Sep 02, 2026 Equity and Human Relations Commission

UM, CLERK, PLEASE RAISE THE FIRST ITEM.

ITEM ONE IS THE RECOMMENDATION TO APPROVE THE MINUTES FOR THE EQUITY AND HUMAN RELATIONS COMMISSION MEETING OF WEDNESDAY, JULY 1ST, 2026.

LINE UP AT THE PODIUM AND SEEING NONE, CHAIR.

MAY I GET A MOTION FOR THE ITEM? WE HAVE A MOVED BY COMMISSIONER COLE, SECONDED BY VICE CHAIR SCHULTZ.

UH, AND ANY REPORT OR PRESENTATION? I BELIEVE NONE.

UH, SO I THINK THAT WE CAN CALL FOR PUBLIC COMMENT, IF ANY.

AT THIS TIME, IF ANY MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC WOULD LIKE TO SPEAK ON THIS ITEM, PLEASE

[1. 26-55873 Recommendation to approve the minutes for the Equity and Human Relations Commission meeting of Wednesday, July 1, 2026. Suggested Action: Approve recommendation. ]

AND WE HAVE, UM, NO MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC IN THE ZOOM AT THE MOMENT.

SO THAT CONCLUDES PUBLIC COMMENT.

EXCELLENT.

CALL THE VOTE.

SORRY, IT'S NOT LETTING ME GO.

COMMISSIONER LIZETTE FLORES AND VICE CHAIR SCHULTZ.

MOTION CARRIES.

ALRIGHT, EXCELLENT.

UH, WITH THAT, VERY EXCITED TO BRING UP OUR NEXT ITEM, UM, CLERK, PLEASE GO AHEAD, UH, AND READ THIS NEXT ITEM.

ITEM TWO IS A RECOMMENDATION TO HOLD AN EDUCATION ACCESS AND QUALITY LISTENING SESSION, INCLUDING PRESENTATIONS FROM LOCAL SCHOOLS, HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS, YOUTH AND FAMILY SERVING ORGANIZATIONS AND COMMUNITY-BASED PROGRAMS, HIGHLIGHTING EXPERIENCES IN SYSTEMATIC AREAS AFFECTING HISTORICALLY MARGINALIZED COMMUNITIES IN LONG BEACH, LIKE A MOTION.

SECOND, WE HAVE MOTION

[2. 26-55874 Recommendation to hold an Education Access and Quality Listening Session, including presentations from local schools, higher education institutions, youth and family-serving organizations, and community-based programs highlighting experiences and systemic barriers affecting historically marginalized communities in Long Beach. Suggested Action: Approve recommendation. ]

BY COMMISSIONER BUTLER, SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER LARA.

ALRIGHT, WITH THAT, UH, I'LL PASS IT OVER TO OUR, UH, EXCELLENT AD HOC COMMITTEE AND TO COMMISSIONER LARA, UH, TO REALLY, YOU KNOW, GIVE US THE ORIENTATION WE NEED FOR THIS, WHICH IS, UH, THE MIDPOINT OF OUR LISTENING SESSIONS.

UH, COMMISSIONER EDUARDO LARA, OVER TO YOU.

UH, THANK YOU, CHAIR DE LEON.

I REALLY APPRECIATE HOW YOU FRAMED THE HISTORY OF THE LISTENING SESSIONS IN GENERAL.

I CAN GO BE A LITTLE BIT MORE SPECIFIC ON TONIGHT'S, UH, AIMS AND GOALS AND SPECIFIC CONTEXT.

UM, AS WE KNOW, EDUCATION, UNFORTUNATELY, HAS BEEN UNDER ATTACK IN THIS PARTICULAR CLIMATE, AND SO MUCH WORK HAS BEEN DONE, UH, VIA THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENTS AND OTHER MOVEMENTS, INCLUDING THE, UM, UNDOCUMENTED IMMIGRANT MOVEMENTS TO, UH, TRY

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TO CREATE MORE EQUITABLE OPPORTUNITIES FOR YOUTH AND OTHER SEGMENTS OF OUR COMMUNITIES TO ENSURE THAT EVERYONE HAS, UH, NOT JUST AN EQUAL BUT AN EQUITABLE OPPORTUNITY, UH, IN LIFE.

AND IT IS MY PLEASURE.

IT IS MY EXCITEMENT.

IT IS REALLY MY JOY TO HAVE BEEN WORKING FOR THE LAST SEVERAL MONTHS WITH THE AD HOC COMMITTEE COMMISSIONER, UH, COLE AND VICE CHAIR SCHULTZ, IN CONCERT WITH TONY VIA, UH, UH, TONY FROM OUR STAFF AND ALSO OUR CHAIR, TO REALLY BRING DYNAMIC SPEAKERS TOGETHER.

I ALSO WANNA RECOGNIZE THIS IS IMPORTANT CONTEXT, THAT THERE IS NO WAY THAT IN ONE NIGHT WE CAN, UH, BRING PRESENTATIONS UPON EVERY SEGMENT OF THE EDUCATION PIPELINE OR EVERY CONTEXT.

UH, SO WHAT WE CAN DO THOUGH, IS BRING IN, UH, COMMUNITIES AND VOICES THAT OFTENTIMES GET OVERLOOKED IN OUR SOCIETY.

AND, UM, IT WAS WITH INTENTION TO THAT.

WE ALSO BROUGHT IN PARTICULAR GROUPS, ORGANIZATION, REPRESENTATIVES THAT CAN SPEAK TO, UH, THE EXPERIENCES OF BLACK EDUCATION AND BLACK YOUTH, UM, AND RELATED, UH, CONVERSATIONS THAT OFTEN GET MARGINALIZED.

UH, THAT BY NO MEANS, MEANS THAT WE ARE IGNORING OTHER MARGINALIZED GROUPS SUCH AS L-G-B-T-Q, YOUTH, UH, IMMIGRANT YOUTH, UM, AND OTHER HISTORICALLY MARGINALIZED GROUPS.

ON THE CONTRARY, BY HIGHLIGHTING BLACK YOUTH, UH, WE ARE ALSO, UH, MAKING THE NECESSARY CONNECTIONS BETWEEN THE OPPRESSION THAT OTHER COMMUNITY GROUPS RECEIVE AND THE PARALLELS WITHIN THOSE COMMUNITIES AS WELL.

SO THAT IS SOMETHING THAT IS SO IMPORTANT, ESPECIALLY GIVEN THE INTERSECTIONALITY FRAMEWORK THAT THIS COMMISSION GREEN-LIGHTED FOR OUR USE AND OUR ROADMAP SEVERAL YEARS AGO.

UM, THERE IS A QUESTION, UH, THAT WE ENTERTAIN THAT IS FROM AN INTERSECTIONAL STANDPOINT, REALLY ALLOWING FOR CONVERSATIONS FROM OTHER COMMUNITIES TO COME INTO THE FOLD AS WELL.

SO THAT IS THE CONTEXT, UH, FOR TONIGHT AND THE RECOGNITION.

AND YOU'RE GONNA HEAR ME, UH, UH, AND I ALREADY SHARED THIS WITH THE SPEAKERS, BUT NOW I DO IT PUBLICLY, IMMENSE GRATITUDE TO THINK ABOUT IT.

COME ON A WEDNESDAY AFTER WORK TO THE COMMISSION, UH, FOR A SIGNIFICANT PERIOD OF TIME TO, UM, BRING IN THEIR INCREDIBLE EXPERTISE.

SO, WITH THAT SAID, WE'RE GONNA BRING THE FIRST SPEAKER, BUT FOR THOSE DUTIES, I'M GONNA DEFER TO THE VICE CHAIR WHO'LL BE INTRODUCING OUR FIRST SPEAKER.

AND THEN WE'RE GONNA ROTATE, UM, AMONGST THE AD HOC COMMITTEE.

SO, VICE CHAIR SCHULTZ, DID YOU CHANGE THE ORDER? I, I WASN'T READY.

UH, IS IT, IS IT ONE THE FIRST ONE SPEAKER, RIGHT? YEAH.

FIRST SPEAKER, YEAH.

SIGNING ANYTHING, WITHOUT OPTING INTO ANYTHING, THOSE ARE COLLEGE PROMISE STUDENTS.

UH, THANK YOU DR.

LAURA FOR THROWING TO ME LIKE, LIKE THAT, UH, AND FOR ALL YOUR WORK ON, ON THIS, UH, ON THIS AD HOC AND PUTTING THIS LISTENING SESSION TOGETHER.

APPRECIATE YOU.

UM, UH, I'D LIKE TO INTRODUCE A LONGTIME, UH, LONG BEACH RESIDENT, DR.

ELIJAH SIMS, UH, WHO'S BEEN APPOINTED AS THE INTERIM DIRECTOR OF LONG BEACH COLLEGE PROMISE, UH, PIONEERING EDUCATIONAL PATHWAY PROGRAM BUILDING HIGH SCHOOL COMMUNITY, I'M SORRY, BUILDING HIGH SCHOOL COMMUNITY COLLEGE AND UNIVERSITY TRANSFER.

UH, SINCE JOINING LONG BEACH CITY COLLEGE, LBCC IN 2012, SIMS HAS SERVED IN VARIOUS COUNSELING AND COORDINATING RULES ROLES, UH, DEDICATING THE PAST FIVE YEARS, SUPPORTING PROMISE STUDENTS THROUGH COMPLETION IN INITIATIVES, RETENTION PROGRAMS, AND ACADEMIC INTERVENTIONS.

IN HIS NEW ROLE, HE WILL SPLIT HIS TIME AMONG L-B-U-S-D, LBCC, AND C-S-U-L-B REPORTING DIRECTLY TO THE CHIEF EXECUTIVES OF ALL THREE PARTNER INSTITUTIONS TO OVERSEE AND SERVE THE INITIATIVE AS A WHOLE.

THANK YOU FOR WRITING THAT FOR ME.

DR.

LAURA.

UH, ON A PERSONAL NOTE, UH, UH, I AM A, UH, UH, I, I'M A, I'M A RECENT L-B-U-S-D DAD, AND NOW I'M AN LBCC DAD.

AND, UH, THIS COLLEGE PROMISE, UH, CAME ABOUT, YOU KNOW, I DON'T KNOW, 5, 6, 7 YEARS AGO.

I JUST, I JUST REMEMBER WHEN I FIRST HEARD IT, IT'S LIKE, YES, MY KID'S GONNA GET FREE COLLEGE.

UH, KEEP YOUR GRADES UP AND STAY IN SCHOOL.

UM, SO, UH, I'M EXCITED TO HEAR MORE ABOUT, UH, AND FOR EVERYBODY TO HEAR MORE ABOUT THE COLLEGE PROMISE, WHICH IS JUST ONE OF THE, THE, THE GREATEST THINGS, UH, UH, ABOUT OUR, UM, ABOUT OUR SCHOOL SYSTEM.

WELCOME, UH, UH, ELIJAH SIM.

THANK YOU, SIR.

THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME.

I, I SO APPRECIATE, UH, THE OPPORTUNITY TO, TO SPEAK TO THE HONORABLE COMMISSIONERS.

IT IS MY FIRST TIME IN THIS SPACE, AND IT'S, UH, I DON'T, I DON'T KNOW THAT I'VE MET, MET YOU IN THE PAST, BUT I LOOK FORWARD TO MEETING YOU, IF NOT TODAY, BUT IN THE NEAR FUTURE.

SO, I AM, I AM DR.

ELIJAH SANDS.

I'VE GOT MY COLLEAGUE THAT I'M GONNA BRING UP WITH ME.

THIS IS THE ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF THE LONG BEACH COLLEGE PROMISE.

SO WE'LL DO A, A TAG TEAM.

DO YOU WANT TO INTRODUCE YOURSELF AS WELL? HELLO,

[00:25:01]

EVERYONE.

GEORGE SORIANO, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF LONG BEACH COLLEGE PROMISE.

I'M STATIONED OVER IN CAL STATE LONG BEACH, WHERE I AM A PROUD ALUM.

YEP.

SO, SO GEORGE AND I ARE BOTH ALUMS OF THE, OF THE SYSTEM, SO WE'RE REALLY EXCITED TO BE HERE AND HAPPY TO SERVE IN THIS CAPACITY.

INTERESTING SIDE NOTE, BOTH OF US WERE INTERIM UNTIL VERY RECENTLY.

NOW WE'RE BOTH FULL TIME PERMANENT.

WE'RE NO LONGER INTERIM.

OH, GREAT.

SO, YOU KNOW, I, I KNOW OUR TIME IS SHORT.

WE'LL JUMP RIGHT INTO IT.

UH, YOU KNOW, I'LL JUST START WITH AN EXERCISE.

IF YOU WILL, JUST IMAGINE A CITY WITH FOUR AUTHENTIC PARTNERSHIPS AMONG THE MAYOR, AMONG THE ACADEMIC CEOS THAT IS THE SUPERINTENDENT OF LONG BEACH UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT, THE PRESIDENT OF LONG BEACH CITY COLLEGE, AND THE PRESIDENT OF CAL STATE LONG BEACH.

AND IMAGINE THAT THOSE AUTHENTIC PARTNERSHIPS LED TO AN AGREEMENT, NOT, NOT TO WORK ON THE THINGS, UH, THAT ARE EASY, BUT THE THINGS THAT ARE SYSTEMIC FOR OUR STUDENTS.

UM, THINGS THAT ARE ELUSIVE AND HARD TO WORK ON INDIVIDUALLY, BUT COLLECTIVELY BECOME ATTAINABLE GOALS.

THINGS LIKE GRADUATION RATES, COLLEGE GOING RATES, PERSISTENCE IN COLLEGE, UH, WHO'S GRADUATING WITH DEGREES, AND ULTIMATELY WHO ENDS UP WITH JOBS.

THINGS LIKE AFFORDABILITY OF COLLEGE, UM, THINGS LIKE AFTER SCHOOL PROGRAMS OR PROGRAMS FOR PARENTS LIKE ME WHO, WHO WORK A LITTLE BIT LONGER THAN, UM, THEIR FIRST GRADER GETS OUTTA SCHOOL.

SO I WAS, I WAS REALLY HAPPY TO SEE THAT THE BOYS AND GIRLS CLUB IS HERE, WHICH IS A PARTNERSHIP THAT LBCC, UH, NOW HAS.

AND SO MY DAUGHTER, AFTER GOING TO LONG BEACH UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT, COMES TO LBCC AND SHE PARTICIPATES IN THE BOYS AND GIRLS CLUB PROGRAMMING.

SO IMAGINE THAT WITHOUT THESE AUTHENTIC RELATIONSHIPS AND PARTNERSHIPS, SOME OF THESE SYSTEMIC, UH, CHALLENGES GO UNADDRESSED, WE'RE, WE ARE HERE TO SHARE JUST A HIGH LEVEL OVERVIEW OF SOME OF THE WAYS THAT REALLY INTENTIONAL, SMART, INTELLIGENT FOLKS COME TOGETHER IN SPACES JUST LIKE THIS TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO, HOW TO SERVE NOT A SMALL NUMBER OF STUDENTS, BUT ABOUT 70,000 STUDENTS COLLECTIVELY IN THE CITY OF LONG BEACH.

WITH THAT, WE WILL GET INTO IT.

SO WHO ARE WE? LONG BEACH UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT, LONG BEACH CITY COLLEGE, CAL STATE LONG BEACH, AND THE CITY OF LONG BEACH.

ULTIMATELY, WE ARE A CITYWIDE COMMITMENT TO STUDENT SUCCESS.

AND, AND OUR GOAL IS TO OFFER CLEAR PATHWAYS FROM THE CLASSROOMS TO CAREERS SO THAT THAT'S NOT SOMETHING THAT WE TAKE LIGHTLY.

IT'S NOT SOMETHING THAT YOU CAN DO EASILY.

AND AND IT REALLY BEGINS, UM, IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL FOR US, IN ORDER TO UNDERSTAND SORT OF HOW WE SERVE STUDENTS.

IT'S, IT'S HELPFUL TO VISUALIZE HOW STUDENTS FLOW THROUGH THE SYSTEM.

SO FOR LONG BEACH UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT, WHICH IS WHERE ALL OF OUR STUDENTS START, THE PROMISE GIVES STUDENTS OPTIONS.

STUDENTS CAN GO DIRECTLY TO CAL STATE LONG BEACH AFTER THAT.

AND THERE ARE SOME GUARANTEES THERE, WHICH WE'LL GET INTO LATER.

STUDENTS CAN GO TO LBCC AND IF THEY CHOOSE, THEY CAN EARN, UM, AN A CERTIFICATE OR A DEGREE AND STOP THERE.

BUT WE REALLY WANT OUR STUDENTS TO PURSUE THE HIGHEST LEVEL OF EDUCATION THEY CAN TO ENSURE THAT THEY HAVE MAXIMUM PORTABILITY OF, OF THEIR EDUCATION AND DEGREES AND CERTIFICATES, AND THEY HAVE MAXIMUM OPPORTUNITY TO NOT JUST ENTER THE JOB FORCE AND NOT JUST HAVE A LIVING WAGE, BUT A HIGH WAGE JOB.

SO WE'RE, WE ARE CREATING ON RAMPS FOR STUDENTS TO GO FROM HIGH SCHOOL INTO THE POST-SECONDARY SCHOOLS, WHETHER THEY START AT LBCC OR THEY GO DIRECTLY TO CAL STATE LONG BEACH.

WE'RE WE'RE OFTEN, UM, ASKED A QUESTION AROUND WHO, WHO DOES PROMISE SERVE? ALL LONG BEACH UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT STUDENTS ARE COLLEGE PROMISE STUDENTS.

SO WE HAVE TO START WITH THAT.

SO A AROUND ALMOST 62,000 STUDENTS IN 25, 26 WERE, UM, AT LONG BEACH UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT.

EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THOSE STUDENTS, WITHOUT

[00:30:01]

THAT'S WHERE WE START.

AND AFTER THAT, UH, WHO IS A PROMISE STUDENT IS ALWAYS DEFINED BY WHO STARTED AT LONG BEACH UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT.

SO YOU CAN SEE SOME OF OUR RACIAL AND, AND, AND ETHNIC BREAKDOWN HERE AS WELL.

SO ELIJAH MENTIONED WE DO A LOT OF PARTNERSHIP WORK AT A SYSTEMIC LEVEL, DOING THINGS UNDER THE HOOD, UH, YOU KNOW, LOOKING AT THINGS LIKE TRANSCRIPTS, RIGHT? ONE OF OUR RECENT SUCCESSES IS WE WORK TOGETHER TO BRING LBCC ON BOARD TO ETRANSCRIPTS, CALIFORNIA.

SO NOW ANY STUDENT TRANSFERRING FROM LBCC TO CAL STATE LONG BEACH, NO LONGER HAS TO EVEN THINK ABOUT TRANSCRIPTS.

IT'S NOW AN AUTOMATIC AND FREE PROCESS.

UM, BUT WE ALSO WANT TO DO WORK WITH OUR STUDENTS AND WITH OUR FAMILIES SO THAT THEY UNDERSTAND THE VALUE OF THE WORK THAT WE'RE DOING BEHIND THE SCENES.

AND SO THAT'S WHAT THIS GRAPHIC HERE REPRESENTS.

UH, WE'VE, I'VE GIVEN TO THE STAFF, UM, SOME HANDOUTS TO MATCH THIS, UM, IMAGE HERE.

UH, BUT IT BASICALLY IS FUNDAMENTALLY ANSWERING THE QUESTIONS FOR PEOPLE WHO MAY ASK, WHAT IS LONG BEACH COLLEGE PROMISE? SO THAT'S WHAT EXACTLY WHAT WE START WITH, AND WE LIST ALL OF OUR, OUR PARTNERING HIGH SCHOOLS SO THAT EVERY STUDENT KNOWS IF YOU GRADUATE FROM ANY OF THE HIGH SCHOOLS IN L-B-U-S-D, YOU ARE A PROMISE STUDENT AT LBCC AND AT CAL STATE LONG BEACH.

SO THIS GIVES A VERY HIGH LEVEL OVERVIEW OF SOME OF THOSE SERVICES, BUT SOME THAT I GET EXCITED ABOUT THAT.

FOR EXAMPLE, WHEN I GO INTO A HIGH SCHOOL AND DO, UM, COLLEGE OUTREACH FOR LBCC OR CAL STATE LONG BEACH, I ALWAYS ASK THEM, WHO REMEMBERS COMING TO CAL STATE LONG BEACH IN FIFTH GRADE FOR A FIELD TRIP OR TO LBCC IN FOURTH GRADE? AND I ALWAYS GET AT LEAST HALF THE ROOM, WHICH IS SO EXCITING FOR ME, RIGHT? BECAUSE THEY KNOW THAT WE'VE BEEN DOING THIS WORK WITH THEM, THIS LONG BEACH COLLEGE PROMISE WORK FOR LITERALLY YEARS.

UM, AND SO THAT'S SOME OF THE WORK THAT'S HIGHLIGHTED HERE IN THIS HANDOUT AT THE K 12 LEVEL, AT THE COLLEGE LEVEL, WHAT WE REALLY LIKE TO HIGHLIGHT IS, OF COURSE, YOU KNOW, WE'VE HAD THE GREAT SUCCESS OF TWO FREE YEARS OF TUITION AT LONG BEACH CITY COLLEGE AS PART OF THE LONG BEACH COLLEGE PROMISE.

BUT WE ALSO LIKE TO HIGHLIGHT THAT THROUGH ACCESS TO FINANCIAL AID, 70% OF LONG BEACH COLLEGE PROMISE STUDENTS AT CAL STATE LONG BEACH ALSO PAY $0 IN TUITION.

UM, WHICH IS SO EXCITING FOR US TO KNOW.

UH, AND THEN LASTLY, LOOKING AT OUR CAREER RESOURCES, MAKING SURE WE'RE CONNECTING ALL THE DOTS.

WE HIGHLIGHT ALL OF THE COLLEGE AND CAREER CENTERS AT CAL STATE LONG BEACH AND AT LBCC, LONG BEACH WIN.

UM, BUT WE ALSO HIGHLIGHT SOME OF OUR PAID INTERNSHIP OPPORTUNITIES AND OTHER WAYS THAT WE CAN HELP OUR STUDENTS CONNECT THEIR EDUCATION BACK, UH, TO THE WORKFORCE.

SOMETHING THAT'S NOT SHOWN HERE THAT, THAT WE'RE ALSO REALLY EXCITED ABOUT, ESPECIALLY SINCE OUR, OUR COUNTERPART FROM THE CITY IS HERE, THE UNITED SLOAN IS, IS THE COLLEGE AND CAREER EXPO.

SO PART OF PART OF OUR WORK WITH PROMISE IS HOW DO WE HELP, NOT JUST STUDENTS, BUT HOW DO WE HELP FAMILIES MAKE SENSE OF, OF THE CAREER OPPORTUNITIES FOR THEM? BECAUSE IF A PERSON KNOWS WHAT KIND OF WORK THEY WANT TO DO, THEN IT'S A LITTLE BIT EASIER TO FIGURE OUT WHAT KIND OF EDUCATION DO I NEED? SO THE COLLEGE AND CAREER EXPO IS A, IS A REALLY GREAT EXAMPLE OF A LARGE SCALE CROSS INSTITUTIONAL EFFORT FOR THE COMMUNITY AND FOR STUDENTS TO COME DURING THE DAY AND FOR FAMILIES TO COME AFTER WORK AND, AND SEE COLLEGES FROM NOT JUST CALIFORNIA, BUT ALL OVER THE COUNTRY.

WE DO PROMINENTLY FEATURE OUR PROMISE PARTNERSHIP THERE.

UM, BUT ULTIMATELY OUR, OUR GOAL IS TO HELP STUDENTS AND FAMILIES MAKE SOME SENSE OF, OF WHAT IT TAKES TO GET TO COLLEGE AND WHAT THEIR, UH, OPPOR OPPORTUNITIES RELATED TO CAREER WILL BE.

SO WE'RE GONNA GO FAST THROUGH SOME OF THESE OTHER ONES BECAUSE WE KNOW WE WERE SUPPOSED TO HAVE 10 TO 15 MINUTES, SO WE WILL BE BRIEFED.

