L.A. Unified school board members and acting Superintendent Vivian Ekchian announced their support of a Kids First agenda both locally and statewide, with regards to the mobilizations across the district.

“Education interrupts poverty, improves our communities, and provides pathways for college and career success,” said Monica Garcia, school board president. “We are proud of the educators [who] are standing with us in the fight to demand more for the children of Los Angeles. We must do more. We will do more. We will reach 100 percent graduation, together.”

L.A. Unified has been at the forefront of providing Kids First conditions to create the best environments to work and learn.

“As a former L.A. Unified teacher, I saw firsthand that we have some of the best educators in the country,” said board Vice President Nick Melvoin. “I look forward to working with my colleagues, all school employees, and parents to ensure that we attract, retain, support, and develop our talent. I call on the state to fully fund public education so that we can make L.A. Unified the most desirable school district to work in nationwide.”

At the most recent Board of Education meeting, members unanimously voted to submit an amicus brief in support of the University of California and State of California’s lawsuits against the rescission of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.

“I remain committed to ensure that the district makes choices that will increase student achievement,” said board member Ref Rodriguez, noting the actions of the board to advocate, support, and defend immigrant youth and families to provide education to all youth regardless of immigration status.

“I will also continue to fight for investments that benefit vulnerable populations like our English Learners and immigrant families.”

California ranks among the lowest states in the nation for per-pupil funding and board members will call on Sacramento for a greater investment toward financial stabilization.

“California has lagged behind other states in per-pupil funding for far too long. As a former teacher, I know our schools need more investment to give all of our students a great public education,” said board member Kelly Gonez. “I’ll be putting forward a resolution at the next board meeting that calls for the state to dramatically raise our per-pupil funding so L.A. Unified has the highest of any urban district in the country.”

L.A. Unified has had record-breaking graduation rates in partnership with students, families, employees and community stakeholders. Through various strategies and focused investments, the District’s Class of 2017 has a preliminary graduation rate of 80 percent.

“We look forward to working with our partners to find the most creative ways to commit our limited resources to meet the needs of all students,” Ekchian said.

The Board of Education sees student achievement in Los Angeles as the greatest focal point in their Kids First agenda.