08:26
To make sure that young black children and all young children in those neighborhoods have an opportunity to continue their literacy skills. Also, for reading and to really develop a love for reading. As you have already pointed out, that is the foundation for being able to critically consider your own circumstance and to be able to make a change in your community.
Tunua Thrash-Ntuk 08:51
So we're going to talk some more about that. I want to get Benny in here as well. Benny, how does CDTechs’ LA Trade Center partnership really support comprehensive career pathways? And, why are institutional partners like a community college vital to equity outcomes?
Tunua Thrash-Ntuk 09:15
Joy has the kids in the summer getting the reading in and the cultural competency. Then we reach a point where you've got a high school education, potentially but potentially not because Trade Tech will take you either way. But what is it about your program and how do you make that connection with the community there?
Benjamin Torres 09:37
Thank you, Tunua.
Benjamin Torres 09:38
Because CDTech is a racial equity and economic justice organization, everything we do has to have a level of intentionality. If we are to target the right communities if we are to try and develop the spaces for learning, knowledge development, network building, career pathway exposure.
Benjamin Torres 09:59
And having the place where people practice what they're learning and continuing to help strengthen the infrastructure of our communities through the nonprofit sector. In this case, to give you a specific example.
Benjamin Torres 10:11
You have to be able to lay out the entire spectrum of what that takes. Our program at LA Trade Tech College is the only one that exists west of the Mississippi where you get a certificate and an AA degree in community planning and economic development. We also have a variety of different certificates that specialized in specific areas, but we're really trying to get people funneled in to do three things.
Benjamin Torres 10:36
One is to be effective leaders in the communities by being in these classes and developing their capacity, of course. To understand how to use data and analysis and begin to bring their ideas forward in terms of the kinds of projects and things that we can do.
Benjamin Torres 10:49
The second thing is to get people to transfer to a four-year university, that was mentioned earlier. So they can have that exposure to careers and urban planning, for example, and community development. When the program was first started it required you to get a Master’s degree to really engage at that level.
Benjamin Torres 11:11
From when we started back in 95, things have changed. Now there are actually urban planning classes at the bachelor of art level. But we're still making sure that we give people an opportunity to get their early units and the general education exposures of the field, and then take classes at the four-year university.
Benjamin Torres 11:35
The third reason why we created the program, which is, I think the center of place conversation, is because we wanted to get people into work. We want to get people into careers where not only do you have the opportunity to build and help strengthen your community through the community development field. But, you also have an opportunity to transform yourself and that of your family's economic well-being as well as mental state and health.
Benjamin Torres 11:52
You are now driven by this focus to change the community. To change the systemic conditions that create environments, by which we have so much poverty in areas like South Central Los Angeles.
Benjamin Torres 12:06
So the program structure was set up to provide that professionalization of the field of community and economic development in a way that was going to be accessible to the most marginalized residents; those who have been affected by this systemic inequality. And so, for us to develop a program we had to make sure that we thought about how we were going to reach participants to take classes and what kind of instructors do we want to bring.
Benjamin Torres 12:37
Our instructors are field practitioners so these are not folks who are talking about this from a theoretical base but, talking about it from a practical application; this is what we do in the field. And we wanted to create spaces in which people get the chance to practice what they're learning through paid internships because we also wanted to respect the economics of our communities.
Benjamin Torres 12:56
Many training programs in many industries, as you know, are about come to take training and learn but we can't pay you. Though we expect you to be here every week for 20 weeks for 4 hours a day or 5 hours a week. And take this knowledge and, hopefully, you have a chance to get a job. But, we wanted to begin to address this from a more intentional way.
Benjamin Torres 13:17
Nonprofits need community-based folks who look like the people they're trying to service. In order to do the engagement, to do the outreach, to the frontline work and eventually grow through management and hopefully lead these organizations.
Benjamin Torres 13:29
So we wanted to create spaces, by which these students, through our academic program, then get the field experience on the ground in these organizations. Benjamin Torres: So that they can better see what the career looks like and what kind of impact they have on them as individuals and their families and in their communities. Then hopefully they'll pursue it.
Benjamin Torres 13:48
Now, those that do not want to pursue a nonprofit. The skills that they develop in the classroom, out in the field, and in building community with other students. I'll have them cross the different sectors. They could take those skills to the private sector or they can take them to the public government sector.
Benjamin Torres 14:04
But the important thing is you have community folks from these neighborhoods historically disinvested, marginalized, disempowered, and misrepresented. Now get to be the leaders in the change process of their own neighborhoods through the classes that we provide, through our instructors that are working with them, and through the networks that are formed with our community-based social change action groups.