BUT WHAT CAN YOU EXPECT THAT LBCC? WELL, THERE'S A, A FIRST AND A SECOND YEAR EXPERIENCE.

THINK OF THOSE LIKE, LIKE THIS.

I THINK THE OLD WAY OF DOING BUSINESS AT A POST SECONDARY INSTITUTION WAS WE EXPECTED STUDENTS TO RAISE THEIR HAND AND ASK FOR THE HELP THAT THEY NEEDED, OR SHOW UP AT A CENTER BECAUSE THEY KNEW THAT THEY NEEDED TO SPEAK TO A COUNSELOR OR GO TO FINANCIAL AID.

WE'RE, WE'RE SORT OF DOING THINGS A LOT DIFFERENTLY THAN THAT.

NOW WE'RE, WE'RE FOCUSING ON CASE MANAGEMENT SO THAT BEFORE THE STUDENT EVEN KNOWS THAT THEY NEED A THING, WE'RE THERE READY WITH THE SERVICE FOR THEM.

WE'RE, WE'RE REACHING OUT TO THEM.

WE'RE LOOKING AT THOSE INFLECTION POINTS, UM, THOSE FORKS IN THE ROAD, IF YOU WILL, AND HELPING STUDENTS MAKE THE RIGHT DECISION BEFORE THEY HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO MAKE THE WRONG ONE.

ULTIMATELY, WHAT

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CAN YOU GET THROUGH AN LBCC PATHWAY? WE SPOKE A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THIS, BUT OUR, OUR STUDENTS ARE LEAVING WITH ONE OR MORE OF THESE.

THEY'RE EITHER WORKING TOWARD A CERTIFICATE, THEY'RE WORKING TOWARD AN ASSOCIATE'S DEGREE, THEY'RE WORKING TOWARD TRANSFER, OR FRANKLY, THEY'RE WORKING TOWARD ALL OF THEM.

UM, OUR, OUR CERTIFICATES ARE OFTEN STACKABLE.

THERE ARE, UM, ASSOCIATES DEGREES FOR, FOR TRANSFER.

SO REALLY A STUDENT COULD WORK ON ALL THOSE THINGS AT THE SAME TIME.

ALRIGHT, GO BEACH.

SO, UM, ONE THING I WANT TO HIGHLIGHT IS ANOTHER RECENT SUCCESS OF OUR PARTNERSHIP IS CAL STATE LONG BEACH HAS ESTABLISHED LONG BEACH CITY COLLEGE AS A LOCAL COMMUNITY COLLEGE CAMPUS.

I KNOW THAT SOUNDS LIKE IT WOULD BE A GIVEN, BUT SYSTEMICALLY CAL STATE LONG BEACH PREVIOUSLY DID NOT HAVE ANY LOCAL COMMUNITY COLLEGE CAMPUSES.

AND SO BY MAKING THIS CHANGE, WE'VE MADE IT SO THAT NOW AUTOMATICALLY EVERY SINGLE LBCC STUDENT WOULD BE CONSIDERED LOCAL FOR ADMISSION PURPOSES.

AND SO WHAT THAT MEANS IS ALL THEY NEED TO DO IS MEET MINIMUM ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS BASED ON THEIR INDIVIDUAL MAJOR, AND THEY WOULD BE OFFERED ADMISSION AT CAL STATE LONG BEACH, UM, WITH ANY MAJOR THAT DOES NOT HAVE FACULTY REVIEW.

SO THERE ARE SOME EXCEPTIONS.

NURSING, SOCIAL WORK, MUSIC, DANCE, AND BFA PROGRAMS WHERE THERE'S FACULTY PORTFOLIO REVIEW, BUT ALL OTHER MAJORS, YOUR PSYCHOLOGIES, UM, YOUR KINESIOLOGY, UM, YOUR FOREIGN LANGUAGES, ALL OF THESE MAJORS ARE, UM, AUTOMATIC ADMIT WITH MINIMUM, UH, ELIGIBILITY FOR THAT MAJOR FROM TRANSFER.

AND AGAIN, THAT'S NOW AUTOMATIC FOR ANY LBCC STUDENT.

THIS USED TO BE SPECIFIC TO ONLY STUDENTS AT LBCC WHO CAME FROM ANY OF OUR LOCAL HIGH SCHOOLS.

BUT WITH THIS CHANGE NOW THAT'S EXTENDED TO ALL LBCC STUDENTS.

UM, YEAH, APOLOGIES FOR THE FORMATTING CHANGE THAT HAPPENS SOMETIMES WITH POWERPOINTS.

UM, BUT, SO WITH THIS HERE WE'RE LOOKING AT AL BUSD ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS FOR FIRST TIME FIRST YEAR STUDENTS.

THIS IS THE NEW TERMINOLOGY WE USE INSTEAD OF FRESHMEN.

IT'S A LITTLE MORE INCLUSIVE, BUT SO FIRST TIME, FIRST YEAR STUDENTS COMING OUT OF LONG BEACH UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT.

PREVIOUSLY, UH, THEY HAD ACCESS TO SOMETHING CALLED LOCAL AREA ADMISSION PREFERENCE.

AND THIS IS SOMETHING THAT'S EXTENDED TO STUDENTS IN COMPTON, NORWALK, HUNTINGTON BEACH, LOS AL.

UM, BUT MORE RECENTLY, UH, WHAT WE'VE DONE IS WE'VE CREATED A PATHWAY WHERE NOW LONG BEACH UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT STUDENTS WHO MEET CAL STATE MINIMUM ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS, THAT WOULD BE A THROUGH G AND A 2.5 GPA OR HIGHER ARE NOW, UM, OFFERED ADMISSION AT CAL STATE LONG BEACH, UM, WITHOUT COMPETITIVE REVIEW.

UM, SO THERE, OF COURSE, IS SOME FINE PRINT.

SO WE'LL LOOK AT THAT HERE.

SO IF YOU HAVE CAL STATE MINIMUM ELIGIBILITY OR C-S-U-L-B ELIGIBILITY OUT MINIMUM ELIGIBILITY, YOU'RE ADMITTED INTO OUR UNDECLARED PROGRAMS, YOU WOULD STILL GO THROUGH A COMPETITIVE REVIEW PROCESS FOR DIRECT ADMISSION TO YOUR MAJOR.

BUT DEPENDING ON THE OUTCOME OF THAT PROCESS, YOU WOULD STILL BE OFFERED ADMISSION, UM, EITHER INTO THAT MAJOR OR UNDECLARED SO LONG AS YOU'RE MINIMALLY ELIGIBLE.

AND AGAIN, NOW THAT'S EXTENDED TO AG TWO FIVE FOR CSU MINIMUM ELIGIBILITY.

SO WHAT THAT MEANS IS, ANY COLLEGE READY STUDENT IN LONG BEACH UNIFIED, SHOULD THEY CHOOSE TO APPLY TO CAL STATE LONG BEACH WOULD HAVE A SPACE THERE.

WE DO HAVE CURRENTLY OVER 4,000 STUDENTS ENROLLED AT CAL STATE LONG BEACH, WHO WOULD BE CONSIDERED LONG BEACH COLLEGE PROMISE STUDENTS.

AND SO TO THEM, WE EXTEND A NUMBER OF SPECIFIC SERVICES THAT ARE ONLY AVAILABLE TO THEM AS A GROUP.

SO THAT WOULD BE OUR LONG BEACH COMMUNITY INTERNSHIP PROGRAM.

I JUST GOT AN EMAIL TODAY.

WE'LL BE SENDING OUT THE INVITE FOR STUDENTS TO APPLY.

THIS IS A PROCESS WHERE WE PARTNER WITH LOCAL NONPROFITS AND AGENCIES AND WE ASK, YOU KNOW, DO YOU HAVE CURRENT UNPAID INTERNSHIPS THAT WE COULD WORK WITH YOU AND PROVIDE FUNDING TO MAKE THEM PAID INTERNSHIPS? AND THEN WE MAKE THOSE NEW NOW PAID INTERNSHIPS AVAILABLE TO PROMISE STUDENTS AT CAL STATE LONG BEACH.

WE ALSO HAVE OUR PROMISE AWARD SCHOLARSHIP.

THIS IS A $500 SCHOLARSHIP THAT WE GIVE TO 30 PROMISE STUDENTS AT C-S-U-L-B EACH YEAR.

OUR CANVAS PAGE, OUR SCHOLARS STUDENT ORGANIZATION, AND OUR INSTAGRAM ARE JUST SOME OTHER WAYS AT C-S-U-L-B THAT WE COMMUNICATE TO AND SOCIALIZE WITH OUR LONG BEACH COLLEGE PROMISE STUDENTS AT THE BEACH.

AND THEN WE'LL CLOSE OUT WITH SOME FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS.

I'LL PASS IT BACK OVER TO ELIJAH.

RIGHT? SO, UH, WE DON'T WANNA JUMP IN FRONT OF THE, OF THE D IN CASE YOU HAVE QUESTIONS AS WELL.

BUT, YOU KNOW, SOME OF THE THINGS THAT, THAT WE'RE OFTEN ASKED, WHAT DOES THAT FIRST ONE SAY? WHO, WHO IS A PROMISED STUDENT? SO, AS WE SAID BEFORE, IT'S ALL STUDENTS WHO ORIGINATE FROM LONG BEACH UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT.

IF THOSE STUDENTS CHOOSE TO GO TO CAL STATE LONG BEACH OR LBCC AFTER THAT, THEN THEY ARE STILL LONG BEACH COLLEGE PROMISE STUDENTS.

[00:40:01]

UM, HOW, HOW DO YOU BECOME A PART OF IT? WELL, YOU REALLY DON'T HAVE TO DO ANYTHING OTHER THAN ATTEND A LONG BEACH UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT SCHOOL.

UM, OUR, OUR SUPPORTS ARE TAILORED TO STUDENTS WHO ATTENDED LONG BEACH UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT.

AND WHEN YOU COME TO LBCC, THERE'S A, THERE'S LITERALLY A BOX THAT YOU CHECK THAT SAYS THAT YOU AGREE THAT WE WILL CASE MANAGE YOU.

AND THAT'S REALLY, SO WE CAN SEND YOU ALL THOSE PREEMPTIVE COMMUNICATIONS BECAUSE SOME STUDENTS MAY OR MAY NOT WANT YOU TO BLOW UP THEIR PHONES WITH TEXT MESSAGES , RIGHT? UM, BUT ASSUMING THAT A, A STUDENT CHECKS THAT BOX, WE, WE ACTIVELY CASE, CASE MANAGE TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY KNOW WHEN, WHEN DO I NEED TO COMPLETE MY FINANCIAL AID? WHEN DOES MY PRIORITY REGISTRATION START? WHEN SHOULD I LOOK AT THE, THE LATE START CLASSES AND ON, ON AND ON AND ON ALL THOSE OPPORTUNITIES THAT, UH, FOR US TO NUDGE THEM.

UM, HOW, HOW DO YOU BECOME A PART OF THE PROMISE AT, AT C-S-U-O-B? THERE'S NO PROCESS.

YOU JUST ORIGINATE FROM L-B-U-S-D APPLY.

AND, AND WHEN YOU'RE ACCEPTED, YOU'RE, YOU'RE IN AND, AND HOW DO I GET THE FREE TUITION? UH, SO THE FREE TUITION IS, UM, GIVEN TO LONG BEACH UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT STUDENTS AUTOMATICALLY, IF THEY COME TO LBCC DIRECTLY AFTER HIGH SCHOOL, AND YOU HAVE TO ENROLL FULL-TIME, UNLESS YOU'RE, UH, AN ACTIVE PARTICIPANT WHO HAS AN IEP, FOR EXAMPLE, FROM DSPS, UH, WE WOULDN'T MAKE OUR STUDENTS WHO HAD A, A DISABILITY TAKE MORE UNITS THAN WOULD ALLOW THEM TO BE SUCCESSFUL.

RIGHT? UM, AND THEN THE, THE FREE TUITION AT CAL STATE LONG BEACH IS REALLY DRIVEN BY, UH, INCOME.

SO WHO QUALIFIES FOR, FOR GRANTS AND THAT SORT OF THING.

BUT, UM, OUR, OUR DEMOGRAPHICS IN THE CITY OF LONG BEACH, WHICH I'M SURE YOU'RE VERY FAMILIAR WITH, LEAD TO, UH, A VERY COMMON SCENARIO AT CAL STATE LONG BEACH, WHERE OUR PROMISE STUDENTS ARE OFTEN ATTENDING FOR FREE.

SO 70% OF OUR PROMISE STUDENTS GRADUATE WITH ZERO DEBT.

SO, UH, A SHOUT OUT AGAIN TO LEONIS THE CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE.

YOU SEE THOSE BLUE STOLES THAT STUDENTS ARE WEARING.

SO HERE YOU SEE SOME GRADUATES FROM, FROM ACROSS THE LONG BEACH UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT.

UM, I KNOW, I KNOW SOME OF YOU WILL RECOGNIZE POLLY IN THE TOP RIGHT CORNER, AND THEN WILSON AT THE BOTTOM THERE.

BUT, UM, THE CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE FUNDED JUST A WAY WAY FOR US TO ACKNOWLEDGE PROMISE STUDENTS FOR THEIR MOMENTOUS ACHIEVEMENT OF GRADUATING, UM, BY PAYING FOR BLUE STOLES FOR ALL LONG BEACH UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT GRADUATES.

SO THAT'S IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD.

UH, WELL ALL, ALL, ALL THE GRADUATES WHO ULTIMATELY, UH, AGREED TO ATTEND A POST-SECONDARY INSTITUTION.

SO IT'S, IT'S LITERALLY THOUSANDS OF STALLS EACH EACH YEAR.

THIS IS SOME INFORMATION FOR, FOR GEORGE.

SO WE'VE ADDED THIS TO THE SLIDE THAT IN CASE ANYONE WANTS TO REACH OUT, YOU CAN ALSO SEE A LOT OF OUR EVENTS CHECK INSTAGRAM AVAILABLE ON SOCIAL MEDIA, RIGHT? UM, BUT THERE'S, THERE'S A, THERE'S A YEAR LONG CALENDAR OF STUDENT-CENTERED EVENTS AT, AT ALL THE INSTITUTIONS THAT WE WANT YOU TO COME TO AND PARTICIPATE IN.

ESPECIALLY, UM, I KNOW JOHN HERE HAS A, HAS HAS A SON OR DAUGHTER, DID YOU SAY? SON? YEAH.

SON AT LBCC.

SO, SO PLEASE, UH, COME TO SOME OF OUR EVENTS.

UH, WE'D BE HAPPY TO HAVE YOU THERE.

AND, AND IF YOU TELL ME WHO YOUR, WHO, WHO YOUR SON IS, WE WILL LOOK IN ON HIM.

WELL, THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME ALL.

UH, WE, WE APPRECIATE YOU.

AND IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS FOR US, WE'D BE HAPPY TO ANSWER SOME, UH, I, I SHOULD HAVE SAID THIS AT THE BEGINNING, BUT WHEN YOU SERVE 70,000 STUDENTS THERE, THERE, THERE ARE A LOT OF THINGS THAT WERE NOT IN THIS PRESENTATION.

IS REALLY SOMETHING THAT WE TRY TO BUILD, UM, AT THE POST-SECONDARY PARTNERS.

UM, BUT IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS THAT WE CAN ANSWER, WE'D BE HAPPY TO RESPOND WITH OTHER DOCUMENTATION OR DATA IF YOU REQUEST IT.

ALL RIGHT? OH, BEFORE YOU GO, WE'LL HOLD YOU THERE FOR A SECOND.

UM, UM, LET ME GIVE A QUICK OVERVIEW OF THE PROCESS THAT WE'RE GONNA HAVE.

UM, FOR THESE.

UH, AS YOU ALL MAY HAVE NOTICED, UM, WE'VE PUT ALL OF THE SPEAKERS ON ONE AGENDA ITEM.

WHAT THAT MEANS IS THAT, UH, WE'RE GOING TO TRY TO HAVE BOTH, UH, LIKE IMMEDIATE RESPONSES THAT WE MIGHT HAVE, BUT ALSO A LARGE DISCUSSION AT THE END.

SO WE'RE GONNA DO IT IS, UM, EACH SPEAKER COMPLETES THEIR PRESENTATION.

WE'LL GIVE A FEW MINUTES FOR COMMISSIONERS TO MAKE ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS.

THIS IS NOT MEANT TO BE THE ENTIRE DISCUSSION, RIGHT? JUST LIKE WHATEVER YOU WANNA HAVE THAT'S, UH, IMMEDIATE, UM, FOR THE SPEAKERS.

UM, AND THEN WE'LL MOVE

[00:45:01]

TO THE NEXT SPEAKER.

UM, EACH OF THEM WILL HAVE A FEW MOMENTS OF DIALOGUE WITH US, RIGHT? ONCE YOU'VE COMPLETED ALL THE SPEAKERS, THE REST OF THAT TIME BLOCK WILL BE, UH, A LARGER DISCUSSION WITH ALL OF US, RIGHT? AND SO WE CAN CONTINUE TO CALL THEM UP FOR FURTHER QUESTIONS AND DISCUSS AMONG EACH OTHER.

WE CLOSE THAT ITEM.

UM, WE'LL OPEN UP FOR PUBLIC COMMENT.

UM, AND SO THAT'S HOW WE'LL FLOW THIS, THAT WAY WE DON'T LOSE THE FRESH QUESTIONS WE HAVE AFTER EVERY SPEAKER, BUT WE ALSO DON'T MONOPOLIZE THE TIME FOR ONE SPEAKER AND LOSE THE PEOPLE AT THE END.

SO THAT'S OUR ATTEMPT TO COMPROMISE.

UM, AND SO WHAT WE'RE GONNA DO IS OPEN UP, UM, SOME CHANCES FOR THE, UH, COMMISSION TO ASK QUESTIONS, UH, OF, OF YOU TWO.

NOW, I ALSO KNOW THAT I THINK ONE OF YOU HAS TO LEAVE EARLY.

AND SO THERE'S BEEN A REQUEST THAT WE DO A GROUP PICTURE AFTER WE FINISH THIS DISCUSSION WITH ALL OF THE SPEAKERS.

UM, SO THAT WAY WE HAVE A PICTURE OF ALL THE SPEAKERS BEFORE ONE OF YOU HAS TO LEAVE.

SO, UH, WE ARE NOT GONNA TAKE A PICTURE AFTER EVERY PRESENTER.

WE'LL DO IT ALL, ALL AT ONCE WHEN WE FINISH THIS.

UM, BUT WITH THAT, UM, COMMISSIONERS, PLEASE QUEUE UP TO SPEAK, UM, IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS FOR THE LONG BEACH COMM COLLEGE PROMISE PRESENTERS, COMMISSIONER BUTLER.

HI.

UM, FIRST OF ALL, THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR PRESENTATION.

IT WAS VERY, VERY WELL RECEIVED, AT LEAST BY ME, .

UM, DURING THE, DURING THE PRESENTATION, THERE WAS A QUESTION, HOW DO I BECOME PART OF PROMISE AT CAL STATE U LONG BEACH, UH, YOU KNOW, INCLUDING THE OUTREACH AND PROGRAMMING.

SO WHEN STUDENTS CHECK THE BOX, IS IT CLEARLY CONVEYED WHAT THAT MEANS TO THEM? ABSOLUTELY.

SO, SO AT CAL STATE LONG BEACH, THERE'S NO BOX.

UH, WE JUST DO IT BASED ON, UM, HIGH SCHOOL OF ORIGIN.

BUT AT LBCC, THERE'S A FIRST YEAR EXPERIENCE PROGRAM AND A SECOND YEAR EXPERIENCE PROGRAM.

AND THOSE, AND THAT, THAT PROGRAM COMES WITH, WITH DEDICATED SUCCESS COACHES.

AND THOSE SUCCESS COACHES HAVE A CASELOAD OF, OF STUDENTS.

AND SO THOSE, UM, I, I ACTUALLY GOT TO DESIGN THIS BACK IN THE DAY.

SO , SO THE, THE IDEA WAS THAT ESPECIALLY OUR FIRST GEN STUDENTS, THEY DON'T KNOW WHAT THEY DON'T KNOW, RIGHT? SO IT'S NOT FAIR TO EXPECT THEM TO KNOW EXACTLY WHEN TO GO TO A COUNSELOR OR THE FINANCIAL AID, OR THE CASHIER OR, OR THE REGISTRARS.

SO WHAT WE DO IS WE LOOK AT ALL THE IMPORTANT MILESTONES THAT THEY NEED TO HIT, AND THEN WE REACH OUT, UH, IN ADVANCE OF THOSE AND MAKE SURE THAT THEY'RE AWARE.

SO WHEN YOU CHECK THE BOX, YOU'RE JUST AGREEING THAT IT'S OKAY FOR US TO CONTACT YOU ON YOUR PHONE AND SEND YOU A TEXT MESSAGE AND SEND YOU THOSE NUDGES.

UM, IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE DO PRIMARILY BECAUSE, UH, FERPA AND, AND WHEN STUDENTS DON'T HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO OPT IN AND OPT OUT, THERE ARE SOME QUESTIONS AROUND WHETHER OR NOT YOU'RE, YOU'RE OVERS SATURATING IT WITH, WITH COMMUNICATION.

BUT, BUT A, EACH STUDENT IS, UH, OKAY, TONGUE AND MOUTH ENGAGED SIMULTANEOUSLY, .

SO THEY ARE NOT, THEY ARE, OR THEY ARE NOT AUTOMATICALLY A PART OF LONG BEACH PROMISE.

YOU'RE, YOU'RE AUTOMATICALLY A PART OF PROMISE.

YOU AUTOMATICALLY RECEIVE THE FREE TUITION SO LONG AS YOU ARE IN 12 UNITS OR ABOVE.

BUT THE CASE MANAGEMENT, YOU OPT INTO BY CHECKING THE BOX AT LBCC, AT LBCC SPECIFICALLY, OKAY, AT CAL STATE LONG BEACH.

WE, WE CAN SEE IN THE, ON OUR APPLICATION DATA THROUGH CAL STATE APPLY WHETHER THEY'RE COMING FROM ANY OF OUR PARTICIPATING HIGH SCHOOLS.

AND SO THROUGH THAT, WE'RE THEN ABLE TO AUTOMATICALLY INCLUDE THEM IN OUR SYSTEMS FOR, FOR EXAMPLE, CONSIDERING THEM FOR THE SCHOLARSHIPS, REACHING OUT TO THEM WITH EMAILS, ADDING THEM TO OUR CANVAS PAGE, AND THINGS LIKE THAT.

UH, UH, AND, AND I APPRECIATE THAT.

THANK YOU SO MUCH.

AND I ASK THAT QUESTION PRIMARILY BECAUSE WE ARE INUNDATED WITH INFORMATION OVERLOAD.

AND A LOT OF TIMES, MYSELF INCLUDED, WE TEND TO GLANCE AT AN EMAIL AND CLICK, DELETE, DELETE, DELETE.

RIGHT? SO MY, UM, MY INTEREST IS ENSURING THAT THEY ARE AWARE THAT THEY ARE INCLUDED AND THAT THEY ARE PRIVY TO ALL THE BENEFITS THAT GO ALONG WITH THAT PROGRAM.

ABSOLUTELY.

THAT IT'S NOT JUST ASSUMED THAT THEY KNOW THAT THAT IS CLEARLY CONVEYED TO THEM SO THAT THEY CAN TAKE IT FULL ADVANTAGE OF IT.

I THINK A GOOD, A GOOD, UM, YOU KNOW, A GOOD PORTION OF WHY GEORGE WAS ORIGINALLY HIRED, WHICH WAS SHORTLY AFTER ME, UH, SO FORMER PRESIDENT OF CAL STATE LONG BEACH, JANE, JANE CONNOLLY, SHE WAS REALLY CLEAR.

SHE SAID, UH, WE NEED TO BUILD COHORT IDENTITY AT CAL STATE LONG BEACH.

WE SHOULD NOT ASSUME THAT WHEN STUDENTS COME HERE.

