Executive Director Alejandra Ceja of the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanics (WHIEEH) and her staff will visit Manual Arts High School in Los Angeles and participate in roundtable discussions with students and community partners on Wednesday, March 26 from 9 a.m. – noon to discuss the administration’s school climate and discipline guidance, Civil Rights Data Collection and the My Brother’s Keeper Initiative.
Ceja will join Los Angeles Unified School District Superintendent John Deasy, Manual Arts High School Principal Dr. Robert Whitman and members of the President’s Advisory Commission on Educational Excellence for Hispanics for a student-led tour of the school including: the Mark Ridley-Thomas Wellness Center, Student Resource Center, Early Warning Indicator (EWI) conference, College & Career Center, Teaching Garden and JROTC, as well as lunch prepared by the Manual Arts Culinary Arts Class.
The visit will showcase a public high school that is integrating a variety of health, wellness and enrichment programs as part of a community school model to meet the needs of students and their families. In addition, the school will showcase several elements pertaining to its positive school climate efforts that have produced significant reductions in school suspensions. Manual Arts is a Los Angeles Unified School District comprehensive high school. It is also a recipient of a federal School Improvement Grant, currently in its second year.
President Obama signed Executive Order 13555 on Oct. 19, 2010, renewing the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanics. This executive order demonstrated the president’s strong support for the critical role Hispanics play in the overall prosperity of the nation and highlights the administration’s commitment to expanding educational opportunities and improving educational outcomes for all students.