Benjamin Torres 14:41
The first thing in tier two is the academic institution, the LA Trade Tech Community College is a great partner in that. It is what of nine institutions in the LA city region that can provide these kinds of classes. So we started at Trade Tech, with the intention of taking the program to multiple colleges. So that we can expand the impact across many neighborhoods that are dealing with the same dynamics as South Central Los Angeles.
Tunua Thrash-Ntuk 15:01
Benny, that was comprehensive. It shows that you've been doing this work for more than a decade plus. Probably going on a couple or almost a couple of decades, in terms of understanding that it is about identifying people from the community who are most impacted by systems.
Tunua Thrash-Ntuk 15:20
And providing them with training from practitioners, giving them a chance, not just to learn it, but to do it at the same time, and making that connection. And while we hope to keep as many of them as possible who've gone through the training.
Tunua Thrash-Ntuk 15:35
They certainly will be well equipped to go anywhere at that point that they choose to do, and hopefully take all those values with them as well.
Tunua Thrash-Ntuk 15:47
You have given us quite a comprehensive look into why it is also so critical to have a partner like LA Trade Tech. An institution in the middle of the community, where people already live and work. So Joy, you know we've got to talk about the pandemic and its impact on young people.
Tunua Thrash-Ntuk 16:09
We’ve had a safer stay at home orders and young people are online. My kids are doing school online and are elementary kindergarten age. How have the freedom schools adapted to this climate to ensure that your program participants are successful? The organization is successful? And their safety?
Tunua Thrash-Ntuk 16:34
And I think as part of that part, we're hoping that you can also spend a little time talking about literacy as foundational for upward mobility. And why that's so important to getting to some of these opportunities that Benny talked about and beyond in the community.
Joy Masha 16:53
You know the pandemic, which is still happening. And I really hope that folks, as we're in our third year of the pandemic, understand that what happened at the start of the pandemic is still very much affecting folks of color and poor people. We have a lot of work ahead of us. I'm not here to say you know everything is all well, we figured out the plan, we have the best practices, we know what we're doing, and everything's gonna be all right.
Joy Masha 17:30
I think the reality of it is it's been hard and it's been exhausting. We also know that with our spirit and sheer will to ensure we meet the needs of children and families that we use that to drive us forward.
Joy Masha 17:42
And so, for us, I thought about it in three ways, particularly three takeaways through the pandemic that speak to program participation, organizational success, and safety.
Joy Masha 17:57
One was a complete mental shift across the entire organization. Once we went on lockdown we knew that our program, which is in person and it's an in-person program, would now be online.
Joy Masha 18:05
It required our organization to think about its processes in a whole new way.
Joy Masha 18:11
It being us moving from a simple email to now having every single person on zoom. Having authorization to an account so that they can conduct meetings, and be in communication with partners who are serving children and families throughout the nation. This also required us to think about a professional training platform.
Joy Masha 18:34
Our training was in person in Knoxville, Tennessee at the CDF Haley Farm. Where we would bring down 2000 young people to learn the freedom schools model for a whole week. And now we would be experiencing this week-long training online. Acclimating our community to this new normal but still giving them the same quality of training, inspiring them, and reminding them of the purpose of our work.
Joy Masha 19:05
Whether it be online or in person, we still have children who need to be served, we still have learning outcomes that need to be reached, and we still need to provide resources to our family. So let's figure out the best way to do that.
Tunua Thrash-Ntuk 19:14
And so, for us. We spend less time on what is not working and more time on what could work and how do we strengthen those areas.
Joy Masha 19:24
Two, we maintain an emphasis not only on safety for the scholars but also our staff. And our staff are our partners, so that required staff to have an extra list of requirements that they had to check off and verify with us before they can move forward in hosting a freedom school.
Joy Masha 19:46
We also wanted them to share with us how they were meeting the CDC and local COVID-19 guidelines. In order to ensure children were safe because we knew that our children who are going to be reading these powerful culturally relevant books would need them in hand.
Joy Masha 20:00
And so, how do you deliver those safely to families, as well as their school supplies? And having them log in by providing them with a device. We encourage our partners to provide families with the device so that they can receive what CDF freedom schools have to offer.
Joy Masha 20:15
And I wanted to uplift last that we actually gained a new model for parents and family engagement. We've always been invested in parent and family engagement in our work, learning about the needs of families, and providing resources doing referrals. But the pandemic revealed that we needed a deeper relationship with families.