THEY ALREADY KNOW THAT PROMISE HAS CONTINUED FOR THEM.

AND, AND SO GEORGE HAS DONE A, A REALLY PHENOMENAL JOB OF MAKING SURE THAT HE'S REALLY REACHING OUT TO STUDENTS.

HE, HE HAS CALENDAR ACTIVITIES FOR THE YEAR.

SO BELONGING

[00:50:01]

WE KNOW THAT THEY KNOW AT UNIFIED, BUT IT'S IMPORTANT THAT THEY REMEMBER WHEN THEY GET TO THE POST-SECONDARY PARTNERS AS WELL.

EXACTLY.

AND, AND WE'D START EVEN WELL BEFORE THEY START AT LBCC OR CAL STATE LONG BEACH, UH, FOR CAL STATE LONG BEACH, FOR EXAMPLE.

UM, ALL OF OUR MIDDLE SCHOOL WORK THAT HAPPENS AT THE MOMENT IS IN LONG BEACH UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT.

WE DON'T DO MIDDLE SCHOOL WORK OUTSIDE OF L-B-U-S-D.

UM, AND THAT'S FOR US TO BE ABLE TO GET THE CONVERSATION STARTED VERY EARLY ABOUT A THROUGH G.

UM, SO THAT THEY KNOW THAT THEY COULD BE POTENTIALLY TAKING AN A THROUGH G ENGLISH, OR EXCUSE ME, A THROUGH G LANGUAGE OTHER THAN ENGLISH OR A THROUGH G MATH COURSE AS EARLY AS A GRADE HERE IN AL BUSD.

AND SO WE START THAT OUTREACH EARLY HERE.

UM, BUT ALSO AT THE HIGH SCHOOL LEVEL COORDINATING WITH HIGH SCHOOL OUTREACH AND CELEBRATING WITH OUR STUDENTS, LIKE WE MENTIONED, THE GRADUATION STOLES, BUT ALSO AT C-S-U-L-B IN THE PYRAMID, WE HOST A DINNER CELEBRATION FOR ALL OF OUR STUDENTS FROM AL BUSD AND LBCC, WHO WERE ADMITTED TO THE UNIVERSITY.

'CAUSE ONE OF THE, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT CONCERNS ME IS THE PARTICIPATION PERCENTAGES BY CULTURE, LIKE BY, BY ETHNIC GROUPS, I SHOULD SAY.

SURE.

SOME OF THE NUMBERS WERE DISMALLY LOW FOR ME.

AND SO I JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT THERE WAS A CLEAR UNDERSTANDING ACROSS THE BOARD BY ALL OF THEM AS TO WHAT THEY COULD POTENTIALLY, UM, RECEIVE THE BENEFITS THAT THEY COULD RECEIVE.

I APPRECIATE YOUR TIME.

ABSOLUTELY.

AND WE HAVE, UM, I DUNNO IF YOU WANNA RESPOND ANYTHING ELSE TO, TO THE COMMENTS, BUT IF NOT, WE HAVE A REQUEST FROM COMMISSIONER LARA.

I'LL KEEP MY BRIEF AND MAYBE IT'S A QUESTION INVOLVED VIA EMAIL SO WE CAN, UM, 'CAUSE YOU MIGHT NOT HAVE THIS MEMORIZED, BUT ALONG SIMILAR LINES, WELL, FIRST OF ALL, I DO WANT TO HIGHLY COMMEND YOUR, UH, LONG BEACH COLLEGE PROMISE PROGRAMMING FOR WHAT SOUNDS LIKE WRAPAROUND SERVICES FOR THIS TWO YEAR PROCESS THAT MAKES A FUNDAMENTAL DIFFERENCE IN THE LIVES OF YOUTH.

SO, SO MUCH APPLAUSE TO YOU FOR THAT AND ATTEMPTING TO REPLICATE THAT AT CAL STATE LA.

BUT A CURIOSITY OF MINE, MAYBE VIA EMAIL, UM, WOULD BE HOW, WHAT IS THE RACIAL ETHNIC COMPOSITION OF L-B-U-S-D GRADUATES? HOW MANY PARTICIPANTS ARE THERE RACIALLY, ETHICALLY, IN THE LONG BEACH COLLEGE PROMISE AT THE COMMUNITY COLLEGE LEVEL? SO LBCC, HOW MANY GRADUATE WITH THEIR A A A? AND THEN WHAT DOES THIS LOOK LIKE AT CAL STATE LA ALSO, THE GRADUATES? 'CAUSE I THINK AT EVERY SEGMENT OF THAT PIPELINE OUTSIDE OF LONG BEACH COLLEGE PROMISE, WE KNOW THAT THERE ARE SOME, SOME, UH, INEQUITIES THERE.

SO HOW DOES THIS TRANSLATE IN ANOTHER CONTEXT SO THAT WE CAN, AS A CITY OF LONG BEACH, BE BETTER PARTNERS TO FIGURING THIS OUT? AND PART OF IT, YOU FIGURED OUT THIS EQUATION ALREADY IS BELONGING.

COHORTS IDENTITY AND, BUT NOW HAVING THE SUPPORT TO IMPLEMENT THAT AT CAL STATE LIFE.

SO THAT'S THE CURIOSITY OF MINE.

AGAIN.

I MEAN, IF YOU HAPPEN TO HAVE SOME ROUGH IDEAS, THAT THAT'S FINE.

BUT I THINK MORE OF AN EMAIL.

'CAUSE I THINK TO GET INTO THE YEAH.

THE SPECIFICS OF PERCENTAGES AND THIS PRESENTATION WOULD BE AN UNFAIR QUESTION AND I RECOGNIZE THAT, BUT IT'S A CURIOSITY OF MINE.

WELL, WE MIGHT HAVE SOMETHING, UH, IN THE, IN THE PIPELINE THAT'S, UH, RIGHT ALONG THOSE LINES.

SO, SO WE HAVE A, A DATA SHARING MOU, AND WE HAVE CREATED, UM, OUR FIRST DATA SHARING CLOUD-BASED WAREHOUSE THAT'S CROSS INSTITUTIONAL IN NATURE.

VERY FEW OTHER IN, UH, PARTNERSHIPS HAVE BEEN ABLE TO DO THIS.

UM, IT TAKES A LOT OF IT, IT TAKES A LOT OF AGREEING .

UM, BUT THE PRODUCT OF THAT, WHICH, WHICH SHOULD HAPPEN IN LATE SEPTEMBER OR EARLY OCTOBER, SHOULD BE A COMMUNITY FACING REPORT THAT ANSWERS SOME OF THOSE VERY, THOSE VERY QUESTIONS.

SO YOU MIGHT NOT HAVE TO ACTUALLY EMAIL ME, BECAUSE OUR, OUR HOPE IS TO PUT IT DIRECTLY ON THE LONG BEACH COLLEGE PROMISE WEBSITE.

OUR, OUR GOAL IS TO HAVE TWO PRODUCTS.

ONE IS A REPORT ITSELF THAT'S MORE OF A NARRATIVE, AND THAT'S SOME STORYTELLING.

AND ALSO OUR, OUR FIRST ATTEMPT AT A PUBLIC FACING SCORECARD.

SO WE'RE REALLY EXCITED ABOUT BEING ABLE TO DELIVER THAT, UM, SOMETIME IN LATE SEPTEMBER OR EARLY OCTOBER.

WELL, THANK YOU FOR ANSWERING THE QUESTION AND, AND SHOUT OUT TO THE ORGANIZATION FROM THE EARLY YEARS, IF I REMEMBER CORRECTLY, PRESIDENT OBAMA GAVE M MUCH RECOGNITION NATIONALLY TO THIS PROGRAM IN AN EFFORT TO REPLICATE IT IN OTHER COMMUNITIES.

SO I WANNA MAKE SURE THAT'S ALSO PART, PART OF THE NARRATIVE.

'CAUSE I REMEMBER THAT, I THINK WHEN I FIRST MOVED TO LONG BEACH, BUT JUST SUCH A GEM, UH, OF A PROGRAM IN OUR COMMUNITY.

[00:55:01]

YOU'RE RIGHT ABOUT THAT.

IT ALMOST BECAME AMERICA'S PROMISE.

WE WERE THIS CLOSE AND IT DIDN'T GET .

SO, UM, THANK YOU.

AND WE'LL, WE'LL, AT AT LEAST ONE OF US, IF NOT BOTH OF US WILL BE AROUND IF THERE ARE OTHER QUESTIONS.

SO WE'RE AT YOUR DISPOSAL.

I'LL HAVE SOME QUESTIONS AFTERWARDS.

UH, UH, BUT, UH, I WANT TO THANK YOU FOR COMING OUT TODAY.

LPCC.

IF, IF I DIDN'T MENTION IT BEFORE, I'M ONE OF YOUR BIGGEST CHEERLEADERS.

I'M ON THE BOARD OF GOVERNORS AT THE SCHOOL.

OH, AWESOME.

UH, MY SON, IT'S, IT'S THIRD OR FOURTH SEMESTER THERE.

'CAUSE HE'S BEEN DUAL ENROLLED, UH, UH, FOR A COUPLE YEARS.

UM, YOU'RE BUILDING DORMS, UH, UH, YOU, YOU MAKE SURE STUDENTS HAVE A A EVEN IF THEY'RE SLEEPING IN THEIR CAR, THEY HAVE A, THEY HAVE A PLACE.

AND, UH, I'M SURE HUNDREDS OF KIDS IN OUR SCHOOL SYSTEM, YOU KNOW, AT GRADUATION TIME, UH, UH, ALL THE, THE BRILLIANT KIDS WHERE, YOU KNOW, 20 DIFFERENT STOLES AND, UH, UH, INCLUSIVENESS.

YOU KNOW, UM, EVERY KID HAS A CHANCE AT A BLUE STOLE.

UH, UH, EVEN IF THEY DON'T HAVE ANY OTHER STOLES TO WEAR, UH, UH, 'CAUSE THEY'RE, THEY'RE, THEY'RE STRUGGLING IN SCHOOL.

UM, I, I CAN'T SAY, UH, ENOUGH GREAT THINGS ABOUT LBCC, UH, AND THE COLLEGE PROMISE.

SO THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE TODAY, AND THANK YOU, SIR.

UH, UH, THANK YOU.

AND WITH THAT, UM, WE WILL HAVE A CHANCE AT THE END OF THE DISCUSSION.

PEOPLE HAVE MORE QUESTIONS OR DISCUSSION AROUND THIS.

AND I KNOW THAT WE'RE ALSO GONNA HAVE A LOT OF INTERSECTIONAL, UH, INSIGHTS BETWEEN THIS PRESENTATION AND THE REST.

WE DO WANNA HAVE A VERY QUICK, LIKE THREE MINUTES.

WE'RE GOTTA BE ON TIME, ABOUT THREE MINUTES AT, AT MOST TO, UM, HAVE A PHOTO WITH THE SPEAKERS.

UM, I KNOW THAT SOME SPEAKERS HAVEN'T SPOKEN YET.

WE'RE GONNA GIVE YOU A CERTIFICATE ANYWAY FOR THE PHOTO OP.

PLEASE DON'T LEAVE , PLEASE DON'T LEAVE AND NOT PRESENT.

UM, BUT WE'LL GO AHEAD AND CALL UP ALL OF THE COMMISSIONERS TO LINE UP IN FRONT, UM, AND THE, UH, SPEAKERS, UH, TO JOIN US AS WELL.

UM, WE'LL GIVE YOU YOUR CERTIFICATES, TAKE A QUICK PHOTOGRAPH, AND THEN WE'LL COME BACK INTO THE FLOW OF THE MEETING.

UH, AND TONY WILL BE OUR PHOTOGRAPHER.

IS THAT COOL? OKAY.

AMAZING SURPRISE IN HERE.

THEY WANT US TO COME.

YOU WANT US TO COME IN HERE? COOL.

COOL.

SPEAKERS COULD BE IN THE, ALL RIGHT, IN THE MIDDLE THERE.

ALL RIGHT.

YOU CAN ALL LOOK OVER AT ME.

THIS IS LIKE, REALLY, I LOVE, THERE YOU GO.

PUSHING YOU A LITTLE BIT.

ALRIGHT, WE GOT IT.

I'LL MOVE THIS BACK.

UH, AND AS FOLKS RETURN TO THEIR SEATS, UM, JUST QUICKLY WANNA NAME THAT, YOU KNOW, THIS IS, WE'RE REALLY GLAD WE GET TO CELEBRATE OUR SPEAKERS WHO COME AND JOIN US, BECAUSE THESE ARE FOLKS WHO ARE, UH, IN THE COMMUNITY DOING REALLY IMPORTANT WORK.

AND SO WE WANNA CELEBRATE THE TIME YOU'RE TAKING WITH US TONIGHT.

SO THANK YOU ALL FOR BEING HERE.

UM, AS WE PREPARE THE NEXT SPEAKER TO COME UP, UM, I ALSO WANNA ENCOURAGE, UM, AUDIENCE MEMBERS.

I KNOW THAT MANY OF YOU ARE HERE TO GIVE PUBLIC TESTIMONY ON YOUR OWN EXPERIENCES WITH THE EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM HERE IN LONG BEACH.

UM, AS YOU HEAR THINGS, UH, THAT EMERGE, UM, YOU KNOW, YOU'LL HAVE YOUR THREE MINUTES TO SPEAK AT THE END OF THE PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD.

UH, THIS IS NOT YOUR ONLY CHANCE TO SHARE INPUT WITH US, RIGHT? AND SO, DEFINITELY A REMINDER TO USE THE, UH, QR CODE OF THERE, SPEAK TO US AFTER, UH, CONTACT TONY.

UM, LOTS OF WAYS TO GIVE INPUT, UM, THAT COULD POTENTIALLY MAKE IT INTO THE REPORT THAT WE GIVE, UH, ON THIS ENTIRE SERIES OF LISTENING SESSIONS.

BUT WITH THAT, THANK YOU TO OUR FIRST PRESENTERS VERY MUCH.

WE MAY HAVE QUESTIONS FOR YOU STILL, UM, BUT LET'S GO AHEAD AND MOVE, UH, COMMISSIONER LA INTRODUCE THE NEXT SPEAKER.

THANK YOU, CHAIR DE LEON.

UH, IT'S MY PLEASURE TO INTRODUCE TO

[01:00:01]

ALL OF YOU, DR.

JOLAN SMITH.

SHE IS AN ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR IN THE ADVANCED STUDIES IN EDUCATION AND COUNSELING DEPARTMENT AT SPEAKING OF CAL STATE LONG BEACH, CAL STATE LONG BEACH.

UH, SHE'S ALSO THE LEAD FOR THE FUTURE BLACK EDUCATORS NETWORK, WHICH COINCIDENTALLY, THAT'S HOW I LEARNED OF VE WORK.

THERE WAS AN ARTICLE IN THE LONG BEACH POST.

DEFINITELY GOOGLE IT, CHECK IT, CHECK IT OUT.

UH, SHE HAS A NUMBER OF DEGREES, AND I WANT TO GIVE HER HER FLOWERS.

SHE HAS A BACHELOR'S IN PSYCHOLOGY FROM STANFORD UNIVERSITY.

UH, SHE HAS A MASTER'S IN SPECIAL EDUCATION WITH A CONCENTRATION IN MODERATE SEVERE TEACHING CREDENTIAL FROM CAL STATE DOMINGUEZ HILLS.

AND SHE RECEIVED HER DOCTORATE IN SPECIAL EDUCATION FROM A JOINT DEGREE PROGRAM.

CAL STATE LONG LOS ANGELES PARTNERSHIP WITH UCLA.

GO BRUINS.

YES, I'M A FELLOW BRUIN.

UM, SO, YOU KNOW, WE BONDED RIGHT AWAY OVER THAT ZOOM WHEN I FIRST MET HER GO BRUINS.

UH, SHE HAS, UH, UH, RESEARCH EXPERTISE IN CULTURAL CONSIDERATIONS IN TRANSITION PLANNING FOR STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES, UH, JUVENILE JUSTICE INVOLVED YOUTH AND DISABILITIES, COMMUNITY PARTNERED PARTICIPATION RESEARCH AND BLACK FAMILY ENGAGEMENT AND SPECIAL EDUCATION.

DR. SMITH, WELCOME.

AND IDENTITY AND LEARNING ABOUT THEIR OWN CULTURE.

THANK YOU SO MUCH.

UM, I AM HAPPY TO BE HERE.

THANK YOU COMMISSION FOR IN THE INVITATION TO SHARE MY WORK.

UM, LET'S JUST GET STARTED.

UM, I AM REPRESENTING THE FUTURE BLACK EDUCATOR NETWORK.

IT IS MY, MY BABY, MY BRAIN CHILD, UM, THAT REALLY JUST, UH, STARTED, UM, REALLY FROM THE NEEDS OF THE COMMUNITY, RIGHT? SO I, UM, ON THE LEFT, YOU'LL SEE SOME OF OUR STATS, UM, FROM CAL STATE LONG BEACH.

UM, BLACK UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS ARE LESS THAN 4% OF THE, UM, THE STUDENT POPULATION.

UM, I THINK RIGHT NOW, OR THE LATEST WAS 3.3%, AND THAT'S THE UNDERGRAD POPULATION.

AND WE HAVE EVEN FEWER IN OUR COLLEGE OF EDUCATION, RIGHT? AND THAT IS OUR PIPELINE OF THE FUTURE TEACHERS, RIGHT? AND SO WE REALLY NEED TO LOOK AT THAT AND LIKE, WHAT CAN WE DO, UM, TO REALLY ENCOURAGE MORE PEOPLE TO CONSIDER TEACHING AS A PROFESSION, RIGHT? UM, ON THE RIGHT ARE, ARE THE STATISTICS FOR LONG BEACH UNIFIED.

UM, I HAVE PARTNERS, UM, WHERE WE STARTED THIS WORK.

UM, THIS, WHEN WE STARTED THE WORK, IT WAS ABOUT 14% OF STUDENTS IN LONG BEACH UNIFIED WERE AFRICAN AMERICAN.

NOW IT'S EVEN FEWER WITH THE, THE, UM, CLOSING AND THE MOVING OF OF COMMUNITIES.

I THINK IT'S ABOUT, UM, THE SLIDE BEFORE IT WAS 12%, ABOUT 11.8%.

UM, AND OUR TEACHERS, UM, ARE STAYING CONSISTENT.

ABOUT 7% OF THE TEACHERS IN LONG BEACH ARE, UM, IDENTIFIED AS BLACK.

UM, AND THEN THE DISTRICT DATA ALSO SHOWS THAT THERE'S A LOW SENSE OF BELONGING AND IDENTITY AMONG BLACK STUDENTS IN THE DISTRICT, RIGHT? SO THERE'S A REAL NEED THERE, UM, TO REALLY FOCUS ON THE NEEDS OF BLACK STUDENTS TO FOCUS ON IDENTITY AND BELONGING.

AND THEN ALSO TO, AS I MENTIONED BEFORE, TRY TO EN ENCOURAGE PEOPLE TO CONSIDER, UH, THE CAREER OF TEACHING WITH THIS.

UM, WHEN I FIRST STARTED AT LONG BEACH IN FALL OF 2018, I, UM, WE, I WAS HIRED AND IN 2019, WE STARTED THE MARY JANE PATTERSON SCHOLARSHIP UNDER THE TEACHERS FOR URBAN SCHOOLS UMBRELLA.

IT WAS THE BRAIN CHILD OF THE FORMER DEAN OF THE COLLEGE OF EDUCATION AND DISTRICT PARTNERS FROM LONG BEACH UNIFIED AND COMMUNITY MEMBERS TO START A SCHOLARSHIP TO, UM, ENCOURAGE THE RECRUITMENT OF BLACK TEACHERS, THE, UH, RETENTION OF THEM AND SUPPORT.

UM, REALLY, I'M SORRY, I'M JUMPING AHEAD.

RECRUITING WAS THE INITIAL PIECE OF IT, RIGHT? UM, WITH, UM, UH, BY PROVIDING A SCHOLARSHIP, WE HAVE PARTNERED WITH LBCC AND ALL OF OUR DIFFERENT OUTREACH OFFICES TO, UM, REALLY GET THE WORD OUT.

LETTING FOLKS KNOW THAT AT LONG BEACH, WE HAVE A SCHOLARSHIP TO ENCOURAGE BLACK TEACHERS IF WHO WANT TO GET THEIR PRELIMINARY TEACHING CREDENTIALS.

UM, AS A RESULT OF THAT, WE HAD MORE FUNDERS, PRIVATE FUND, UH, DONATIONS, UM, FROM THE APOSTLE FOUNDATION THAT GAVE US SOME SEED MONEY TO BUILD OUT AND TO DREAM BIG.

AND WITH THAT, WE ADDED THESE OTHER TWO COMPONENTS, THE MIDDLE CIRCLE AND THE CIRCLE ON THE RIGHT, WHERE WE CREATED A PARTNERSHIP WITH, UM, THE LOCAL SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN, IN LONG BEACH.

UH, WE'VE STARTED WITH THE MATH COLLABORATIVE AT JORDAN HIGH SCHOOL WITH DR.

UH, WITH DORIS ROBINSON.

AND THEN WE ALSO, UM, PARTNERED WITH JEFFERSON LEADERSHIP ACADEMY RIGHT DOWN THE STREET, ONE OF THE, UH, DYNAMIC AMAZING EDUCATORS THERE.

WE STARTED IN THE TRENCHES TOGETHER IN OUR TWENTIES AT A NON-PUBLIC SCHOOL IN COMPTON.

AND SO WE KNEW EACH OTHER, RIGHT? SO A LOT OF THIS WORK IS, IS VERY ORGANIC.

YOU KNOW, WE COME TOGETHER AND THROUGH COLLABORATION AND PARTNERSHIP.

AND SO WITH THOSE PIECES, WE ADDED THESE AFTERSCHOOL CLUBS, UM, WHERE STUDENTS FROM CAL STATE LONG BEACH CAN GO INTO THE SECONDARY SCHOOLS AND CREATE THESE AFTERSCHOOL CLUBS, AFTERSCHOOL CLUBS FOR STUDENTS THAT REALLY, UM, CREATE THE SPACE FOR JOY

[01:05:01]

WHEN I FIRST STARTED THE PROGRAM, I WENT IN THERE AND I SAID, OKAY, WHO WANTS TO BE A TEACHER? I'M IN THE MIDDLE SCHOOL.

AND THEY WERE LOOKING AT ME LIKE, OH, GOSH, NO, I DON'T EVEN LIKE MIDDLE SCHOOL KIDS.

I DON'T EVEN LIKE KIDS, RIGHT? SO, AGAIN, WE'RE THINKING ABOUT HOW DO I, HOW DO WE ENCOURAGE AND, AND GET PEOPLE TO CONSIDER TEACHING? I REALIZED THAT THAT WAS A TALL ORDER.

SO I PIVOTED.

I SAID, WELL, I'M NOT GONNA FORCE THEM TO CONSIDER TEACHING.

I'LL JUST, WE'LL JUST BE IN THEIR PRESENCE AND SHOW THEM AND MODEL WHAT GOOD TEACHING IS.

SO THAT'S WHAT WE DID.

WE CREATED A VERY FUN CLUB WHERE MY STUDENTS AT LONG BEACH, I WORKED WITH THEM ON CAMPUS TO DEVELOP ENGAGING, FUN LESSONS THAT WE COULD DELIVER TO SECONDARY STUDENTS.

THE, THE WHOLE PREMISE WAS ABOUT FUN AND ENGAGEMENT, BECAUSE THERE ARE SO MANY OTHER PROGRAMS THAT FOCUS ON A TO J REQUIREMENTS AND EDUCATIONAL OUTCOMES AND TUTORING AND, YOU KNOW, UM, FOR LACK OF BETTER WORDS, REMEDIAL, UM, EDUCATIONAL SERVICES, RIGHT? BUT WE, I REALLY WANTED TO LEAN INTO WHAT GOLDIE MUHAMMAD AND OTHER SCHOLARS ARE REALLY TALKING ABOUT JOY, RIGHT? CREATING SPACES OF JOY SO THAT STUDENTS DON'T SEE DEFICIT, RIGHT? THEY DON'T SEE AND HAVE TO COME TO A SPACE AGAIN, WHERE THEY'RE HEARING ABOUT ALL THE PROBLEMS, RIGHT? BUT IT'S, IT'S MORE ABOUT CREATING A SPACE OF JOY AND FUN AND LEARNING IN THIS AFTERSCHOOL SPACE CONTEXT WHERE STUDENTS ARE VOLUNTARILY CHOOSING TO COME TO SPEND THEIR TIME WITH US.

THAT'S ANOTHER TALL ORDER.

THIS IS NOT A REQUIRED PROGRAM, RIGHT? SO WE DO FOCUS ON SENSE OF BELONGING, IDENTITY AND CULTURAL KNOWLEDGE IN THE AFTERSCHOOL SPACE TO DO THAT WORK, GO TO THE MIDDLE CIRCLE WHERE WE REALLY ARE SURROUNDING NOT ONLY MY MARY JANE PATTERSON SCHOLARS WHO ARE CURRENT LONG BEACH STUDENTS, UM, WORKING ON THEIR TEACHING CREDENTIALS, BUT ALSO UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS WHO MAY OR MAY NOT BE INTERESTED IN TEACHING, BUT THEY JUST NEED A COLLEGE JOB, RIGHT? SO WE'RE HIRING THEM, BUT WE'RE SURROUNDING THEM AND COMING TOGETHER IN COMMUNITY WITH COMMUNITY MEMBERS, PARENTS, CURRENT TEACHERS, FUTURE TEACHERS, COUNSELORS, EVERYONE WHO WORKS IN SCHOOLS AND CARE ABOUT BLACK, BLACK STUDENTS.

AND SO WE COME TOGETHER ONCE A MONTH ON A SATURDAY, AND WE READ TOGETHER, WE TALK ABOUT WHAT IT'S LIKE BEING A, WHAT IT WAS LIKE BEING A BLACK STUDENT, WHO ARE OUR TEACHERS.

I ALWAYS, WE START OFF QUESTIONS LIKE, WHEN DID YOU HAVE YOUR FIRST BLACK EDUCATOR? RIGHT? AND FOR SOME OF US, IT WAS VERY EARLY, FIRST, SECOND, THIRD GRADE.

THAT WAS MY EXPERIENCE, RIGHT? AND THEN, DR.

LAURA, I WAS ALREADY TOLD WHAT MY TRAJECTORY WAS WHEN IT COMES TO COLLEGE, RIGHT? AND ALL THE DEGREES.

AND THEN WE HAVE OTHERS IN, IN THE COMMUNITY WHO SHARE THAT THEY NEVER HAD THEIR FIRST BLACK EDUCATOR UNTIL THEY GOT TO LBCC OR THEY GOT TO LONG BEACH, RIGHT? AND SO WE TALK ABOUT THOSE THINGS.

WE TALK ABOUT HOW WE NEED TO ENCOURAGE AND GET A BLACK EDUCATOR BEFORE EVERYBODY, RIGHT? SO, UM, IN THIS WORK THAT I'VE DONE, WE HAVE THE SCHOLARSHIPS.

SINCE 2019, I'VE SUPPORTED OVER 32 SCHOLARS ACROSS SEVEN COHORTS, GETTING THEIR PRELIMINARY TEACHING CREDENTIALS IN, UM, ELEMENTARY EDUCATION, SECONDARY EDUCATION, EDUCATION SPECIALIST.

AND NOW WE HAVE OUR LATEST CREDENTIAL, WHICH IS EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION.

UM, WE ARE STARTING OUR, I'M ONBOARDING SIX NEW SCHOLARS RIGHT NOW WHO ARE REPRESENTING ACROSS ALL THOSE DIFFERENT PROGRAMS. AND ONE OF THE GREAT THINGS THAT WE'RE ABLE TO DO THIS YEAR IS WE'RE ABLE TO OFFER THE SCHOLARSHIP AT THE SPRING ADMISSION AS WELL, BECAUSE WE KNOW THAT, UM, MANY OF OUR STUDENTS WHO ARE GETTING THEIR TEACHING CREDENTIALS, THEY'RE GONNA START AT VARIOUS TIMES IN THE YEAR.

AND SO MANY OF OUR PROGRAMS DO HAVE A SPRING START.

AND SO WE WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT STUDENTS CAN GET THAT SCHOLARSHIP AND THAT FINANCIAL SUPPORT RIGHT AWAY IN THE COMMUNITY OF PRACTICE HERE, I SHARED OUR MISSION AND OUR VISION AND WHO WE ARE, RIGHT? WE ARE A GROUP OF EDUCATORS AND ELDERS DEDICATED TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF FUTURE BLACK EDUCATORS, RIGHT? IT'S VERY INCLUSIVE, IT'S EVERYONE.

BUT, BUT WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE KEEPING IN MIND THAT WE ARE SUPPORTING FUTURE BLACK EDUCATORS, RIGHT? AND KEEPING THAT AT THE FOREFRONT.

OUR MISSION IS TO DEVELOP A FLOWING AND SUSTAINABLE PIPELINE OF BLACK EDUCATORS FOR PUBLIC EDUCATION, RIGHT? LEADING AND SERVING STUDENTS AND FAMILIES AND COMMUNITIES AND EXCELLENCE, REALLY SERVING ALL.

AND OUR VISION IS FOR EVERY CHILD TO HAVE AN EFFECTIVE BLACK TEACHER.

I WANTED TO SHARE THIS VIDEO.

UM, THREE YEARS AGO WE HAD THE FUNDING FROM APOSTLE, AND SO WE USED THE FUNDING TO ALSO CREATE VIDEOS.

UM, AND SO THIS IS, UM, THE, THE JEFFERSON LEADERSHIP ACADEMY THAT, UM, IN THIS YEAR, WE HAD STUDENTS, WE, WE, WE MODELED WHAT TEACHING WAS LIKE.

WE SHOWED THEM THAT IN A, IN A LESSON, YOU, YOU DON'T WANNA JUST TALK TO PEOPLE, BUT YOU WANNA ALSO HAVE THEM DOING ENGAGING ACTIVITIES.

SO WE PAID STUDENTS TO DEVELOP LESSON PLANS AND TO COME AND TEACH THESE LESSONS FOR US.

AND SO THIS WAS A LITTLE VIDEO OF WHAT, OH, IF I CAN MAYBE GET TO IT.

CAN WE PUSH THE BUTTON? NO.

IF NOT, I DON'T THINK WE HAVE ACCESS

[01:10:01]

TO THE VIDEO.

WE PUT EVERYTHING INTO A PDF FILE.

I'M SO SORRY.

NO WORRIES, NO WORRIES.

SO COMMISSION, IF MAYBE YOU GET THE POWERPOINTS, YOU'LL BE ABLE TO WATCH THE VIDEO, BUT IT'S A, UM, SO IN THE FIRST YEAR, WHAT WE DID WAS, UM, WE PAID THE STUDENTS TO DEVELOP LESSON PLANS.

SO WE TAUGHT THEM AND MODELED THAT.

REMEMBER I SAID THAT THEY DIDN'T WANNA BE TEACHERS IN THE FIRST PLACE, RIGHT? SO , WE HAD TO ENTICE THEM AND PAY THEM, AND IT WAS WONDERFUL.

UH, LESSONS STU, THIS GROUP RIGHT HERE, THEY, THEY WERE INTERESTED IN TEACHING OTHERS ABOUT THE VALUE OF BLACK HAIR AND LAYING YOUR EDGES.

SO THEY DID A DEMONSTRATION.

THEY BROUGHT HAIR TO THE CLASSROOM AND HAD THE BOYS BRAIDING HAIR.

THEY HAD THE GIRLS BRAIDING HAIR.

THEY DI A LIVE DEMONSTRATION OF WHAT IT MEANS TO LAY YOUR EDGES.

WE HAD STUDENTS TALKING ABOUT THE PAN-AFRICAN COLORS, TALKING ABOUT EVERYTHING, RIGHT? AND YOU COULD REALLY SEE THE JOY THAT THEY WERE ABLE TO SHARE AND WHY IT WAS IMPORTANT TO THEM AND WHY THEY EVEN CHOSE THAT AS A TEACHING LESSON, RIGHT? UM, SO I'M WATCHING MY, UH, ACTUALLY PAUSED MY TIME.

UM, IT'S A WONDERFUL VIDEO.

I'LL MAKE SURE YOU GUYS GET IT.

I'LL EMAIL IT OUT SO THAT YOU CAN KIND OF SEND, SHARE IT WITH THE, WITH THE COMMISSION.

BUT THIS, THESE ARE SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WE DO AND WE CHANGE EVERY YEAR, DEPENDING ON THE FEEDBACK FROM THE STUDENTS.

SO WE'VE DONE, UM, A FIELD TRIP WHERE THE EIGHTH GRADERS, UM, WERE ABLE, OR NOT THE EIGHTH GRADERS, SIXTH, SEVENTH, AND EIGHTH GRADERS AT JEFFERSON, WERE ABLE TO COME TO LONG BEACH AND HAVE A PERSONALIZED TOUR FROM BLACK STUDENTS AT LONG BEACH SO THAT THEY COULD SEE THAT ONE.

WE HAVE A DORM ON CAMPUS, RIGHT? THAT, THAT, UM, A BLACK LIVING DORM THAT, THAT, UM, I THINK 50, 50% OR SO, AND, AND WHERE STUDENTS CAN COME AND LIVE.

AND THEY, THERE'S, UM, THEY HAVE A TOUR UP ON CAMPUS.

THEY GET TO SEE ALL THE BLACK SORORITIES AND FRATERNITIES THAT WE HAVE AVAILABLE ON CAMPUS AND REALLY GET TO SEE THAT LONG BEACH IS A FUTURE PLACE FOR THEM.

SO, UM, THAT'S THE WORK THAT WE DO.

THIS WORK IS, WOULD NOT BE POSSIBLE IF IT WEREN'T FOR PRIVATE FUNDING AND, UH, FOUNDATION FUNDING, UNFORTUNATELY.

AND SO, UM, WE HAVE, UM, THE TEACHERS FOR URBAN SCHOOLS UMBRELLA IN OUR DEVELOPMENT OFFICE.

AND SO THIS IS WHERE WE ALWAYS TRY TO SHARE WITH PEOPLE THAT WE WANT TO CONTINUE THIS WORK.

I HAVE BIG DREAMS. I REMEMBER WHEN I WAS A UNDERGRAD STUDENT, WE HAD TRANSPORTATION AND BUSES TO THE SCHOOLS AND THE COMMUNITY TO GO READ TO CHILDREN, RIGHT? THAT IS ONE OF MY VISIONS THAT I HAVE FOR THIS PROGRAM, SO THAT WE CAN TRANSPORT THE STUDENTS FROM CAL STATE LONG BEACH INTO MORE THAN JUST THE ONE SCHOOL IN THE DISTRICT, BUT MANY SCHOOLS IN THE DISTRICT, SO THAT ALL OF MY STUDENTS ACROSS THE DIFFERENT CREDENTIALS, MULTIPLE SUBJECTS, SINGLE SUBJECTS OF THE SECONDARY STUDENTS AND EDUCATION SPECIALISTS, AND NOW OUR EARLY CHILDHOOD, CAN HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO PRACTICE WITH THEIR, THEIR STUDENT POPULATION AND DELIVER THESE CULTURALLY FUN, UM, AND ENGAGING LESSONS IN AFTERSCHOOL FORMAT.

CURRENTLY, SINGLE SUBJECT IS OUR LARGEST PROGRAM AT CAL STATE LONG BEACH.

SO THAT'S WHERE WE'RE SERVING AND WE'RE SERVING SECONDARY SCHOOLS.

BUT AS I MENTIONED, WE HAVE SO MANY MORE SCHOLARS WHO WANT TO WORK WITH OUR EARLY CHILDHOOD CENTERS AND WORK WITH OUR ELEMENTARY TEACHERS AND, AND VARIOUS SETTINGS.

SO THOSE ARE SOME OF THE VISIONS THAT WE HAVE.

UM, THIS WORK, IT TAKES A LOT, RIGHT? I'M ONE FACULTY MEMBER, I HAVE ASSIGNED TIME BOUGHT OUT, BUT IN ORDER TO REALLY EXPAND THIS WORK, WE NEED, WE NEED TO REPLICATE ME.

YOU KNOW, I HAVE A FEW PEOPLE DOING THIS WORK AND, UM, AND THAT REQUIRES FUNDING TO BE ABLE TO PAY FACULTY, UM, WHAT THEY'RE WORTH.

SO I THINK MY TIME IS UP ON THAT ONE.

AND THAT'S IT.

AND, UM, WE'LL, WE'LL HAVE TIME.

WAIT, PAUSE.

THANK YOU SO MUCH, .

UM, WE WILL HAVE, UH, CHANCE FOR QUICK RESPONSES IF ANYONE HAS IMMEDIATE QUESTIONS, UM, BEFORE WE MOVE TO THE NEXT SPEAKER.

AND WE WILL HAVE TIME FOR FULL DISCUSSIONS AFTER AS WELL.

BUT ANY IMMEDIATE QUESTIONS FOR DR. SMITH? MR. LARA? NO QUESTION.

JUST YOU, YOU SPEAK MY LANGUAGE, .

UM, SO I APPRECIATE THAT TREMENDOUSLY.

BUT I WANNA ALSO UPLIFT SOMETHING YOU VERBALIZED THAT WAS ON YOUR VISUAL, BUT IT SHOULD BE HIGHLIGHTED EVEN MORE.

SO DO IT FROM THE DAAS, EVERY SINGLE STUDENT, REGARDLESS OF RACE AND ETHNICITY BENEFITS.

FROM HAVING A BLACK TEACHER, PERIOD.

THE RESEARCH IS CLEAR ON THAT FROM EMPIRICAL STUDY AFTER EMPIRICAL STUDY.

SO I WANTED TO LEND MY VOICE HERE FROM THE, FROM THE EYES AS WELL IN CONCERT WITH YOUR WONDERFUL REPRESENTATION TO MAKE SURE THAT THAT IRON CLAP FOR EVERYONE, NOT ONLY THIS AUDIENCE, BUT THIS IS RECORDED AS WELL, SO THAT IT'S CEMENTED HERE, UH, AS WELL.

ALRIGHT, THANK YOU.

SO THANK YOU SO MUCH DR. SMITH.

UM, CAN I MAKE A COMMENT? OF COURSE.

COMMISSIONER DOCKERY, UM, I REALLY APPRECIATE THIS PRESENTATION.

MY KINDERGARTEN TEACHER IN 1970 WAS AN AFRICAN AMERICAN LADY.

AND SHE SAW ME ALL THE WAY THROUGH HIGH SCHOOL AND INTO COLLEGE MM-HMM .

AND IF IT HAD NOT BEEN FOR HER, I WOULD'VE NEVER GOTTEN WHERE I WAS ABLE TO GET.

UM, WAS VERY, VERY MEANINGFUL.

AND THE INFLUENCE THAT SHE HAD ON MY LIFE,

[01:15:01]

AND, UM, I, I AGREE WITH YOU.

IF YOU'VE GOTTEN A OPPORTUNITY TO HAVE A, A EDUCATOR, AN AFRICAN AMERICAN EDUCATOR, THEY HAVE A BIG INFLUENCE ON YOUR LIFE.

THANK YOU FOR THAT.

UM, ONE MORE COMMENT, COMMISSIONER BUTLER.

FIRST OF ALL, THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH FOR THAT PRESENTATION.

I LEARNED SOMETHING I I I REALLY DID AT, AT THIS STAGE OF MY LIFE.

IT'S KIND OF HARD TO, TO BAFFLE ME, BUT YOU, YOU, I, I APPRECIATE THAT AS A FORMER L-B-U-S-D EDUCATOR, UH, AS WELL AS THE OTHER DISTRICTS THAT I HAD THE PRIVILEGE TO TOUCH THEIR STUDENTS.

IT IS CRITICALLY IMPORTANT FOR LITTLE BLACK GIRLS AND LITTLE BLACK BOYS TO SEE TEACHERS WHO LOOK LIKE THEM, ESPECIALLY THE MALES.

SO THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR, FOR THE RECRUITMENT EFFORT TO RECRUIT BLACK MALE TEACHERS SPECIFICALLY.

THEY, THEY JUST NEED SOMEBODY THEY CAN RELATE TO SOMEBODY THAT LOOKS LIKE US, WHO UNDERSTANDS MORE SO THAN THE AVERAGE.

IT IS CRITICAL TO, TO, TO THEIR SUCCESS.

IT JUST REALLY IS.

I I, MY SON, HE HAD A, MY OLDEST SON HAD HIS FIRST BLACK TEACHER WHEN HE WAS IN THE THIRD GRADE.

IT MADE AN IMMEASURABLE DIFFERENCE FOR HIM.

IT, IT JUST REALLY DOES.

SO THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH.

KUDOS TO YOUR EFFORTS.

CONTINUE, PLEASE.

YOU THANK YOU SO MUCH.

IT'S SO TRUE.

I, I'M, I'M RAISING A BLACK TEENAGER RIGHT NOW WHO'S WHO JUST TURNED 15 AND HE HAD HIS FIRST BLACK MALE TEACHER IN THE PANDEMIC ONLINE ZOOM.

AND I, I I TRIED VERY HARD NOT TO BE THAT PARENT IN THE BACKGROUND.

LIKE, OH, MAKE SURE YOU TALK TO MR. JACKSON, MAKE SURE YOU, YOU KNOW, LIKE, MAKE SURE YOU .

BUT HE, HE, HE STILL REFLECTS RIGHT NOW.

AND HE WAS LIKE, OH YEAH, I RE I REMEMBER MR. JACKSON.

IT WAS GREAT.

AND IT WAS, YOU KNOW, JUST FOR A SEMESTER.

IT MAKES SUCH A DIFFERENCE.

MY, MY SON, UM, HAS A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT CALLING ON HIS LIFE, BUT I OFTEN ENCOURAGE HIM TO AT LEAST JUST SIGN UP AS A SUBSTITUTE.

GOOD EVENING COMMISSIONERS.

BECAUSE HIS PRESENCE COULD MAKE SUCH A MAJOR DIFFERENCE IN THE LIFE OF A LITTLE CHILD WHO LOOKS LIKE HIM.

SO, AGAIN, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR EFFORT.

I CAN'T SAY THANK YOU ENOUGH.

AND SO WITH THAT, WE'RE GOING TO MOVE TO OUR NEXT SPEAKER.

UM, BUT PLEASE STICK AROUND FOR QUESTION THE COMMENTS, UM, FOR THE PUBLIC WHO'S HERE FOR PUBLIC TESTIMONY, WE HAVE TWO SPEAKERS AND THEN WE'RE GONNA OPEN UP TIME FOR YOU ALL.

UM, BUT PLEASE LET STAFF KNOW IF YOU HAVE ANY ISSUES WITH, UM, STAYING LATE.

UH, LET'S GO TO OUR NEXT SPEAKER, COMMISSIONER COLE WITH NEW INSTRUCTIONS.

SURE.

OUR NEXT SPEAKER IS DR.

LASANDRA PLO, DIRECTOR OF THE CENTER OF BLACK STUDENT EXCELLENCE AT LONG BEACH UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT.

DR.

PLO BRINGS MORE THAN TWO DECADES OF EXPERIENCE SERVING LONG BEACH UNIFIED SCHOOL STUDENTS AND FAMILIES.

SINCE JOINING THE DISTRICT IN 2005, SHE SERVED AS A SPECIAL EDUCATION TEACHER, DEAN, ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL, PROGRAM ADMINISTRATOR, AND DIRECTOR.

MOST RECENTLY, SHE SERVED AS DIRECTOR OF INCLUSION AND SPECIAL EDUCATION, OVERSEEING PROGRAMS DESIGNED TO ENSURE EQUITABLE ACCESS, SUPPORT, AND OPPORTUNITY FOR STUDENTS ACROSS THE DISTRICT, WHICH IS WHY SHE FITS IN WITH OUR TEAM HERE AND TODAY.

UH, SHE LEADS THIS CENTER THAT IS REALLY SHAPED DIRECTLY BY THE COMMUNITY DEDICATED TO UPLIFTING AND NURTURING AND EMPOWERING BLACK STUDENTS.

AT THE CORE OF HER LEADERSHIP IS A COMMITMENT TO LISTENING, BUILDING TRUSTED RELATIONSHIPS, AND WORKING ALONGSIDE FAMILIES AND PARTNERS TO CREATE CONDITIONS WHERE EVERY STUDENT CAN THRIVE.

SO PLEASE JOIN ME IN WELCOMING DR.

DR.

PERLO .

THANK YOU FOR THIS OPPORTUNITY, UM, FOR ME TO SHARE ABOUT THE CENTER OF BLACK STUDENT EXCELLENCE AND ALSO THE BLACK STUDENT ACHIEVING INITIATIVE OF LONG BEACH UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT.

AND HOW WE'RE EXPANDING OPPORTUNITIES OF BELONGING FOR OUR STUDENT AND HELPING OUR BLACK STUDENTS, UM, THRIVE, UM, THROUGHOUT LONG BEACH UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT.

OH, DO I, OH, APOLOGIZE.

I WOULD BE REMISS WITHOUT STATING THAT IN 2021, LONG BEACH UNIFIED TOOK A REALLY BOLD STATEMENT.

THEY LAUNCHED A BLACK STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT INITIATIVE TO ADDRESS THE HISTORIC MARGINALIZATION OF OUR BLACK STUDENTS.

WE REALIZED THAT OUR BLACK STUDENTS WERE NOT THRIVING AT THE LEVELS IN WHICH THEY DESERVE.

THERE WAS PERSISTENT GAPS IN LITERACY, MATHEMATICS, ENGAGEMENT, AND WELLBEING REGARDING, UM, OUR STUDENTS.

SO WE HAD TO HAVE A FOCUSED RESPONSE TO HOW WE SUPPORT OUR STUDENTS.

OUR WORK IS TO ENSURE THAT EVERY BLACK STUDENT CAN ACHIEVE EXCELLENCE ON PURPOSE, NOT BY HAPPENSTANCE, NOT BY WHO HAPPENS TO

[01:20:01]

COME INTO YOUR LIFE, BUT ON PURPOSE.

SO OUR WORK CENTERS AROUND THREE CONNECTED AREAS THAT DIRECTLY IMPACT OUR BLACK STUDENTS.

THAT'S THE AREA OF ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT, SOCIAL EMOTIONAL WELL-BEING, AND STUDENT ENGAGEMENT IN THEIR VOICE.

UM, WHAT WE DO IS WE ENGAGE OUR COMMUNITY AND WE INFORM OUR DECISIONS BASED ON WHAT THEY SAY WITH THE DATA, AND THEN LIVE EXPERIENCE TO BE ABLE TO UPLIFT THE BRILLIANCE THAT ARE WITHIN OUR STUDENTS.

SO THE CENTER IS A PHYSICAL OF THE BLACK STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT INITIATIVE IN LONG BEACH UNIFIED.

SO WE JUST OPENED, I JUST GOT THIS POSITION.

WE STARTED IN JULY 1ST, BUT IT OPENED ON MAY 3RD, 2025.

AND IT'S A COMMUNITY HUB.

THAT'S WHERE WE ARE BUILDING IT TO BE A COMMUNITY HUB THAT'S BASED AND ROOTED IN THE, UM, SANKOFA.

SANKOFA REMINDS US THAT WE CANNOT BUILD A FUTURE OF BLACK EXCELLENCE WITHOUT HONORING THE HISTORY, THE WISDOM, THE CULTURE AND EXPERIENCE THAT SHAPED THE BLACK COMMUNITY HERE IN LONG BEACH.

SO THE CENTER'S DESIGN WAS, AND THE STAFFING, THE PROGRAMMING, IF YOU COME AND VISIT THE CENTER ITSELF, IT'S BUILT ON WHAT WAS THE RESPONSE FROM THE COMMUNITY.