Joy Masha 20:40
And so, this meant check-ins, text messages, phone calls, emails, and sometimes home visits. But, it wasn't just a hey, how are you doing it was what's going on? What can be done differently? Where are our scholar struggling? Mom and dad, how are you really doing? To the point, we had parents break down. Saying “Mrs. Joy, I don't think I can do this.” And so, for us, the practice of family care became a priority, and so I see my parents completely different now.
Joy Masha 21:18
I see the entire family. I see that I have scholars who have a family of five and who are using one laptop. That can't be, and we've got to change that. I learned of parents who had heart conditions and I would have never known because they didn't want to disclose. Many were afraid if I tell you what was really going on, what could happen to my family.
Joy Masha 21:39
We had to establish a level of trust and transparency. Our goal was to keep your family together and make sure you have what you need in the pandemic because we're surviving together.
Joy Masha 21:49
And last I would say we centered all of this work in joy. And in freedom schools, we have a component called Harambe and Harambe is Swahili and it means pull together.
Joy Masha 22:03
So we would have music, drumming, we would dance, and we would laugh. We have an anthem in freedom schools that says “something inside so strong”. We were singing that song every day, it became a part of our hearts, our souls, and our attitudes to keep doing the work.
Joy Masha 22:27
There's so much more learning that's taking place. But, with those key lessons, we move forward and, i'm sure, by the end of this pandemic, whenever it may be, I'll have a book with many chapters for us to learn from.
Tunua Thrash-Ntuk 22:42
Joy, I love that. You got your name in there, you got Harambe in there, but you talked about the whole family. We're talking about the school-to-career pipeline. In order for young people to get to careers, they have to be able to access technology.
Tunua Thrash-Ntuk 23:03
Both the hardware, as well as have Internet access that involves the entire family. And hearing about parents and thinking about the fact that having a strong healthy family is part of your academic success as well.
Tunua Thrash-Ntuk 23:22
Because if the parents aren't able to help you be healthy and thrive, it makes it difficult for a young person. So I’m going to need to wrap up today's session, but I before I do, I would like to get a sense from each of you.
Tunua Thrash-Ntuk 23:39
Benny as you think about all the work that you've done around school-to-career and the work you've done with LA Trade Tech and the Community Planning Program. What one resource, since we are waving magic wands and pens that write big checks, right now, at the federal level. Benny what are you looking for and what do you need in order to keep that school-to-career pipeline strong?
Benjamin Torres 24:10
Well, I need to be very honest and say that our work is contextualized by the economy that we're living in currently. And South central Los Angeles, being the poorest part of the LA County area and the most expensive place per capita to live now. Based on how much people make, how much rent is, and how much housing cost is.
Benjamin Torres 24:32
I think the magic wand for me is, we need to invest and double down in marginalized neighborhoods. Where people want to explore careers that are about the transformation of the systems. And to create more opportunities in these communities and honestly, for that, it's paid internships.
Benjamin Torres 24:49
Paid internships at a living wage rate, and I think that's what people really have to begin to look at.
Benjamin Torres 24:57
Let's look at our union brothers and sisters, they have apprenticeship programs where you do five years of apprentice, and you have a career. But they're getting paid a living wage that they could sustain themselves and their family. That's why they make the five-year commitment, then they have a career.
Benjamin Torres 25:13
We have no such thing in the nonprofit sector and we don't really have anything in the government sector either so that people do get to get pathways and exposure.
Benjamin Torres 25:24
We need more career pathway programs that are comprehensive, as to what Joy was saying. It has to engage the entire family because we're not trying to transform one individual we're trying to transform communities. And the way a community breaks down is a community, family, people, and individual. So we think about it from that perspective. We think about the context of the neighborhoods we are trying to impact the most, to change the economy in these neighborhoods, to change the infrastructure, and to end generational poverty in black and brown communities.
Benjamin Torres 25:59
We have to develop training programs that not only make the connection to a job, but also give people the ability to sustain themselves as they are learning, as their commiting, and focusing. If we were able to do that, to know it would be transformative in terms of how this work is done, you know.
Benjamin Torres 26:13
The city does what they can; they make an investment of about maybe $4,000 per individual to go through any sort of training program. For preparation and exposure to jobs that might be available in all sorts of industries.
Benjamin Torres 26:29
For example, our public ally program, we make when we add the stipend plus our program costs we're making over $45,000 per 10-month investment in black and brown South Central residents. For them to go to a nonprofit where they're practicing and developing the capacity but they're also strengthening the ability of that nonprofit to reach deeper into these communities. It has a compound effect not only for the individual learning but for the ability for the nonprofits to do better work.