IT IS A COMMUNITY BUILT SPACE THAT'S BASED ON THESE 10 ELEMENTS OF BLACK STUDENT EXCELLENCE.

WITH OUR CHARGE TO BE THESE ELEMENTS HELP US TO CREATE THE SPACE WHERE WE ARE CULTIVATING BLACK BEAUTY AND JOY, ENCOURAGING AUTHENTICITY, UPLIFTING OUR COMMUNITY.

WE ARE EMPOWERING OUR GENIUS.

WE'RE HAVING OUR STUDENTS EMBRACE THEIR IDENTITY.

SO IT ENDED UP A FREEDOM TO BE GREAT.

SO THAT'S, THESE ARE THE TENETS THAT THE CENTER OF BLACK EXCELLENCE ARE BUILT ON.

NOW, WHERE ARE WE LOCATED? SO WE'RE ACTUALLY PHYSICALLY ON THE CAMPUS OF LINDBERGH MIDDLE SCHOOL.

UM, WE ARE IN NORTH LONG BEACH.

UM, WE SERVE OUR BLACK COMMUNITY OF LONG BEACH UNIFIED, INCLUDING OUR STUDENTS, OUR FAMILIES, OUR COMMUNITY MEMBERS, OUR EDUCATORS.

UM, WE WANT TO PROMOTE HAVING EQUITABLE ACCESS, AND WE'RE USING OUR STUDENT DATA AND THE COMMUNITY VOICE TO IDENTIFY WHERE ARE OUR OPPORTUNITY GAPS.

AND SO WORKING WITH THAT, WHAT'S MOST NEEDED AND OUR GOAL IS TO HAVE EQUAL ACCESS TO EDUCATION FOR ALL OF OUR STUDENTS, FOR THEM TO HAVE A CLEAR PATHWAY FOR THEM TO ACTUALLY BE SUCCESSFUL IN OUR SYSTEM.

SO WHAT KIND OF PROGRAMS DO WE HAVE? SO WE HAVE, UM, COLLEGE RESIDENT PROGRAMS. WE HAVE A HYSTERICALLY BLACK COLLEGE AND UNIVERSITY PREPARATIONS.

WE HAVE STUDENT VOICE AND MENTORING SESSIONS.

WE DO ACADEMIC SUPPORT WHEN IT COMES TO TUTORING OUR STUDENT WELLNESS.

WE HAVE SIGNATURE PROGRAMS THAT WERE EXISTING WELL BEFORE WE HAD THE CENTER WITH THE BLACK STUDENT, A ACHIEVEMENT INITIATIVE.

WE HAVE OUR SANKOFA PARENT VILLAGES.

WE HAVE SANKOFA SUMMER ACADEMY, WE HAVE SANKOFA SATURDAYS.

WE HAVE A DISTRICT WIDE BLACK HISTORY SHOW.

SO WE, UM, HAD, UH, AN ANNUAL SYMPOSIUM.

WE EVEN HAVE A BLACK COLLEGE, UH, BLACK GRADUATION CELEBRATION FOR OUR STUDENTS.

SO WE HAVE A DIFFERENT PROGRAMS THROUGHOUT OUR, OUR PROGRAM IS HELPING OUR, NOT ONLY LONG BEACH, BUT OUR COMMUNITY AS WELL AND OUR STUDENTS.

SO JUST TO PROMOTE THE WHOLE SOCIAL EMOTIONAL WELLNESS AND PROVIDE SUPPORT FOR OUR FAMILIES.

WE CAN'T DO THIS WORK WITHOUT OUR PARTNERSHIPS.

AND WHAT WE, UM, PRIDE OURSELF IN IS WE ACTUALLY WORK IN COLLABORATIVE SIDE BY SIDE WITH OTHER DEPARTMENTS WITHIN THE DISTRICT.

WE ALSO PARTNER WITH CAL STATE LONG BEACH.

LONG BEACH CITY COLLEGE, THE CITY OF LONG BEACH, THE CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS, UM, THE AFRICAN AMERICAN CULTURAL CENTER OF LONG BEACH.

WE HAVE PROJECT OPTIMISM BRIDGE BUILDERS.

WE HAVE A LOT OF COMMUNITY PARTNERS THAT WE'VE AND FAITH-BASED ORGANIZATION, OUR DIVINE NINE, THAT COME TOGETHER FOR US TO BE ABLE TO SUPPORT OUR STUDENTS IN THIS INITIATIVE FOR THEM.

SO WHAT IS OUR IMPACT? WE JUST CELEBRATED THE FIFTH ANNUAL BSAI SYMPOSIUM.

SO THAT WAS ON AUGUST 22ND.

IT WAS AMAZING.

IT WAS MY, MY FIRST ONE.

AND THEN WE HAD A SUCCESSFUL BACK TO SCHOOL RESOURCE FAIR THAT DAY.

AND THE COMMUNITY ASKED ABOUT, CAN WE HAVE LIKE A UNIFORM CLOSET? I'M LIKE, WHY NOT? VERY SUCCESSFUL DONATED GENERALLY USED UNIFORMS. THE FA THEY WERE ABLE TO GET BACKPACKS AND UNIFORMS. OUR SANKOFA PARENT VILLAGE WENT FROM A DISTRICTWIDE PARENT MEETING TO NOW WE'RE IN OVER 40 SCHOOLS.

OUR SANKOFA SUMMER ACADEMY THAT STARTED FIVE YEARS AGO STARTED WITH THREE GRADE LEVELS.

NOW WE'RE K THROUGH EIGHT.

UM, WE ACTUALLY WILL BE HOSTING A LONG BEACHES KWANZA EXPERIENCE ON DECEMBER 12TH AT THE CENTER.

SO WE ARE PARTNERING WITH OUR SCHOOL SITES TO FOCUS ON OUR EARLY LITERACY.

ARE WE ALGEBRA PROFICIENT A THROUGH G COMPLETION AND GRADUATING? SO THAT'S A BIG PART OF IT.

AND FOR ME, THAT'S THE FLOOR, THE BARE MINIMUM THAT WE CAN HAVE OUR STUDENTS FOR THEM TO BE ABLE TO THRIVE.

UM, IT'S A STORY HERE THAT WAS SHARED WITH ME FROM ONE OF OUR SANKOFA SUMMER PARENTS.

AND THEY SHARED THAT THROUGH THE SACRED KNOWLEDGE MY DAUGHTER WAS TAUGHT IN SANKOFA, WE WERE ABLE, AS A FAMILY TO INCREASE HER DESIRE TO LEARN ABOUT THE RICHNESS OF OUR CULTURE.

WE SPENT NICE COOKING RECIPES SHE LEARNED IN SANKOFA TO WATCH A NETFLIX DOCUMENTARIES THAT EXPANDED HER LEARNING ON LESSONS TAUGHT AT THE SANKOFA ACADEMY.

DEFINITELY WILL BE SENDING HER EVERY YEAR THAT SHE CAN PARTICIPATE.

SO WE HAVE COUNTLESS OTHER STORIES OF PARENTS WHO BENEFITED

[01:25:01]

FOR THE PROGRAMMING THAT WE ARE DOING NOW.

WE'RE GONNA LOOK AT THE EDUCATIONAL ACCESS AND QUALITY.

SO WHAT WE ARE SHOWING AS BEING OUR BARRIERS AND OTHER WAYS THAT WE CAN HELP.

SO AFTER WORKING WITH OUR COMMUNITY, THEY IDENTIFY SEVERAL COMMON BARRIERS.

STUDENTS AND FAMILIES DO NEED CONSISTENT ACCESS TO RIGOROUS, CULTURALLY AFFIRMING CURRICULUM.

WE ALSO KNOW THEY NEED ACADEMIC AND WELLNESS SUPPORTS.

WE ALSO HAVE TO HAVE EQUITABLE DISCIPLINE PRACTICES AND MAKING SURE THAT WHENEVER WE ARE COORDINATING INFORMATION AND SERVICES, THAT THERE'S A CLEAR LINE OF HOW I CAN GET THE SUPPORT THAT I NEED.

IT'S NOT, YOU DON'T HAVE TO GO THROUGH DIFFERENT CHANNELS, BUT HAVING A CLEAR PATHWAY.

AND WE KNOW THE REALITY OF THE INTERSECTIONALITY OF NOT ONLY AM I A BLACK STUDENT, BUT IF I HAVE A STUDENT WHO HAS OTHER MAJOR BARRIERS, IT COULD BE ECONOMICS, IT COULD VERY WELL BE IF I HAVE A STUDENT WITH A DISABILITY, HOUSING AND SECURITY, ALL OF THAT INCREASES THE BARRIERS FOR THEM.

SO WE SHOULD CONSIDER THAT WHOLE STUDENT NOT JUST BY ONE DATA POINT AND SAYING THAT I'M A BLACK STUDENT OR I'M A STUDENT WITH A DISABILITY.

THE WHOLE STUDENT, HOW CAN WE SUPPORT THEIR FAMILY AND WHAT WE'RE DOING AS A DISTRICT, WE'RE GONNA CONTINUE TO BUILD MORE CONSISTENT, UH, THROUGH LINE FROM EARLY CHILDHOOD THROUGH ADULTHOOD.

STRENGTHEN OUR CONNECTION WHEN IT COMES TO OUR K 12 SYSTEM WITH OUR LOCAL COLLEGES, WITH OUR COMMUNITY, WITH THE WORKFORCE.

WE'RE DOING THAT.

AND ALSO OUR COMMITMENT TO HAVE RESTORATIVE DISCIPLINE PRACTICES WHEN IT COMES TO OUR STUDENTS, AND ESPECIALLY WHEN IT COMES TO OUR BLACK STUDENTS.

AND ALSO JUST IMPROVING COORDINATION ACROSS THE BOARD WHEN IT COMES TO OUR COMMUNITY, OUR COLLEGES AND OUR COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS.

SO WHAT ARE THESE CONDITIONS FOR, UM, OUR STUDENTS TO BE SUCCESSFUL? HIGH EXPECTATIONS.

WE DON'T NEED TO BAR LOW.

WE NEED A HIGH EXPECTATION, ACADEMIC SUPPORT, TUTORING.

MENTORSHIP, A TRUSTED PERSON THAT YOU CAN TALK TO, SOMEBODY WHO CAN SERVE AS A ROLE MODEL, LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT, AND THEN SAFE SPACES.

SO I GOT EXCITED WITH, UM, DR. SMITH WHEN SHE WAS LIKE, JOY.

AND IT'S, IT'S A REAL THING TO HAVE A SPACE WHERE YOU'RE CELEBRATED THE BLACK BEAUTY, THE JOY, THE IDENTITY, BELONGING, EARLY INTERVENTION.

WE GOTTA START EARLY WHEN IT COMES TO LITERACY, WHEN IT COMES TO MATH.

ALSO ACCESS TO MENTAL HEALTH AND WELLNESS RESOURCES, COLLEGE AND CAREER WORK WORKFORCE.

AND THEN HAVING THAT STRONG CONNECTION BETWEEN THE FAMILY, THE SCHOOL AND THE COMMUNITY.

SO HOW CAN Y'ALL HELP SUPPORT US? IT WOULD BE THE EXPANDING FREE LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES, LOOKING AT TECHNOLOGY, ACCESS, INTERNSHIP, JOB TRAINING, ADULT EDUCATION, AND THEN WHILE REDUCING THE BARRIERS THAT SOME FAMILIES FACE WHEN IT COMES TO, CAN I GET TO A LOCATION IF I'M GONNA NEED CHILDCARE WHEN I GET THERE.

AND MOST IMPORTANTLY WOULD BE WHAT WE'VE LEARNED IS THEIR VOICE MATTERS.

YOU CAN'T MAKE DECISIONS WITHOUT HAVING THE PEOPLE IN THE BUILDING THAT WHERE'S AFFECTING THEM.

PARTNER WITH STUDENTS AND FAMILIES AND COMMUNITY.

DECIDE WHAT THEY NEED NOT TO INVITE THEM TO A MEETING.

INVITE ME TO A MEETING LIKE, YOU GAVE ME ACCESS TO IT, BUT DON'T INVITE ME TO A MEETING WHERE YOU ALREADY MADE A DECISION.

SO IT MET ME.

BE A PART OF DEFINING WHAT I NEED, WHAT THE SOLUTIONS ARE, AND TO BEING ABLE TO EVALUATE THE RESULTS.

WE VALUE LISTENING SESSIONS.

SO WE TALKING TO OUR PARENTS, WE HAVE BLACK AFFINITY GROUPS THAT'S ON SCHOOL CAMPUSES, THE SANKOFA PARENT DECISION.

WE'RE USING THAT INFORMATION TO FORM HOW WE MAKING DECISIONS AS A DISTRICT.

BUT THE CAVEAT, WHEN YOU LISTEN TO PEOPLE, THEY WANNA KNOW YOU ACTUALLY DID SOMETHING ABOUT IT.

SO CLOSING THAT FEEDBACK LOOP.

SO YOU CAN ASK ME A MILLION SURVEYS, BUT IF I DON'T COME BACK AND SAY, HEY, I HEARD YOU AND THIS IS WHAT WE'RE GONNA DO DIFFERENTLY.

SO CLOSING THAT AND THEN ALSO MAKING SURE ALL OUR MEETINGS ARE A ACCESSIBLE FOR PEOPLE TO BE ABLE TO BE AT THE MEETINGS, CLEAR COMMUNICATION IN MULTIPLE WAYS FOR THEM TO PARTICIPATE WITH OPENING THAT.

AND SO MY INVITATION TO YOU AS THE COMMISSION IS TO ALWAYS, WHEN WE'RE DOING STUFF, JUST TO ASK THE QUESTION, WHO EXPERIENCING BELONGING AFFIRMATION AND OPPORTUNITY AND WHO ARE WE ACTUALLY LEAVING OUT CENTER BLACK STUDENTS AND THEIR FAMILY'S VOICE WHEN YOU'RE MAKING DECISIONS IN A CITYWIDE CONVERSATION.

HAVE US IN THE ROOM AND CONNECT FAMILIES WITH RESOURCES THAT'S BEYOND WHAT WE CAN OFFER AS A SCHOOL DISTRICT.

SO THE BLACK STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT INITIATIVE AND THE CENTER BLACK EXCELLENCE, WE'RE COMMITTED TO BE THIS HUB.

SO A HUB TO CONNECT RESOURCES FOR OUR FAMILIES.

'CAUSE TOGETHER, IF WE ARE ALL WORKING IN UNISON, WE CAN MOVE BEHIND JUST GIVING THEM ACCESS.

BUT TO CREATE A CONDITION WHERE EVERY BLACK STUDENT CAN THRIVE.

BUT DO YOU HAVE AN IDEA OF THE REACH ACROSS BLACK FAMILIES? SO, UM, LIKE THE PERCENTAGE OF STUDENTS, LIKE IT'S LIKE, IS BACK LIKE 12% OR WHATEVER, BLACK STUDENTS IN K 12.

DO YOU HAVE ANY, UH, QUESTIONS FOR OUR FIRST, FIRST SPEAKER? COMMISSIONER COLE, THANK YOU SO MUCH.

UH, YOU KNOW, THIS IS A TOUGH TIME OF YEAR FOR YOU TO BE HERE.

DISTRICT TEAMS WORK THROUGH THE SUMMER, BUT WHEN SCHOOL STARTS, YOU KNOW, IT'S A VERY ROUGH TIME OF YEAR.

SO WE TOTALLY APPRECIATE YOU COMING AND THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING YOU PUT FORTH AND EXPRESSING THE BARRIERS.

I KNOW YOU'RE NEW, NEW IN THE POSITION,

[01:30:01]

ARE THERE, IS THE AWARENESS HIGH ABOUT THE CENTER OR IS THAT AN AREA THAT NEEDS ASSISTANCE AS WELL? I NEED SOME ASSISTANCE.

WELL I THOUGHT I NEED SOME ASSISTANCE, RIGHT? ANSWER.

AND THEN SO, UM, I WAS UH, DOING AN OUTREACH AND UM, WELL THE PARENTS SAID, YOU KEEP SENDING MESSAGES.

AND I WAS LIKE, SHOW UP.

AND THEN SHE CAME.

SO JUST AWARENESS OF WHERE WE ARE, BECAUSE WE ARE THERE ON BERG'S CAMPUS, WE'RE RIGHT THERE.

BUT JUST GETTING THE WORD OUT.

AND SO THAT'S ONE OF THE THINGS FOR US TO SAY.

WE, WE HAVE THE RESOURCES, BUT WE ALSO KNOW I NEED STUDENTS TO BE IN SCHOOL DURING THE DAYTIME.

SO OUR STAFF IS PARTNERING WITH OUR DEPARTMENTS, WITH THE DISTRICT THAT WORK IN THE SCHOOLS AND OFFERING OPPORTUNITIES ON THE WEEKEND AND HOW CAN WE SUPPLEMENT AND ALSO INVITING, I'M INVITING THE COMMUNITY TO USE OUR SPACE AS A HUB.

SO IF YOU WANT TO HAVE A MEETING THERE, IF YOU WANT TO DO, IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN GARDENING OR ANYTHING THAT YOU WANT TO DO OR WHATEVER YOUR NEEDS ARE FOR IT TO BE THAT SPACE, WE HEARD THE NEED ABOUT HAVING, LIKE WE GO, WE WILL OPEN A UNIFORM CLOSET THAT WILL BE THERE NO QUESTIONS ASKED.

WE, I JUST GOT A EMAIL ABOUT WE'RE GONNA HAVE FOOD RESOURCES THAT'LL BE THERE SO YOU CAN COME.

I DON'T NEED TO ASK WHAT YOU NEED IT FOR, IT'S THE BE AVAILABLE FOR YOU.

BUT TO BE IN A SPACE WHERE YOU FEEL COMFORTABLE THE COME AND GET IT.

SO THAT'S SO DEFINITELY HELP GETTING THE WORD OUT THAT WE ARE THERE AND WE ARE MORE THAN WELCOMING TO HAVE PEOPLE TO COME.

JUST WANNA SHARE MY OWN GRATITUDE FOR YOUR PRESENTATION AND IN PARTICULAR THE INVITATION TO US AS COMMISSIONERS IN THE CITY OF LONG BEACH TO STRENGTHEN OUR PARTNERSHIP WITH THE YOUR CENTER.

UM, ONE THING THAT I WANNA SHARE, AND I KIND OF SAW IT HAPPEN ORGANICALLY, AND I HOPE IT CAN CON AND, AND TRUST IT'LL CONTINUE JUST HAVING EV ALL THESE PARTNERS IN THE ROOM FOR POTENTIAL PARTNERSHIPS, RIGHT? WITH THE BLACK FUTURE EDUCATORS, THE LONG BEACH COLLEGE PROMISE.

AND THAT'S, THAT WORK IS, MIGHT EVEN BE HAPPEN TO, I MAY NOT EVEN HAVE THAT KNOWLEDGE, BUT, BUT I THINK STRENGTHENING THOSE PARTNERSHIPS IS SOMETHING DEFINITELY YOU HELP.

AND AND I ALSO APPRECIATE THE ORGANIC SHOUT OUT TO OUR NEXT SPEAKER COMING DOWN THE PIPELINE FROM, UM, UH, THE GIRLS AND, UH, THE, THE BOYS AND GIRLS CLUB.

I SHOULD CALL IT THE GIRLS AND BOYS CLUB GROCERY GO FIRST, BUT, UM, REBRAND, REBRAND.

UM, SO, SO THANK YOU.

BUT IT WAS JUST DEFINITELY EXCITING 'CAUSE WE'RE DOING THE WORK WITH A COLLEGE PRO WHO WAS OUR LOCAL COLLEGES, BUT THEN I GOT EXCITED ABOUT HER FUTURE BLACK EDUCATORS.

SO WE'RE GONNA BE TALKING ABOUT THAT.

BUT IT'S EXCITING TO MAKE THOSE CONNECTIONS A BENEFIT ALL OUR STUDENTS.

SO THANK YOU SO MUCH.

WE ACTUALLY HAVE ONE MORE QUESTION FROM COMMISSIONER BUTLER.

YOU CAN TAKE THE APPLAUSE A BIT.

I WANNA MAKE SURE, MAKE SURE LAST QUESTION.

AND IT'S NOT ACTUALLY A QUESTION.

IT'S SIMPLY A A A SIMPLE THANK YOU AND KUDOS TO YOUR LEADERSHIP.

I KNOW THERE WAS A LITTLE STRUGGLE AT FIRST, YOU KNOW, THERE WERE A FEW HICCUPS, BUT THANK YOU FOR TAKING OVER AND MOVING THIS WHOLE INITIATIVE FORWARD 'CAUSE HE'S SO DESPERATELY NEEDED.

SO THANK YOU.

THANK YOU, THANK YOU.

OH, YOU'RE WELCOME.

STAY THE COURSE.

ALRIGHT, ONE MORE SPEAKER.

COMMISSIONER LARA OVER TO YOU.

ALRIGHT, IT'S MY PLEASURE TO INTRODUCE TO ALL OF YOU HERE AND ONLINE.

UH, TO SARAH BETTY.

SHE'S THE DIRECTOR OF THE GIRLS AND BOYS CLUB.

TECHNICALLY THE BOYS AND GIRLS CLUB, BUT, UM, GIRLS SHOULD ALWAYS GO FIRST.

CALIFORNIA ALLIANCE.

SARAH BRINGS OVER 20 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE IN NON-PROFIT MANAGEMENT AND COALITION BUILDING TO HER ROLE AS A CALIFORNIA ALLIANCE DIRECTOR.

PRIOR TO WORKING FOR THE BOYS AND GIRLS CLUB, SHE MANAGED A GRANT FUNDED PROGRAMS AND COALITIONS IN CALIFORNIA, WASHINGTON, DC AND THE MIDWEST FOCUSED ON FAIR LENDING, SUSTAINABLE INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT, AND STRENGTHENING POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS.

AND ON A PERSONAL LOAD, WHEN SARAH KNOWS POLICY BACKWARDS AND FORWARDS AND UPSIDE DOWN, I THOUGHT I KNEW POLICY, BUT SARAH KNOWS POLICY AND SHE'S ORIGINALLY FROM THE STATE OF MICHIGAN, BUT NOW CALLS LONG BEACH HOME.

AND HER, UH, GREAT WORK.

I KNOW SHE'S PROBABLY KILL ME WHEN I SAY THIS, BUT FOR THE BOYS AND GIRLS CLUB, SHE HAS A STORY ABOUT DENZEL WASHINGTON THAT SHE MIGHT MENTIONED AND DOWN THE LINE.

BUT, UM, WE'LL SEE.

BUT, UM, SARAH BETTY, UH, THE FLOOR IS YOURS.

IS 100 NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS AND KIND OF REPRESENT THEM AND SUPPORT THEM IN THEIR WORK OF POSITIVE YOUTH DEVELOPMENT.

AND I CAN'T PROMISE THAT STORY ABOUT DENZEL .

UM, SO IT'S A PLEASURE TO BE HERE TODAY AND I'LL, I'LL KEEP IT BRIEF AND HOPEFULLY TO THE POINT.

UM, YOU CAN SAY, I ALSO HAVE A MINIMALISTIC STYLE WITH MY POWERPOINTS, SO PLEASE FORGIVE THAT.

UM, BUT JUST A LITTLE BIT ABOUT BOYS AND GIRLS CLUBS AND IT, IT WAS A PLEASURE TALKING WITH, UH, OTHER SPEAKERS ABOUT HOW OUR WORK INTERSECTS.

SO THAT WAS FUN BEFORE THIS.

UM, BUT OUR, THE MISSION OF MY ORGANIZATION, THE CALIFORNIA ALLIANCE OF BOYS AND GIRLS CLUBS, IS TO BRING TOGETHER OUR 1000 SITES ACROSS THE STATE, WHICH

[01:35:01]

UM, WE SERVE CHILDREN AND YOUTH AGES FOUR TO 18 STATEWIDE.

OUR OUR RANGE IS STATEWIDE, INCLUDING LONG BEACH.

AND THE REASON I'M REALLY HERE TODAY IS BECAUSE WE RECENTLY CONDUCTED A STATEWIDE STUDY THAT WAS LED BY THE CALIFORNIA PARTNERS PROJECT, WHICH IS JENNIFER SIEBEL NEWSOM'S NONPROFIT.

AND THAT WAS FOCUSED ON TEENS, TECH AND THIRD PLACES AND WHAT TEENS ARE REALLY ASKING FOR AS FAR AS SPACES WHERE THEY BELONG OUTSIDE OF HOME AND SCHOOL.

SO I'LL TALK A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT THAT.

UM, BUT JUST A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT BOYS AND GIRLS CLUBS.

WE HAVE A LOT OF CORE PROGRAMS AND SERVICES WE DO AFTER SCHOOL PROGRAMS. WE DO SUMMER PROGRAMS, AND WE'RE VERY FOCUSED ON LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT, SOCIAL EMOTIONAL LEARNING, UM, LEADERSHIP AND JUST HEALTHY MINDS AND BODIES.

WE HAVE A SLIDING SCALE AS FAR AS PAYMENT FOR OUR SERVICES.

IT'S OFTEN FREE TO ATTEND A BOYS AND GIRLS CLUB.

UM, AND 500 OF OUR CLUB SITES IN THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA ARE ON SCHOOL CAMPUSES.

SO WE HAVE A LOT OF PARTNERSHIPS WITH PUBLIC SCHOOLS, WITH CHARTER SCHOOLS AND CITY COLLEGES.

UM, WE ALSO HAVE A CLUB SITE ON THE CAMPUS OF LONG BEACH CITY COLLEGE.

AND WE HAVE OUR OWN PRIVATE FACILITIES AS WELL.

AS FAR AS OUR COMMUNITY IMPACT, UM, WE SERVE THOUSANDS OF KIDS IN LONG BEACH AND BOYS AND GIRLS CLUBS OF LONG BEACH IN PARTICULAR HAS PARTICIPATED INTO KIND OF CUTTING EDGE PILOT PROGRAMS OVER THE PAST COUPLE OF YEARS.

UM, THEY PARTICIPATED IN AN INTENSIVE CASE MANAGEMENT PROGRAM THAT WAS STATE FUNDED WHERE THERE WERE WRAPAROUND SERVICES FOR YOUTH WHO HAD, UM, WERE ASSESSED AS HAVING SOME RISK FACTORS FOR UNFORTUNATELY BEING INVOLVED WITH VIOLENCE IN THE FUTURE.

AND SO YOUTH WERE IN ENROLLED IN PREVENTATIVE INTENSIVE CASE MANAGEMENT.

THAT, UH, PROGRAM WAS EVALUATED BY RAND CORPORATION AND THEY FOUND THAT THE INTENSIVE CASE MANAGEMENT REDUCED SOME OF THOSE RISK FACTORS.

AND THEN ANOTHER PROGRAM THAT BOYS AND GIRLS CLUBS OF LONG BEACH HAS HELPED TO PILOT AS FAR AS ACROSS THE STATE, UM, IS TRAINING THEIR STAFF TO PROVIDE BETTER SUPPORT SERVICES TO INDIVIDUALS, UM, WITH DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES.

SO IT'S REALLY A LEADER AS FAR AS STATEWIDE BOYS AND GIRLS CLUBS.

UM, JUST AS FAR AS DEMOGRAPHICS, 70% OF BOYS AND GIRLS CLUB MEMBERS ARE MEMBERS OF LOW INCOME FAMILIES.

UM, AND ABOUT 10% OF BOYS AND GIRLS CLUB MEMBERS ARE BLACK OR AFRICAN AMERICAN.

OVER 70% ARE PEOPLE OF COLOR.

UM, AND THE TRENDS THAT WE'VE OBSERVED AS FAR AS NEEDS AMONG OUR MEMBERS IS OVER THE YEARS WE'VE SEEN, UH, A REQUEST FOR GREATER MENTAL HEALTH SUPPORT.

UM, AND THERE'S ALSO AN INCREASING DESIRE FOR YOUTH CO-DESIGN.

SO SOMEBODY MENTIONED, YOU KNOW, DON'T MAKE POLICIES FOR PEOPLE WITHOUT INCLUDING THEM.

WE SHOULD ASK STUDENTS, WE SHOULD ASK YOUNG PEOPLE, UM, ABOUT THEIR EXPERIENCE, THEIR VOICE AND, AND WHAT THEY NEED.

SO AS FAR AS EDUCATION, ACCESS AND QUALITY COMMUNITY INSIGHTS, UM, I'LL TALK A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT THAT STUDY THAT WE JUST RELEASED WITH THE CALIFORNIA PARTNERS PROJECT AND THE TYPES OF AFTERSCHOOL SPACES, TEENS, AND ALSO THEIR PARENTS SAID THAT THEY WOULD LIKE TO SEE.

UM, WE SURVEYED COLLECTIVELY WITH THE CALIFORNIA PARTNERS PROJECT, OVER A THOUSAND TEENS IN THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA.

700 OF THOSE TEENS WERE BOYS AND GIRLS CLUB MEMBERS.

AND WHAT WE TALKED WITH THEM ABOUT IS THEIR RELATIONSHIP WITH SOCIAL MEDIA, TECHNOLOGY, AI, UM, MEETING IN PERSON WITH FRIENDS.

AND SO THERE ARE SOME INTERESTING RESPONSES TO THOSE SURVEYS.

FOR EXAMPLE, AMONG TEENS WHO HAVE USED AI CHATBOTS FOR FRIENDSHIP OR SOCIAL ADVICE, UM, ALMOST 48% SAY THEY WOULD USE CHATBOTS LESS IF MORE PLACES EXISTED, WHERE THEY COULD CONNECT IN PERSON WITH FRIENDS AND PEERS.

UM, WE ALSO SAW THAT TEENS WHO REPORTED FEELING UNSAFE OR UNWELCOME IN REAL WORLD SPACES USED AI CHATBOTS AT A NOTABLY HIGHER RATE THAN THE THE OVERALL GROUP.

UM, SUGGESTING THAT IT, IT'S, THEY'RE USING AI CHATBOTS OR THEY'RE MORE LIKELY TO USE AI CHATBOTS, UH, BECAUSE THEY DON'T FEEL SAFE, WHETHER EMOTIONALLY OR PHYSICALLY IN THE PLACES THAT ARE AVAILABLE TO THEM.

UM, AND WHEN WE ASKED, UH, WHAT MAKES YOU FEEL LIKE A SPA, UH, SPACE IS MADE FOR YOU AS A TEENAGER? UM, THEY RANKED IT BEING FREE OR LOW COST FIRST.

UM, ALMOST 60% SAID, YOU KNOW, EVERYWHERE WE GO, WHETHER IT'S TO GET A BOBA OR GO TO THE MOVIES, EVERYTHING COSTS SO MUCH.

AND WE NEED SPACES TO CONNECT WITH PEERS THAT ARE FREE OR LOW COST.

UM, THEY ALSO SAID THEY WANNA GO PLACES WHERE THEIR FRIENDS ARE OR PEOPLE WHERE PEOPLE WHO ACCEPT THEM ARE.

THAT MAKES SENSE AT 56%.

AND THEN FEELING SAFE WAS AT 54%.

AND IT WAS VERY INTERESTING BECAUSE WHEN WE ASKED TEENS, YOU KNOW, WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO FEEL SAFE? THEY TALKED ABOUT EMOTIONAL AND

[01:40:01]

SOCIAL SAFETY.

THAT'S WHAT THEY'RE LOOKING TO, YOU KNOW, A PLACE OF BELONGING OR ACCEPTANCE.

WHEREAS WHEN WE DID FOCUS GROUPS WITH CAREGIVERS AND PARENTS, THEY WERE REALLY CONCERNED ABOUT PHYSICAL SAFETY AND SECURITY.

SO WE SAW A NOTABLE DIFFERENCE THERE.

UM, SO JUST BRIEFLY, AND YOU CAN FIND THE WHOLE STUDY ON THE CALIFORNIA, UH, PARTNERS PROJECT WEBSITE, BUT SOME RECOMMENDATIONS ARE THAT ACCORDING TO THE STUDY, TEENS ARE LOOKING FOR FREE, LESS STRUCTURED SPACES.

SPECIFICALLY THEY WANT FREE FOOD.

THAT WAS A VERY COMMON RESPONSE THAT IF THERE'S FREE FOOD SOMEPLACE, THEY'LL BE THERE.

UM, AND WHERE THEY FEEL EMOTIONALLY SAFE.

AND THEY SAID, YOU KNOW, IF THESE PLACES EXIST, THEY WILL WOULD RATHER HANG OUT IN PERSON.

THEY WOULD RATHER HAVE RECREATIONAL PLACES IN PERSON THAN BE ON SOCIAL MEDIA OR, YOU KNOW, BE TALKING TO AI.

AND SO THE RECOMMENDATION IS THAT THE CITY SHOULD SUPPORT SPACES LIKE THAT THAT ALREADY EXIST.

I WOULD SUGGEST THE BOYS AND GIRLS CLUB AND OTHERS, UM, AND PROVIDE MORE LOCATIONS WHERE TEENS CAN BE, YOU KNOW, WITH A WIDE RANGE OF HOURS THAT DON'T COST MONEY TO BE WHERE THEY CAN FEEL SAFE AND ACCEPTED, UM, AND JUST HAVE A PLACE OF BELONGING.

SO I'LL CONCLUDE THERE.

UM, IT'S A PRETTY LONG STUDY.

I THINK IT'S, YOU KNOW, SEVERAL, MAYBE 40 PAGES LONG.

I INVITE YOU TO TAKE A LOOK AT IT.

UM, BUT THAT, THAT'S WHAT I WANTED TO COVER TODAY.

SO I'M GLAD TO TAKE ANY QUESTIONS.

YOU MIGHT HAVE ANY QUESTIONS FROM THE COMMISSION.

YES, COMMISSIONER LARA? WELL, UM, I, OH, DR. MONTGOMERY OR SINCE I SPEAK A LOT, SO , I'LL GO LAST.

COMMISSIONER MONTGOMERY.

I DON'T HAVE A QUESTION.

HI SARAH.

UM, I KNOW SARAH PERSONALLY, SO IT'S NICE TO SEE YOU IN A PROFESSIONAL CAPACITY.

UM, THANK YOU FOR MENTIONING THAT STUDY.

I'M DEFINITELY GONNA LOOK MORE INTO IT.

I THINK IT'S, IT'S, AS A FORMER YOUTH, UM, , IT'S REALLY, IT'S HARD 'CAUSE I DON'T FEEL THAT DISCONNECTED FROM MY TEENAGE YEARS, BUT IT'S DEFINITELY, UM, IT, IT'S BEEN LIKE A, IT'S BEEN A WAYS AWAY.

AND SO, UM, IT'S DEFINITELY INTERESTING TO SEE, UM, WHAT THE TEENS ARE THINKING NOW AND HOW THEIR IDEA OF A SAFE SPACE HAS CHANGED IN THE, THE, OH MY GOSH, 20 NO.

12 YEARS SINCE I'VE BEEN A TEENAGER.

SO, UM, YEAH, THANK YOU FOR HIGHLIGHTING THAT AND THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE TONIGHT.

I APPRECIATE IT.

YEAH, GOOD TO SEE YOU.

AND THANK YOU.

NO ONE ELSE HAS QUESTIONS.

I GUESS I CAN ANYONE, UH, COMMISSIONER BUTLER? WELL, IT'S NOT A QUESTION, IT'S JUST ANOTHER THANK YOU FOR YOUR PRESENTATION.

I'M VERY FAMILIAR WITH THE BOYS AND GIRLS CLUB AND THE BENEFIT THAT IT PROVIDES TO THE COMMUNITY, TO OUR NEIGHBORHOODS.

MY CHILDREN HAVE ATTENDED OVER THE YEARS, BOYS AND GIRLS CLUB PROGRAMS, MY GRANDCHILDREN DO NOW.

SO IT'S A GENERATIONAL THING.

SO I'M REALLY HIGH ON THE BOYS AND GIRLS CLUB, AND THANK YOU FOR YOUR, YOUR ROLE, UH, WITHIN THE ORGANIZATION.

AND THANK YOU FOR YOUR PRESENTATION THIS EVENING.

UH, THANK YOU AS WELL.

I, I WANTED TO FOCUS ON THE AI PIECE 'CAUSE THAT IS VERY ALARMING, YET NOT SURPRISING AT THE SAME TIME.

SO I APPRECIATE THE BOYS AND GIRLS CLUB FOR PUTTING THAT ON THE RADAR AS A QUESTION AND THEN HIGHLIGHTING, AND NOT JUST IN THE BUSINESS STATION, BUT IN THE REPORT.

UM, ANY OTHER INSIGHTS FOR THAT? THE, THE DATA PRESENTED IN AI IN TERMS OF WHAT WE SHOULD DO, ESPECIALLY GIVEN A LOT OF ATTENTION RIGHT NOW NATIONALLY AND ALSO HERE IN CALIFORNIA.

I THINK THERE'S SOME LOOMING PROPOSED LEGISLATION FOR CONTROLLING SOCIAL MEDIA IN PARTICULAR, WHICH IS SOMEWHAT DIFFERENT, BUT IT IS CONNECTED.

UH, BUT YEAH, I WANTED TO UPLIFT THAT AI PIECE AND THINGS, IF THERE'S ANY ADDITIONAL CONTEXT THAT MIGHT BE HELPFUL FOR US.

YEAH, THERE'S A LOT IN THE REPORT.

UM, BUT I THINK IN GENERAL, WHAT CAME THROUGH IS THAT THE AVERAGE TEEN KNOWS THAT IT MAY NOT BE THE BEST SOLUTION TO USE AI FOR COMPANIONSHIP.

THERE WAS ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF THAT.

UM, SO I THINK THAT TEENAGERS HAVE A NUANCED VIEW OF THESE TECHNOLOGIES AND HAVE THAT AWARENESS.

UM, BUT TEENS, FOR EXAMPLE, WHO REPORTED THAT THEY FELT LONELY MORE OFTEN WERE MORE LIKELY TO USE AN AI CHATBOT OR TEENS WHO MAYBE THEIR PARENTS DIDN'T GIVE THEM AS MUCH PERMISSION TO GO OUT.

SO IT WAS REALLY ABOUT, UM, AVAILABILITY OF MEETING WITH PEOPLE IN REAL WORLD PLACES AND HAVING THOSE CONNECTIONS.

UM, MOST TEENS SAID THAT THEY WOULD PREFER TO BE IN PERSON WITH FRIENDS AND PEERS, UM, AS OPPOSED TO TALKING WITH AI OR ON SOCIAL MEDIA.

BUT IF THEY HAD, UM, FINANCIAL BARRIERS OR, YOU KNOW, THEY DIDN'T HAVE PERMISSION OF THEIR PARENTS TO GO OUT OR THEY DIDN'T FEEL LIKE THEY HAD THOSE SOCIAL CONNECTIONS, THEN THEY WERE MORE LIKELY TO USE AI AS A SOCIAL SUPPORT.

UM, SO I THINK THE, THE RECOMMENDATION THERE IS REALLY MAKE SURE THERE'S ACCESSIBLE, INCLUSIVE PLACES WHERE PEOPLE REALLY HAVE THAT SENSE OF BELONGING SO THEY FEEL LIKE THEY HAVE AN ALTERNATIVE.

THANK YOU SO MUCH, SARAH.

MM-HMM

[01:45:01]

WE ARE GOING TO MOVE MOMENTARILY TO A LARGER CONVERSATION, BUT THANK YOU SO MUCH, UH, SARAH FOR JOINING US TODAY.

UM, UH, CLERK AND CITY ATTORNEY.

LEMME KNOW IF IT'S OKAY.

WHAT I WANNA DO IS ACTUALLY GIVE A CHANCE FOR PUBLIC TESTIMONY NOW BEFORE WE DO DISCUSSION, UM, 'CAUSE I KNOW A LOT OF THEM BEEN WAITING FOR A BIT.

IS THAT ALL RIGHT? ASK JAKE TO .

THE, THE, THE CHAIR HAS DISCRETION TO CHANGE THE, THE, THE ORDER.

SO TO CONFIRMATION, YOU'D RATHER DO PUBLIC COMMENT NOW ON, ON, ON THIS SPECIFIC AGENDA ITEM, CORRECT.

UH, BEFORE WE GO TO THE BEHIND THE DIES DISCUSSION.

UM, SO I WANT TO, I WANNA DO THIS BECAUSE I KNOW THAT WE HAVE SEVERAL MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC WHO BEEN HERE FOR A LITTLE BIT, UM, INCLUDING SOME YOUTH, I BELIEVE, AND I REALLY WANNA MAKE SURE YOU HAVE TIME TO SHARE, UM, AS THE NIGHT IS STILL RELATIVELY YOUNG.

UM, AND SO, UH, HOW THIS WILL WORK IS WE'RE GOING TO, I'LL PASS TO THE CLERK IN A MOMENT TO OPEN UP PUBLIC COMMENT.

UM, THIS IS GONNA BE YOUR CHANCE FOR PUBLIC TESTIMONY.

UH, AND YOU'LL HAVE THREE MINUTES TO COME, UM, LINE UP IN PERSON, UM, OR ON ZOOM AND SHARE.

AND I THINK FOR US, YOU KNOW, UH, WE CONCEPTUALIZE THESE LISTEN LISTENING SESSIONS AS A WAY NOT JUST TO HEAR FROM SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTS LIKE THE FOUR OR THE FIVE GREAT SPEAKERS WE HAD TODAY, BUT ALSO FROM COMMUNITY BECAUSE YOU WERE EXPERTS OF YOUR OWN EXPERIENCE.

AND SO, REALLY, I'M EAGER TO HEAR FROM YOU ALL, AND I WANTED TO HAVE THIS BEFORE OUR DISCUSSION SO WE COULD AT LEAST HAVE IT IN OUR MINDS BEFORE WE ENGAGE IN CONVERSATION.

SO WITH THAT, UH, UH, CLERK, PLEASE OPEN PUBLIC COMMENT.

IF THERE ARE MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC WHO'D LIKE TO SPEAK ON THIS ITEM, PLEASE LINE UP AT THE PODIUM AND ONCE WE, UH, ESTABLISH A TOTAL, UM, NO ADDITIONAL PUBLIC COMMENTS WILL BE HEARD FOR THIS ITEM.

AND WE STILL DON'T HAVE ANY ATTENDEES IN THE ZOOM.

SO IT LOOKS LIKE WE HAVE THREE COMMENTERS CHAIR.

UM, GOOD EVENING.

MY NAME IS LOVE SANTOYA, AND I'M A 17-YEAR-OLD LIFELONG RESIDENT OF LONG BEACH.

I CURRENTLY LIVE IN CENTRAL LONG BEACH AND ATTEND LONG BEACH POLY HIGH SCHOOL.

I'M HERE TO HIGHLIGHT THE INEQUITY EXPERIENCE BY MARGINALIZED STUDENTS IN THE LONG BEACH UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT.

I'VE SEEN A CONSISTENT LACK OF RESOURCES AVAILABLE AT MY SCHOOLS THAT CONSIST OF PRIMARILY AT RISK, LOW INCOME STUDENTS OF COLOR, THE LACK OF EARLY INTERVENTION RESOURCES AND SERVICES ONE-ON-ONE SUPPORT AND QUALITY EDUCATION ALONGSIDE INCREASED ENVIRONMENTAL STRESSORS HAVE LEFT ME AND MY PEERS MORE VULNERABLE TO BECOMING A PART OF THE HIGH DROPOUT RATES AND THE RESULTING LOSS OF OPPORTUNITY THAT ALREADY IMPACT OUR BROWN AND BLACK COMMUNITIES AT LONG BEACH POLY.

EVEN WITH THE PRESENCE OF ACADEMICALLY RIGOROUS MAGNET PATHWAYS, LOW INCOME, LATINO, BLACK AND SOUTHEAST ASIAN STUDENTS ARE REGULARLY PUSHED AWAY FROM THESE HIGHLY FUNDED AND HIGHLY ATTENTIVE PROGRAMS. WE'RE UNABLE TO MAKE GOOD USE OF OPPORTUNITIES LIKE THE LONG BEACH COLLEGE PROMISE WHEN WE HAVE TEACHERS AND COUNSELORS WHO ARE NOT TELLING US THAT IT'S EVEN WORTHY TO GO TO COLLEGE OR UNIVERSITY.

THE SCHOOLS OF LONG BEACH HAVE A RESPONSIBILITY TO CREATE A SUCCESSFUL PATH FORWARD FOR THE CHILDREN OF HISTORICALLY MARGINALIZED COMMUNITIES.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR TESTIMONY.

GOOD MORNING OR GOOD EVENING, SORRY, .

UM, MY NAME IS HILLARY SORES AND I'M A RESIDENT IN THE SEVENTH DISTRICT.

AND I'M CURRENTLY A SENIOR AT LONG BEACH POLYTECHNIC HIGH SCHOOL.

UM, I'VE LIVED HERE MY ENTIRE LIFE ALONGSIDE MY HISPANIC IMMIGRANT FAMILY.

I'M HERE TO ELEVATE THE ISSUE OF THE LACK OF CULTURAL COMPETENCY AND DILIGENCE IN THE ENGLISH, UH, LEARNERS DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM, ALSO KNOWN AS ELD, ALONGSIDE THE COMMON STRUGGLE OF HISPANIC, UH, STUDENTS IN L-B-U-S-D.

I WORKED AS A TUTOR IN A-A-E-L-D CLASS LAST SCHOOL YEAR, AND NOTICED HOW THE DOMINANT SPANISH SPEAKING IMMIGRANT STUDENTS WERE NOT EQUIPPED WITH THE RIGHT LEARNING MATERIAL RESOURCES NOR STAFF THAT WOULD ALLOW THEM TO EXCEED IN THEIR HIGH SCHOOL AND FUTURE CAREER.

UM, THE CLASS WAS TAUGHT BY A WHITE TEACHER WHO I WAS PLEASED TO HAVE AS AN ENGLISH TEACHER MY SOPHOMORE YEAR, BUT SHE DID NOT SPEAK FLUENT SPANISH.

UM, I'VE SEEN HOW SOME OF MY SISTERS AND COUSINS AND FRIENDS HAVE SUFFERED THROUGH THE CONSEQUENCES OF A PROGRAM THAT STILL NEEDS A LOT OF IMPROVEMENT.

MANY STUDENTS AREN'T WELL-INFORMED OR OFFERED ADVANCED CLASSES OR DUAL ENROLLMENT DUE TO A LOW GPA THAT RESULTS FROM, UH, INSUFFICIENT SUPPORT BECAUSE OF THE LACK OF RESOURCES AND APPROPRIATE STAFF.

MANY SPANISH SPEAKING STUDENTS AREN'T SET UP WITH THE PROPER RESOURCES TO CONTINUE THEIR EDUCATION AFTER HIGH SCHOOL.

THEY STRUGGLE TO FIND HIGHER PAYING JOBS AND THEY CAN'T CONNECT TO THE COMMUNITY THAT SHOULD BE SUPPORTING THEM.

I WOULD LIKE LONG BEACH TO FIND A BETTER WAY TO MAKE A BETTER PATH FOR ITS LATINO STUDENTS.

2021 AND HAS BEEN IN EFFECT SINCE JULY 1ST, 2022, WHEREBY ALL NEWBORNS BORN IN THE STATE ARE, UM, ALREADY HAVE AN ACCOUNT IN THEIR NAMES WITH, UH, SEED MONEY THAT'S INVESTED LIKE A 5 29.

HELLO.

UM, I, MY NAME IS LIZ BARNETT.

I AM A RESIDENT OF LONG BEACH, BUT I'M ACTUALLY HERE, UM, AS A REPRESENTATIVE OF THE UCLA CAL KIDS INSTITUTE, UM, TO MAKE SURE THAT THE COMMISSION IS AWARE OF THE CAL KIDS PROGRAM BECAUSE IT'S, ITS CENTRAL PURPOSE IS EQUITY IN ACHIEVING HIGHER EDUCATION.