Benjamin Torres 27:00
So to me paid internships with serious investment, where you have a relationship between the industry, the community, and you as the intermediary is super super important. So that's what I would do in terms of the magic wand. And I would hold all of us accountable and, as I said before, I think, on your show.
Benjamin Torres 27:29
We need to make an investment by which there are mandated local hiring agreements or requirements of every nonprofit that works in our neighborhoods. They should hire a certain percentage of the staff local from that community. Just like we do for redevelopment projects when we have local hiring programs, and we should do that wherever public dollars are invested.
Benjamin Torres 27:44
To work with our neighborhoods, those organizations should hire locally as well, and so to me, that's the magic wand. Create the demand, so that the places like LA Trade Tech, Southwest, CRCD, CD Tech, Brotherhood Crusade and other groups doing workforce development type programs have a pathway into jobs that are waiting for them. As soon as we prepare these folks to work through that process.
Benjamin Torres 28:11
And when we recruit those black and brown young folks from our neighborhoods who are the real investment, to really be transformative, to end the cycles of poverty, to change systems and create new opportunities for those historically marginalized in our neighborhoods. That would be my magic wand.
Tunua Thrash-Ntuk 28:28
That is quite a blueprint. I love it. Let's make sure we are paying folks a dignified wage as they're learning. Let's make sure that the public dollars that we're investing in organizations have accountability for those nonprofit organizations. Making sure that the people in those neighborhoods are able to benefit from that, and Benny we're going to talk about that on another show.
Benjamin Torres 28:56
I appreciate that.
Tunua Thrash-Ntuk 28:57
Joy, let's hear what do you all need. We've got to get every young person, no less than reading at the third-grade level by the time they are in the third grade. But, we want young people to be able to comprehend what they are reading. Because that is where we get a critical civilized and ready country of people who can make sure that our democracy moves forward and that we have a civilized society. Joy, what do you need?
Joy Masha 29:33
You said it best, thank you so much. Being that we want to see young people who are ready to be trained at a program like CDTech. We need more freedom schools, so we want to encourage churches, higher education institutions, school districts, local nonprofits, wherever there is space there should be a freedom school.
Joy Masha 30:00
And in that freedom schools, there should be space for young people to be affirmed and to be able to read and access books with characters that look like them and have experiences like them. With positive young adults who are teling them “Yes, you can make it. I made it, I went through CDTech, and you can too”.
Joy Masha 30:14
We want to make sure that not only do we have freedom schools throughout the country, but that we have quality freedom schools and well-funded freedom schools. So that our children have everything they need when they go to freedom schools.
Joy Masha 30:31
I also just want to highlight that the National Center for education statistics 2019 report says that over 54% of Americans read below a sixth-grade reading level. We've got a lot of work to do. So when we host freedom schools, we want to close that gap, but we also want to inspire young people to utilize their education for self-care, utilize our education for healthy families, and utilize their education to make a difference in our world.
Tunua Thrash-Ntuk 31:02
Joy that's great to hear. And we want to thank you for coming on. I know you were a little worried and not sure you would have enough words for today; but look at that. You are passionate about education and making sure that our young people have access to literacy. I want to thank you and Benny for joining me in this critical conversation.
Tunua Thrash-Ntuk 31:23
Honestly, if you aren't working on school-to-career then you're working on another school to something else. So let's get people focused on working on school-to-career to make sure that we can have some of those equitable outcomes for our communities and that we're ready to do so.
Tunua Thrash-Ntuk 31:39
You heard it here there are all kinds of policy solutions for how as we come out of COVID and public resources get invested, we want to make sure that people in the community are able to move forward with those opportunities.
Tunua Thrash-Ntuk 31:54
For today, we want to thank you for all of these innovative approaches to school-to-career pipelines and I’m so grateful that our community has leaders like you. Thanks for joining us today.
Benjamin Torres 32:07
Thank you for having us.
Tunua Thrash-Ntuk 32:28
This episode of Changemakers LA was made possible by our partner Wells Fargo.
Tunua Thrash-Ntuk 28:05
If you would like to learn more about how we support place-based initiatives for housing and economic development at LISC LA, please visit us online at www.LISC.org/Los-Angeles. And follow us on Twitter @LISC_LA.
Tunua Thrash-Ntuk 28:20
You can find the rest of the series on iTunes, Spotify, and Google podcasts. Subscribe to hear more conversations about the people and places that shape Los Angeles.
Tunua Thrash-Ntuk 28:30
This podcast was produced in collaboration with Growing Greatness Now, a consulting firm committed to social and environmental justice.