THE CAL KIDS PROGRAM IS A STATE PROGRAM THAT'S, UM, LEGISLATION PASSED IN

[01:50:01]

SO THAT'S A UNIVERSAL PROGRAM FOR ALL CALIFORNIA FAMILIES, BUT ONLY ABOUT 20% OF THE ACCOUNTS HAVE BEEN CLAIMED.

THERE'S ALSO A STUDENT PROGRAM, AND THIS ONE IS, UM, FOR LOW AND MODERATE INCOME STUDENTS.

SO IT'S A, AT A MINIMUM OF $500, UM, IT GOES UP TO $1,500 IN CERTAIN FOR CERTAIN POPULATIONS, UM, UNHOUSED IN FOSTER YOUTH.

THE THESE SCHOOLS ARE MAKING EFFORTS TO INFORM TO SOME EXTENT, RIGHT? SO WE HAVE DATA ON ALL THE LONG BEACH PUBLIC SCHOOLS AND WHAT PERCENTAGE OF THE KIDS ARE ELIGIBLE AND HAVE CLAIMED THEIR ACCOUNTS.

SO I AM JUST HERE TO MAKE SURE AS AN EQUITY ISSUE THAT YOU'RE ALL AWARE OF IT.

AND THEN TO KEEP DRAWING MORE AND MORE ATTENTION TO, FOR, TO THE CITY OF LONG BEACH, TO DO EVERYTHING THAT IT POSSIBLY CAN TO PROMOTE, GET THE WORD OUT REQUIRE, UM, SO THAT THE STUDENTS OF LONG BEACH KNOW THAT THEY HAVE THESE ACCOUNTS.

THE RESEARCH ON THESE ACCOUNTS IS REALLY CLEAR THAT THE EARLIER THAT SOMEBODY KNOWS THAT THEY HAVE A SAVINGS ACCOUNT FOR COLLEGE, THE GREATER THE LIKELIHOOD IS THAT THEY WILL ATTEND.

EVEN SMALL AMOUNTS OF MONEY SET ASIDE FOR COLLEGE ARE SHOWN TO INCREASE, UM, THREE TIMES MORE LIKELY TO ATTEND AND FOUR TIMES MORE LIKELY TO GRADUATE.

SO, GETTING THIS INFORMATION OUT RIGHT NOW, THE HIGH SCHOOLS OF ALL THE SCHOOLS, HIGH SCHOOLS ARE DOING THE BEST JOB, THOUGH IT'S STILL NOT A HUNDRED PERCENT.

UM, BUT REALLY GETTING, MAKING SURE THAT CHILDREN KNOW ABOUT IT AS YOUNG AS POSSIBLE IS REALLY WHERE THE EFFORT SHOULD BE GOING.

ANY CHILD IN THE CITY UNDER THE AGE OF FOUR YEARS OLD HAS AN ACCOUNT.

IF IT WAS BORN, IF THE CHILD WAS BORN IN CALIFORNIA, AND IN TWO YEARS, THOSE CHILDREN WILL BE IN, YOU KNOW, IN FIRST GRADE.

AND IN FIRST GRADE IS WHEN THEY START TO, UM, THEN THEY WOULD BE ELIGIBLE IF THEY'RE INCOME ELIGIBLE FOR THE SECOND AWARD.

SO I JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT THE COMMISSION IS AWARE AND, UM, AND, YOU KNOW, KIND OF SEEING THIS AS A, A TOPIC THAT NEEDS, AS YOU KNOW, UM, SUPPORT AND PROMOTION IN THE CITY.

IF YOU WANTED TO SHARE A WEBSITE FOR THAT, CAL KIDS.ORG IS THE WEBSITE, C-A-L-K-I-D S.ORG.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR TESTIMONY.

UH, AND I THINK THAT'S, THAT'S WHY I WANTED TO MOVE THE, UH, PUBLIC COMMENT UP A LITTLE BIT IS I THINK WE GOT A LOT FROM THE STUDENTS, UM, AND FROM COMMUNITY, UH, THAT I THINK MIGHT ENRICH OUR DISCUSSION.

AND SO WITH THAT, UH, WE'RE GONNA OPEN UP TO OUR COMMISSION DISCUSSION.

NOW, WE CAN ALSO INVITE SPEAKERS FOR QUESTIONS, RIGHT? ANYONE WHO IS A FORMAL SPEAKER ON THE LIST CAN ALSO COME BACK UP.

UNFORTUNATELY, WE CAN'T INVITE THE PUBLIC COMMENTERS OVER JUST PARLIAMENTARY RULES.

I I WISH I COULD INVITE ALL OF YOU UP FOR DIALOGUE.

UM, SO WE CAN ENGAGE THE SPEAKERS IF YOU WANT TO, BUT I KNOW I'M GONNA HAVE WITH THAT REAL QUICK.

UH, WE'LL, WE'LL DO COMMISSIONER FLORES AND WE'LL DO COMMISSIONER BUTLER AND THEN WE'LL GO TO THE LINE.

I JUST WANTED TO SAY THANK YOU TO ALL THE PRESENTERS TODAY.

THE PRESENTATIONS WERE INSPIRING AND JOYFUL.

I LEARNED SO MUCH, AND I WANNA GIVE A SPECIAL THANK YOU TO, UH, THE HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS WHO WERE BRAVE ENOUGH AND HAD THE COURAGE TO SHARE THEIR EXPERIENCES WITH US.

THAT IS SO EMPOWERING AND I'M SO APPRECIATIVE OF THAT.

THANK YOU FOR SHARING.

COMMISSIONER BUTLER AND THEN COMMISSIONER SAMUEL.

THANK YOU FOR THAT AMAZING INFORMATION.

DID I HEAR YOU CORRECT IN SAYING THAT EVERY STUDENT IN L-B-U-S-D HAS THIS ACCOUNT NOT AT LOW TO MODERATE INCOME STUDENTS? SO FOR THE STUDENT PROGRAM, THERE IS AN ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENT.

UM, SO NOT EVERY STUDENT, BUT THEY SAY 60% OF ALL .

SO, SO COMMISSIONER, SORRY TO INTERJECT AGAIN.

THE, THE, THE PURPOSE OF THE PUBLIC COMMENT, UH, IS NOT, IS NOT A BACK AND FORTH DIALOGUE.

IF YOU HAVE ANYTHING THAT YOU, YOU'RE MORE THAN WELCOME TO TO BRING IT TO THE, TO THE, THE REST OF THE, YOUR FELLOW COMMISSIONERS.

UM, OKAY.

BUT, BUT PLEASE, UH, JUST TRY TO KEEP YOUR, YOUR, YOUR ANY QUESTIONS DIRECTLY TO, UH, THE PRESENTERS FINE, BUT NOT, NOT ANYONE WHO JUST MADE PUBLIC COMMENT.

OH, OKAY.

FORGIVE ME FOR BEING OUTTA ORDER THERE.

I JUST GOT A LITTLE EXCITED WHEN I HEARD IT AND I JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT I WAS HEARING WHAT I THOUGHT I WAS HEARING.

SO THANK YOU TO BE CONTINUED .

ALL RIGHT.

UM, I THINK COMMISSIONER AL, DID YOU WANNA JUMP IN NEXT? YEAH.

[01:55:01]

I THINK ONE THING THAT I THOUGHT WAS REALLY STRIKING, YOU KNOW, WHEN WE STEPPED INTO THE SPACE WAS HOW A LOT OF YOU WERE CONNECTING EVEN BEFORE WE EVEN STARTED ON, UH, THE OVERLAPS IN YOUR WORK.

SO THANK YOU SO MUCH TO EVERYBODY WHO'S, UH, PRESENTED.

UH, I REALLY APPRECIATE THE INFORMATION, ESPECIALLY THOSE WHO ARE BRAVE ENOUGH TO BE ABLE TO PROVIDE PUBLIC COMMENT BASED ON THEIR LIVED EXPERIENCE.

UM, I MYSELF, UH, HAVE SOMEONE OF LIVED EXPERIENCE.

UM, I'VE, UH, FACED MANY DIFFERENT INEQUITIES GROWING UP.

UM, AND I FEEL LIKE, UM, I CAN RELATE IN SOME WAY.

I WISH I WAS A STUDENT OF LONG BEACH, UH, OF, UH, LONG BEACH CITY, K THROUGH 12, BUT, YOU KNOW, I CAME FROM A DIFFERENT CITY.

UM, HOWEVER, I LOVE LONG BEACH AND IT'S, IT'S GREAT TO SEE THAT THE LONG BEACH PROMISE IS SOMETHING THAT, UM, PEOPLE CAN CLING TO AS AN OPTION, UM, UH, TO GO INTO HIGHER EDUCATION, UM, YOU KNOW, A LITTLE BIT DEBT FREE.

I MEAN, AS YOU GO HIGHER AND HIGHER, IT'S GOING TO COST SOME MONEY, UM, AND WHATNOT.

BUT, YOU KNOW, UM, IT'S INTERESTING BECAUSE I SEE THAT THERE'S A LOT OF SUCCESS AND THAT IT COMES TO, THAT COMES WITH A LONG BEACH PROMISE.

BUT I'M, I'M WONDERING IF THERE'S ANY DATA, UM, AND, YOU KNOW, MAYBE IF MY FELLOW COMMISSIONERS MIGHT KNOW, SINCE THIS IS JUST DISCUSSION, IF THERE'S ANY DATA OF ANY INDIVIDUALS OR ANY OUTCOMES THAT ARE RELATED TO DROPOUT RATES, UM, YOU KNOW, FOR THOSE INDIVIDUALS WHO HAVE ACCESSED LONG BEACH PROMISE, UM, UH, UH, THE PROGRAM AND, UM, IF THERE IS ANY, UM, YOU KNOW, 'CAUSE THERE IS THIS A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN HAVING SOME, A PROGRAM AVAILABLE VERSUS, UH, VERSUS ACCESS.

AND FOR THOSE INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE FACING INEQUITIES, WHETHER THAT IS MENTAL HEALTH STRUGGLES OR HOMELESSNESS OR THINGS LIKE THAT.

AND WE ALL KNOW THAT MANY OF OUR, UM, UM, OF OUR, UM, RESIDENTS AND, AND THE CHILDREN AND THE STUDENTS, UM, WILL FACE EQUITIES IN THE CITY OF LONG BEACH INEQUITIES THAT THE CITY OF LONG BEACH, UM, RELATED TO.

UM, SO I'M WONDERING IF, YOU KNOW, WHAT, WHAT, UM, YOU KNOW, THE SCHOOL DISTRICT IS DOING ABOUT THOSE SITUATIONS, UM, AND HOW, UM, THEIR CASE MANAGEMENT PROTOCOLS ARE, YOU KNOW, FOLLOWING STUDENTS FROM K THROUGH 12 ALL THE WAY UP TO, UM, GRADUATION.

UM, YOU KNOW, AND MY LINE OF WORK, IT WOULD BE GREAT, UM, GREAT TO SEE A CASE MANAGER FOLLOW SOMEBODY WHO ENTERS INTO A CONTINUUM OF CARE AND THEN, AND THEN ALL THE WAY TO GRADUATION.

SO I'M WONDERING IF THAT'S THE SAME HERE.

IF THEY HAVE THE SAME CASE MANAGER THROUGHOUT THEIR, YOU KNOW, ACADEMIC OR, YOU KNOW, STUDIES, UM, AS THEY GROW UP AND GRADUATE, UM, I THINK THAT WOULD, UM, PROVIDE THEM WITH A LITTLE BIT MORE SUCCESS.

UM, BUT, UM, I REALLY APPRECIATE THE YOUNG LADY WHO SPOKE FIRST ABOUT, UM, HER EXPERIENCE AND HOW SOME OF THE TEACHERS AND PEOPLE, UM, AND STAFF AT, UM, THE SCHOOL DISTRICT AREN'T REALLY SENDING THE SAME MESSAGE OR PROVIDING A CONTINUOUS MESSAGE TO THEIR STUDENTS.

UM, AND I THINK THAT'S SOMETHING THAT, UM, IS WORTH LISTENING TO.

SO THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR SHARING.

AND THEN IF ANY OF OUR SPEAKERS WANNA, UH, RESPOND TO ANYTHING THAT WAS SHARED, UH, I THINK WE CAN INVITE ANY OF YOU TO COME UP.

I DO SEE THAT OUR COLLEGE PROMISE PRESENTERS HAD TO LEAVE, SO THEY MAY NOT BE ABLE TO ANSWER THAT .

UM, BUT WE CAN, WE CAN BE IN TOUCH.

UM, BUT COMMISSIONERS ANY, UH, QUESTIONS FOR, UM, THE FOUR SPEAKERS WHO ARE STILL HERE OR, UM, DIALOGUE WITH EACH OTHER, UM, AND SO MUCH APPRECIATION FOR, UH, THE ROBUST DIALOGUE SO FAR.

ANY OTHER QUESTIONS OR DISCUSSION? YES, COMMISSIONER DOCKERY.

UM, I WAS REALLY, UM, INTRIGUED ABOUT THE PRESENTATION, UM, AND I'M NOT EVEN GONNA TRY TO GET YOUR NAME CORRECT.

SO, UM, UM, ABOUT THE, THE BLACK STUDENT EXCELLENCE, UM, ONE OF THE THINGS YOU MENTIONED ABOUT IN YOUR PRESENTATION WAS MENTAL HEALTH FOR THE STUDENTS.

AND ONE OF THE QUESTIONS I WOULD ASK FOR YOU, DOES THAT INCLUDE SEXUAL ORIENTATION, MENTAL HEALTH? BECAUSE TEENS THAT ARE, UM, DEALING WITH THEIR SEXUAL ORIENTATION, UM, HAVE A HIGH LEVEL OF, UM, THINKING ABOUT SUICIDE AND STUFF.

AND SO I JUST WANTED TO KNOW, UM, IF THAT'S SOMETHING THAT YOUR PROGRAM IS, WILL, WILL INCLUDE OR DOES INCLUDE SO THAT THEY HAVE ACCESS TO THAT, UM, YOUR RESOURCES AND ANY OF THE SPEAKERS ARE WELCOME TO ANSWER THAT, OR BOTH.

, YOU'RE NOW A PANEL APPARENTLY , YES.

BECAUSE IT IS DEFINITELY A MENTAL HEALTH CONCERN THAT WE, WHAT WE'RE FOCUSING ON THE WHOLE STUDENT.

SO AS WE'RE BUILDING OUR PROGRAMMING AND TAKING EVERYTHING INTO CONSIDERATION ABOUT HOW WE CAN SUPPORT ALL STUDENTS AND ALL THAT COMES WITH THE STUDENT, ALL THE INTERSECTIONALITY WHEN IT COMES TO OUR STUDENTS.

SO YES, SO THAT'S A COMPONENT OF MENTAL HEALTH.

YEP.

[02:00:09]

AND SO I DO WANT TO GIVE A LOT OF APPRECIATION TO THE AD HOC COMMITTEE THAT FORMED THIS LISTENING SESSION TODAY.

UH, SO, UH, COMMISSIONER, DR. LARA, COMMISSIONER COLE AND VICE SCHULTZ, UH, PUT IN A LOT OF LABOR OVER THE LAST TWO MONTHS TO REALLY TRY TO BUILD, UH, A SPEAKER SLATE THAT COULD SPEAK TO THE INTERLOCKING, UH, CHALLENGES THAT WE SEE IN THE CITY AROUND INEQUITY, AROUND ACCESS TO EDUCATION, UH, EDUCATIONAL QUALITY.

AND SO I THINK THIS WAS VERY ENRICHING FOR ME.

UM, I KNOW IT'S BEEN ENRICHING FOR THE GROUP, UH, WHERE WE ARE IN THIS PROCESS, RIGHT? WE HAVE HAD A SERIES OF LISTENING SESSIONS USING THE FRAMEWORK OF THE SOCIAL DETERMINANTS OF HEALTH, RIGHT? THERE'S FIVE OF THOSE.

UM, AND SO EACH OF THESE LISTENING SESSIONS, ONCE PER QUARTER, HAS BEEN A CHANCE TO BRING IN EXPERTS ON DIFFERENT TOPICS.

UM, WE HAD, YOU KNOW, SOME REALLY GREAT PRESENTATIONS ON THINGS LIKE HOUSING ACCESS, UH, AND, UH, IMPACTS OF LIKE FOOD AND ACCESSIBILITY OF LIKE, NUTRITION AND, YOU KNOW, ALL THESE DIFFERENT PIECES THAT IMPACT PEOPLE'S HEALTH.

AND I THINK THAT THE STORY WE'VE BEEN, UH, HEARING OVER THE LAST SEVERAL MONTHS HAS BEEN ONE OF, UH, THE INTERLOCKING NATURE, RIGHT? THE INTERSECTING NATURE OF THESE STRUGGLES, RIGHT? THAT NUTRITIONAL OUTCOMES AND HOUSING STABILITY AND EDUCATIONAL QUALITY, UM, AND CITY INFRASTRUCTURE, ALL OF THESE DIFFERENT PIECES, COMPOUND AND COMPOUND AND COMPOUND.

AND, AND I THINK, UH, YOU KNOW, THAT'S BEEN, I THINK, A BIG LEARNING OUT OF THIS.

WHAT ARE OUR NEXT STEPS? UM, WE HAVE, UM, SOME MORE LISTENING SESSIONS TO COME, UM, FOR THE NEXT COUPLE QUARTERS.

AND THEN WE'RE GOING TO HAVE THE COMMISSION CONVENE A REPORT TO BASICALLY ANALYZE THE RESULTS OF ALL OF THESE AND GIVE A SLATE OF RECOMMENDATIONS AROUND SOCIAL DETERMINANTS OF HEALTH AND WAYS THE CITY OF LONG BEACH CAN MAKE REAL POLICY CHANGES ON THAT.

AND SO EVERY ONE OF YOU, WHETHER YOU'RE A FORMAL SPEAKER OR A PUBLIC TESTIMONY PROVIDER, UM, ALL OF THIS ARE DATA POINTS.

SO WE CAN USE AS A COMMISSION TO TRY AND GIVE THE MOST ROBUST, MEANINGFUL, ACTIONABLE REPORT POSSIBLE.

UH, AND SO THAT'S REALLY THE JOURNEY THAT WE'VE BEEN ON.

AND SO I WANNA GIVE A LOT OF GRATITUDE TO THE AD HOC MEMBERS FOR THAT.

UH, AND I'LL PAUSE THERE TO SEE IF ANY OF THE AD HOC MEMBERS WANNA SHARE ABOUT THIS PROCESS OR ANYTHING ABOUT THEIR LEARNINGS OR OBSERVATIONS AS PART OF MAKING THIS EDUCATIONAL ACCESS, UH, UH, THE SESSION REALLY BE SUCCESS.

COMMISSIONER COLE, THANK YOU.

UM, AND THANK YOU AGAIN FOR ALL OF YOU WHO ARE STILL HERE.

AND, AND THANKS AGAIN FOR THE PEOPLE WHO LEFT.

BUT, UM, YOU KNOW, PART OF THE CHALLENGE OF PUTTING THIS IS TOGETHER IS, YOU KNOW, WE'RE A COMMISSION ON THE CITY OF LONG BEACH, AND THE CITY OF LONG BEACH IS LIMITED IN HOW THEY CAN IMPACT OUR UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT.

THE CITY OF LONG BEACH.

THE MAYOR COUNCIL MEMBERS DON'T APPROVE THE BUDGET FOR THE UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT, .

UM, BUT THE CITY DOES OFFER SOME PROGRAMS. YOU KNOW, THE WORLD RIGHT NOW AND IS IN A LOT OF TURMOIL ECONOMICALLY, A LOT OF THINGS GOING ON.

BUT THE CITY HAS CERTAIN PROGRAMS FOR LIKE PAID INTERNSHIPS AND DIFFERENT PROGRAMS TO HELP, UM, KIDS WITH PATHWAYS TO, TO THRIVE.

THEY'RE LIMITED.

SO I GUESS I WOULD JUST ASK THIS GROUP AND US TO REMEMBER WHEN WE'RE SPEAKING AND WE'RE OUT THERE IN THE REAL WORLD, LIKE THIS COMMISSION EXISTS, AND KEEP US IN MIND IF PROBLEMS COME UP AND THERE ARE WAYS THAT YOU THINK THE CITY CAN DO BETTER, EVEN WITH THESE LIMITATIONS.

UM, EVERY MEETING YOUR PUBLIC COMMENTS ARE ALLOWED, WHETHER THEY'RE ON TOPIC OR NOT, CORRECT.

UM, AND YOU'RE THE DOOR'S ALWAYS OPEN TO, TO JUST KEEP THE RELATIONSHIP GOING AND OR TO NOTIFY US OF WAYS THAT WE COULD HELP YOU MAKE IMPROVEMENTS.

JOIN US.

TO THAT END, I JUST WANTED TO, UM, THANK YOU AGAIN FOR, UM, TALKING ABOUT THE INTERCONNECTED NATURE OF EDUCATION ACCESS AND ON THE OTHER SOCIAL DETERMINANTS OF HEALTH.

AND, UM, WHEN DR.

LATA AND I WERE TALKING, UM, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE, UM, I MENTIONED, AND ESPECIALLY IN TERMS OF TEACHER RECRUITMENT, TEACHER DIVERSITY, IS HOUSING, RIGHT? IF I'M WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THE, UH, BUILDING A CAREER, RIGHT? AND, AND SHAPING YOUR CAREER AS ADULTS, WE'RE ALSO TALKING ABOUT STABILITY IN HOUSING.

AND I, I, I SHARED THAT, UM, I AM A, UH, RESIDENT OF ANOTHER CITY.

I WON'T SHARE WHICH ONE, BUT THAT, THAT CITY HAD FIRST TIME HOME BUYER PROGRAM AND LOANS.

UM, AND, AND SO AS A YOUNG 20 SOMETHING YEAR OLD, I BECAME A HOMEOWNER IN MY CITY.

AND THOSE TYPES OF, UM, PROGRAMS COULD SUPPORT TEACHERS, BEGINNING TEACHERS WHO ARE IN THEIR FIRST FEW YEARS, UM, AND ENCOURAGE THEM TO STAY IN THE CITY AND TO WORK IN THE CITY AND

[02:05:01]

TO REALLY GROW ROOTS IN THE CITY, RIGHT? I KNOW THAT THE, THE CITY IS MAKING EFFORTS AND, AND COLLABORATING WITH LONG BEACH AND, AND, UH, VARIOUS TO BUILD, UH, STUDENT HOUSING AND APARTMENTS, RIGHT? UM, WHICH IS A, A NOBLE FIRST STEP.

BUT WHEN I THINK ABOUT WHEN I WAS A YOUNG PERSON ESTABLISHING MY CAREER, RIGHT? UM, I WAS LOOKING FOR AN OPPORTUNITY TO BECOME A HOMEOWNER.

AND SO I THINK THAT THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE COULD TO POSSIBLY THINK ABOUT, UM, HOW TO, UM, CREATE LOANS FOR TEACHERS IN THE COMMUNITY AND CREATING THOSE TYPES OF INCENTIVES TO ENCOURAGE, UM, TO FURTHER, UM, STRENGTHEN THAT PIPELINE.

OH, AND I'M SORRY, I HAVE, I HAVE LOTS OF IDEAS.

WE FREEDOM DREAM A LOT OVER IN THE COMMUNITY OF PRACTICE, RIGHT? SO , UM, ANOTHER, UH, YOU KNOW, A CHALLENGE WITH TEACHERS, ESPECIALLY IN THIS PROGRAM AND IN, IN THE, IN THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA, IS THAT GETTING YOUR TEACHING CREDENTIAL IS A, IS A POST BACK PROGRAM, BUT YOU'RE NOT A GRAD STUDENT YET.

AND SO ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I'M LEARNING IN, IN MY WORKING AND, AND GUIDING AND MENTORING MY STUDENTS IS THAT THEY ARE, THEY FIND THEMSELVES IN, IN A GAP WHERE THEY HAVE MAXED OUT THEIR LOANS AS UNDERGRADS, RIGHT? THEY'VE MAXED OUT, THEY'VE MAYBE SPENT TOO MUCH TIME IN THE COMMUNITY COLLEGE SETTING OR SOMETHING, OR THEY'VE JUST TAKEN TOO LONG, RIGHT? BECAUSE NO ONE EVER TOLD THEM.

SO THEY'VE MAXED OUT ON THEIR LOANS, AND THEN THEY'RE NOT GRAD STUDENTS YET, SO THEY, THEY'RE NOT ELIGIBLE TO APPLY FOR ADDITIONAL LOANS.

AND SO THIS IS SOMETHING THAT I'M, I'M, I'M DEALING WITH IN MY COMMUNITY AND, AND, AND TRYING TO SUPPORT THE TEACHERS AT LONG BEACH IN TERMS OF HAVING ACCESS TO EMERGENCY FUNDING, RIGHT? SO THAT, THAT, SO THAT STUDENTS CAN KIND OF FILL IN THOSE GAPS.

UM, AND, YOU KNOW, IT'S JUST, THOSE ARE SOME OF THE THINGS AND SOME OF THE BARRIERS THAT I THINK THAT WHEN WE, UM, LOOK AT AS AT WHAT THE CITY CAN DO, RIGHT? UM, THERE MIGHT BE SOME THINGS, SOME ROOM THERE.

SO THANK YOU FOR ALLOWING ME TO SHARE.

UM, SO WITH THAT, AS WE MOVE TO CLOSE, I, I, I KNOW THAT WE WERE ABLE TO ENGAGE WITH, UM, A COUPLE FOLKS, UH, WITH ADDITIONAL COMMENTS AND QUESTIONS.

UH, DID ANYONE ELSE HAVE ANY FINAL QUESTIONS FOR ANY OF OUR, UH, THREE SPEAKERS WHO ARE HERE? UH, ANY FINAL QUESTIONS FROM THE COMMISSION? NO.

UM, MY ADVICE FOR FUTURE LOOKS, I THINK THERE'S TWO MORE LISTENING SESSIONS ON THE PIPELINE IS, ALTHOUGH JUNE, WE THOUGHT THAT WAS A SUFFICIENT RUNWAY, RIGHT? I WOULD RECOMMEND FUTURE, UM, IF IT'S POSSIBLE LISTENING SESSIONS TO DO EVEN MORE THAN THE THREE MONTHS, UM, FOR, IN ORDER TO ACCOUNT FOR, FOR, FOR SOME OF THIS.

UM, WITH THAT, UM, SO MUCH GRATITUDE TO THIS GROUP, UH, FOR CONVENING THIS SPACE AND FOR ALL OF US ATTENDING, IN PARTICULAR FOR THE PUBLIC JOINING US ON A WEDNESDAY EVENING AND SHARING YOUR TESTIMONY, WE'RE TAKING THAT VERY SERIOUSLY, AND IT'S A PART OF IT.

I'LL SAY, AS A LONG BEACH POLY GRADUATE MYSELF, UH, GO JACK RABBITS.

UM, I WILL NOT SAY WHAT YEAR THAT WAS.

UM, BUT, UH, YOU KNOW, I REMEMBER FEELING LIKE WHEN I, EVERYTHING I NEED TO LEARN ABOUT THE WORLD, AT LEAST A CORNELL THAT WAS HERE IN LONG BEACH, I DIDN'T ALWAYS HAVE THE WORDS FOR IT OR ALL THE TERMS OR THE TECHNICAL KNOWLEDGE.

UM, BUT HISTORY IS DIASPORA AND RESISTANCE, UM, REFUGEE, BUT ALSO RESILIENCE, EMPOWERMENT.

ALL OF THESE THINGS HAPPENED IN LONG BEACH.

POLY HAPPENED IN LONG BEACH, HAPPENED ACROSS THE CITY.

AND SO I'M REALLY GRATEFUL FOR WHAT I GOT OUT OF THIS.

I AM SO GLAD TO SEE THAT FOLKS HERE ARE, UM, ALL INVESTED IN THE WORK OF MAKING LONG BEACH A SPACE WHERE EDUCATION IS, IS A, IT'S A CROWN JEWEL OF, OF THE CITY.

AND SO THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR WORK, FOR YOUR SERVICE.

I SAW Y'ALL EXCHANGING INFORMATION, KEEP DOING THAT.

UM, WE ALSO HAVE YOUR INFORMATION.

WE'LL MAKE SURE ALL THE COMMISSIONERS HERE HAVE IT.

SO WE CAN FOLLOW UP AS WELL WITH QUESTIONS.

UM, WITH THAT, UH, CLERK, LET'S MOVE TO A VOTE TO CLOSE THE SESSION.

CAN I DO A HOUSEKEEPING ITEM QUESTION? YES, GO FOR IT.

I DON'T KNOW IF THIS IS THE RIGHT TIME OR NOT, SO, UH, GONNA LET YOU KNOW.

LET'S FIND OUT.

GO AHEAD, .

UM, WELL REAL QUICK, COMMISSIONER, DOES THAT HAVE TO DO WITH THE, THE PENDING, UH, MOTION THAT'S ON THE, THE FLOOR? IT HAS TO DO WITH THE INFORMATION THAT WE WERE GIVEN AT FIVE 30 THIS AFTERNOON THAT I WOULD'VE LIKED TO HAD EARLIER TODAY.

SO I DON'T KNOW WHERE THAT GOES.

NO, IT IT, IT SOUNDS LIKE IT COULD BE RELEVANT.

SO YOU, YOU GO AHEAD.

SO I, I JUST WANT TO KNOW, OR, OR, UM, THE POWERPOINT PRESENTATIONS THAT WERE PROVIDED TODAY, I GOT IN AN EMAIL AT FIVE 30 TODAY.

IS THERE ANY WAY WE COULD GET THESE EARLIER? BECAUSE I WOULD'VE REALLY LIKED TO HAVE GONE THROUGH THOSE SLIDES AND WRITTEN DOWN QUESTIONS VERSUS LIKE, I WAS ALREADY ON MY WAY OVER HERE DRIVING AND I FELT LIKE I WAS KIND OF OUT OF THE LOOP IN, IN THAT.

SO I DON'T KNOW, BUT IT SEEMS LIKE IT WAS A BIT LATE FOR, I, I CAN JUMP IN HERE AS ONE OF THE AD HOC COMMITTEES.

UM, SO THERE WAS A LOT OF MOVING PARTS SINCE JUNE REGARDING THIS.

SO EVEN THOUGH EVERY EFFORT WAS MADE TO TRY TO GET THE SLIDES TO THE COMMISSION, UM, BECAUSE OF ALL OF THE MOVING PARTS,

[02:10:01]

BUT JUST KNOW, EVEN, EVEN IF YOU ARE FOR PLANNING FURTHER, THERE WILL STILL BE MOVING PARTS.

AND THAT'S ONE THING THAT I DIDN'T NECESSARILY LEARN HERE 'CAUSE I'VE BEEN IN ENOUGH ORGANIZING SPACE THAT THAT HAPPENS.

BUT, UM, SO YEAH, I THINK EVERY EFFORT IS MADE TO MAKE, BUT BECAUSE OF THE MOVING PARTS, IT'S NOT A GUARANTEE.

AND COMMISSIONER LAURA, THERE'S A GREAT POINT.

I THINK, UH, I THINK THAT WAS GETTING AGAIN, A GOOD QUESTION, COMMISSIONER DOCKERY.

UM, A LITTLE BIT OFF TOPIC OF THE, THE PENDING AGENDA ITEM.

I THINK MAYBE IF THERE WAS FUTURE, UM, UH, CONVERSATION WITH THE COMMISSIONS ON, ON GETTING THINGS A LITTLE BIT EARLIER, UH, WE COULD SAY THAT FOR GENERAL KIND OF ANNOUNCEMENTS.

AND I THINK WE CAN ACTUALLY EVEN AT THE AD HOC SECTION, BECAUSE WE'LL BE DISSOLVING THIS AD HOC, STARTING A NEW ONE.

POTENTIALLY WE CAN TALK ABOUT THE IDEAL BEST PRACTICES FOR THESE AD HOCS.

BUT LET'S COMPLETE THIS VOTE.

COMMISSIONER COLE.

NO PROBLEM.

MOTION CARRIES.

ALRIGHT, THANK YOU EVERYBODY.

AND FOR THOSE OF US WHO, WHO ARE HERE FOR THIS, UH, PART OF THE SESSION, THE LISTENING SESSION IS CONCLUDED, YOU'RE WELCOME TO STAY FOR OUR LAST PARTS OF OUR AGENDA.

UM, BUT IF YOU DO END UP LEAVING, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR TIME TONIGHT.

UH, LET US NOW CALL FOR THE NEXT AGENDA ITEM.

ITEM THREE IS A RECOMMENDATION TO RECEIVE AND FILE A REPORT FROM CURRENT AD HOC COMMITTEES.

DISCUSS ANTICIPATED COMMITTEES FOR UPCOMING PROJECTS, AND IF APPROPRIATE, TAKE ACTION TO DISSOLVE OR CREATE AD HOC COMMITTEES RESTING MOTION.

MOVE BY COMMISSIONER MONTGOMERY, SECOND OF BY COMMISSIONER SUMMIT WEILL .

OH, AND AS FOLKS LEAVE, THERE'S FREE VALIDATION FOR PARKING.

DON'T FORGET THOSE FUTURE VALIDATION .

DOCUMENT WITH, UM, AD HOCS.

UM, AND SO WE'RE HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO, UH, GET UPDATES FROM THE CURRENT AD HOC COMMITTEES.

UM, ALL SHOULD HAVE A

[3. 26-55875 Recommendation to receive and file a report from current Ad Hoc Committees; discuss anticipated Ad Hoc Committees for upcoming projects; and, if appropriate, take action to dissolve or create Ad Hoc Committees. Suggested Action: Approve recommendation. ]

I THINK THE, UM, JUSTICE FOR BLACK WORKERS ONE, UH, WAS, UH, DISSOLVED AT THE CONCLUSION OF THE RECOMMENDATION LETTER FINISHED.

SO I THINK THAT ONE'S COMPLETE.

UM, BUT WE DO HAVE THE ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE DISASTER ONE AND THE EDUCATIONAL ACCESS ONE.

UM, DO YOU WANNA GO FIRST, DOUG? YEAH, SURE.

I'LL PASS TO VICE SCHULTZ.

ALRIGHT, WELL, WE CLEARED THE PLACE, UM, UPDATES ON, ON AD HOCS, UH, FOR THE, UH, ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE AD HOC.

WE, UM, UH, WE HAD A, A, A REALLY GREAT MEETING ONLINE, UH, TO DISCUSS, UM, UH, UH, UH, EQUITY AND, AND, UH, IN RELATION TO, UH, UH, COMMUNITY, UH, EMERGENCY RESPONSE.

AND, UM, UH, ASSISTANT, UH, LA FIRE DEPARTMENT ASSISTANT CHIEF JAKE KALIN, UH, SPOKE WITH US, UH, GAVE US, UH, UH, UH, ALL THE TIME THAT WE NEEDED, UH, AND GAVE US A REALLY GREAT PRESENTATION ON, UM, UH, ON EMERGENCY RESPONSE.

UH, UH, WHEN IT COMES TO, UM, WITH, WITH AN EX WITH AN EQUITY LENS, UH, I WOULD SAY RICHARD, RICHARD, UH, COMMISSIONER BROWN WAS THERE.

C CHAIR, DEION, UH, COMMISSIONER COLE WAS THERE.

UH, A GREAT TIME WAS HAD BY ALL .

UM, FORGET RICKY, UH, AND RICKY, UH, DOCKERY COMMISSIONER DOCKERY WAS THERE, HE DIDN'T HAVE HIS CAMERA ON.

SO I, IT, IT, IT, UH, UM, BUT, UH, UH, UH, UH, UH, CHIEF GAVE A A GREAT PRESENTATION AND, UH, THE CONVERSATION TURNED TO, UH, UH, UH, SOMETHING THAT'S A PERSONAL, UM, FOR ME.

UH, UH, UH, UH, UH, UH, WHAT, WHAT'S THE WORD I'M LOOKING FOR? UM, SOMETHING I'D LIKE TO SEE, UH, HAPPEN, UH, UH, IS, YOU KNOW, UM, WE, WE ARE, UH, THE, THE, THE CITY'S, IF YOU HAVEN'T HEARD THE CITY'S FACING, UH, BUDGET, UH, A BUDGET CRISIS.

AND, UH, ALL DEPARTMENTS HAVE BEEN POOLED TO SAVE APPROXIMATELY, UH, 7%, UH, OR TO CUT 7% OF THEIR BUDGET.

AND, UH, THE FIRE DEPARTMENT, UH, UH, IS, IS NO EXCEPTION.

EVERYBODY'S PROBABLY HEARD ABOUT, UH, ENGINE 14.

THAT'S THE, THAT'S THE LOUDEST.

[02:15:01]

UH, BUT, UH, SOMEWHERE DOWN IN THE INTERNALS OF THE, UH, OF THE FIRE DEPARTMENT, UH, LIVES, UH, THE COMMUNITY, UH, EMERGENCY RESPONSE TEAM OR CERT, UH, COMMISSIONER COLE'S, A MEMBER OF CERT, UH, DOWN THERE IN NAPLES, I'M A MEMBER OF CERT.

UM, AND THEIR STAFFING WAS CUT BY 66%, UM, WHICH WAS VERY INEQUITABLE.

AND SO THERE'S ONE PERSON THAT MANAGES THE VOLUNTEER, UH, COMMITTEE CERT IS, UH, IF, UH, IF, IF SOMETHING DISASTROUS HAPPENS, THEY'RE, UH, HUNDREDS, MAYBE THOUSANDS OF TRAINED PERSONNEL IN THE CITY OF LONG BEACH WHO'VE GONE THROUGH TRAINING, WHO THE CITY OF LONG BEACH HAS PAID, UH, TO, TO GO THROUGH THIS FREE TRAINING TO REACT IN TIMES OF DISASTER.

UH, WE CAN GET A PHONE, A, A PHONE CALL WE PUT ON OUR GREEN VEST, WE GRAB OUR GREEN BACKPACK, WE PUT OUR HAT HARD, HARD HAT ON IT, AND WE GO OUT TO, UH, UM, TO RESPOND.

UH, UH, RECENT, UM, RESPONSES HAVE BEEN, UM, UH, THE PANDEMIC, UH, CERT HELPED RUN THE, UH, FIRST THE, THE, THE TESTING SITES.

AND THEN WE WERE THE FIRST PEOPLE THAT YOU SAW WHEN YOU PULLED UP TO THE VACCINATION SITES.

AND WE DIRECTED CARS, WE DID EVERYTHING.

UH, BUT, BUT, BUT, UH, UH, BUT GIVE YOU THE JAB.

UM, UH, WE'VE ALSO BEEN DEPLOYED TO THE PALISADES DURING THE WILDFIRES.

UM, AND, UH, IT'S NOT IF, BUT WHEN THE NEXT DISASTER STRIKES, UH, UM, WILL BE DEPLOYED THERE.

UH, HOWEVER, UH, UH, THE ONE PERSON, HER NAME HAPPENS TO BE MELANIE, UH, SHE WORKS IN THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT, UH, BUILDING OVER BY LBX, UH, UH, WHEN DISASTER STRIKES, SHE CAN BARELY PUT OUT A, A NEWSLETTER.

RIGHT NOW, SHE'S JUST OVERWHELMED.

UH, SO CERT WILL HAVE A REALLY TOUGH TIME BEING ACTIVATED.

UH, UH, SO I WOULD HOPE THAT, UH, UH, PERHAPS WE WRITE A LETTER, UH, I'M NOT LOOKING OR SUGGESTING, UH, THAT WE ASK THEM TO ADJUST THE BUDGET.

UH, THIS IS AN INTERNAL, UH, UM, UH, UH, DESIGNATION OF HOURS WITHIN THE FIRE DEPARTMENT WITH THE BUDGET THEY ALREADY HAVE.

BUT, UH, I'VE, I'VE SPOKE WITH, UH, FIRE CHIEF BUCHANAN, UH, UH, WITH CHIEFS, WITH THE CITY MANAGER, UH, WITH MY COUNCIL PERSON ASKING THAT THEY PLEASE, UH, MAKE SURE, UH, UH, JUST, JUST BRING IT TO 33%.

THAT WOULD JUST BE ONE MORE PERSON, ONE MORE PART-TIME FIREFIGHTER OR INTERNS THAT GO IN AND HELP THE CERT OFFICE, UH, UH, KEEP GOING.

UH, UH, THEY'VE, THEY'VE CUT THE MEETINGS FROM MONTHLY TO EVERY OVER THE MONTH, AND THEY'RE DOING THEIR PART TO CUT.

UM, BUT I, I'M JUST AFRAID THAT IN THE TIME OF DISASTER, WE'RE MISSING OUT ON HUNDREDS OF PEOPLE THAT CAN HELP, UH, UH, IF, IF THAT OFFICE ISN'T ADEQUATELY STAFFED.

I'M SORRY IF I'VE, IF I, IF I'VE GONE ON A TANGENT HERE, BUT THAT'S WHAT I GOT OUT OF, UH, OUT OF THE MEETING.

UM, UH, WE HAVE A, A GREAT, WHERE WE'RE ONE OF THE OTHER CITIES, STATES COME TO OUR CERT PROGRAM TO SEE HOW IT'S DONE.

AND IT'S JUST STAGNANT RIGHT NOW.

AND, UH, UH, UH, AND OUR TRAININGS ARE, ARE, UM, TOP NOTCH.

UH, BUT IT'S JUST NOT GONNA HAPPEN WITHOUT ADEQUATE STAFFING.

SO I WOULD HOPE THAT, UH, WE COULD, UH, UH, WRITE A LETTER AND ENCOURAGE, UH, PROPER STAFFING, UH, AND AGAIN, UH, NO BUDGET, UH, UH, CONSIDERATION OR ASKING TO CHANGE, BUT IT'D BE TOO LATE TO DO THAT.

BUT WE CAN ALWAYS WRITE A LETTER, UH, UH, TO THE CITY, UH, UH, RECOMMENDING, UM, THAT WAS THAT REPORT.

MEMBERS, CAN THEY HAVE THEIR OWN BUDGETS? CAN WE ASK THEM TO PLEASE NOT FORGET ABOUT CERT AND WHEN THEY'RE HAVING THEIR DIFFERENT COMMUNITY EVENTS, IS THERE A WAY TO INCLUDE CERT EXCITED FOR THE NEXT AD HOC MEETING WHERE WE WILL DISCUSS THESE IDEAS, ? AND SO, UM, THANK YOU FOR THE UPDATE.

CAN I JUST A QUESTION? YES.

COMMISSIONER COLE, BRIEFLY, I, UH, I DON'T KNOW IF I'M IN, IN LINE OR OUT OF LINE.

I, A QUESTION IS, UM, THAT THE REASON WHY THIS IS ALSO ATTACHED TO EQUITY IS BECAUSE MANY PEOPLE WHO'VE BEEN TRAINED, A LOT OF PEOPLE ARE RETIRED OR THEY HAVE JOBS WHERE THEY COULD GIVE THE TIME TO GET TRAINING.

IT TAKES ALL WEEKEND.

AND THEN SOME, LIKE, YOU LITERALLY ARE TRAINED TO WALK THROUGH A BUILDING AND RESCUE PEOPLE WHEN YOU CAN'T SEE.

AND THEN THERE'S ONLINE TRAINING TOO, WHERE YOU STUDY AND TAKE THESE ONLINE KIND OF TESTS AND, UH, YOU KNOW, DEPENDING ON YOUR LIFE AND YOUR KIDS AND YOUR FAMILY, YOU DON'T, NOT EVERYONE CAN DO THAT.

UM, BUT ONE THING THAT CAME TO MIND WAS ALSO, I WAS DRIVING THROUGH TOWN AND IN LAKEWOOD THEY HAVE AN UPCOMING CERT TRAINING FOR THE COMMUNITY THAT THEY'RE PUTTING ON.

SO I DIDN'T KNOW, JUST SOMETHING TO CONSIDER AND WE COULD FOLLOW, I DON'T KNOW HOW WE FOLLOW UP SEPARATELY.

AD HOC WISE, UM, THE COUNCIL

[02:20:01]

UH, WE HAVE, UM, ONE MORE UPDATE AND THEN WE HAVE ACTUALLY A PROPOSAL FROM CHRISTIAN ES ON A NEW AD HOC.

BUT, UM, LET ME GO TO THE, UH, EDUCATIONAL ACCESS LISTENING SESSION TEAM FIRST.

UM, I IMAGINE YOU MAY HAVE A DISSOLVED MOTION ON THAT.

UM, WHOEVER WANTS TO SHARE FOR THAT.

WHICH AD HOC DID YOU REFERENCE RIGHT NOW? OH, THE EDUCATION LISTENING SESSION.

OH, OKAY.

SO I CAN, UM, SO I THINK AS A GROUP, WE CAME PREPARED, GIVEN THE CULMINATION WAS TODAY OF THE PROJECT TO CLOSE.

BUT BEFORE I MAKE THAT RECOMMENDATION, I HAVE A TECHNICAL QUESTION.

WE MENTIONED THAT AT THE END OF ALL FIVE LISTENING SESSIONS, THE GOAL IS TO CREATE A REPORT.

DO WE HAVE A SMALLER REPORT IN BETWEEN THAT? 'CAUSE IF SO, RIGHT, THEN WE WOULD NEED TO CLOSE IT PROBABLY LATER, BUT IF NOT, THEN I AM PREPARED TO MAKE A RECOMMENDATION TO CLOSE.

WHAT IS THE, WHAT ARE THE LOGISTICS REGARDING, UM, THAT HISTORICALLY YEAH, I CAN TAKE THAT.

SO, UH, THE WAY YOU ALL FRAMED THE COM, THE, THE LISTENING SESSIONS, WAS THAT YOU WOULD DEVELOP AD HOCS TO PLAN, UM, THE THEME, THE QUESTIONS FOR EACH INDIVIDUAL AD HOC FOR INDIVIDUAL LISTENING SESSION, AND THEN CREATE AN AD HOC TO DEVELOP A REPORT AT THE END.

AT THE END.

SO THEN, THEN THAT TELLS ME THAT I CAN COMFORTABLY MAKE THE RECOMMENDATION TO CLOSE THIS AD HOC.

'CAUSE THE PURPOSE OF THIS AD HOC IS SOLELY TO PLAN THE LISTENING SESSION AND NOT THE NOT, OKAY.

NO.

SO YOU COULD ALSO MAKE A RECOMMENDATION TO CREATE AN AD HOC THAT CAN START LOOKING AT THE DATA, WHICH IS SOMETHING I WOULD RECOMMEND.

I WOULD.

SO YOU CAN START CREATING THAT REPORT.

NOW.

YOU READ MY MIND, THE REASON I'M ASKING THIS IS, UM, IT'LL TAKE SOME TIME BETWEEN NOW AND THE FIFTH.

BY THAT TIME, THE NOTES I TOOK HERE AND THE NOTES THAT ANYONE ELSE TOOK HERE, AND WHATEVER WE REMEMBER, UH, YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW WHAT TIME DOES LIKE ROOM.

SO, SO I AM PREPARED TO OFFICIALLY CLOSE THIS AD HOC IN, IN HOPES THAT EITHER TODAY OR LATER SOON, WE HAVE A COMMITTEE THAT CAN START WRITING UP.

AND IF ANYONE TOOK NOTES, I JUST DON'T KNOW, MAYBE THIS IS A QUESTION FOR CITY ATTORNEY, A A TOY.

WOULD WE BE ABLE TO SHARE, HAVE EVERYONE'S NOTES FOR THOSE THAT TOOK NOTES? AND NOT EVERYONE TAKES NOTES AND THAT'S FINE, RIGHT? IN SOME TYPE OF DOCUMENT AMONGST SOME WHICH, SO WE CAN START SYNTHESIZING OR WE'RE NOT ALLOWED TO SHARE NOTES.

SO, SO FOR, FOR THE LISTENING SESSION, THE WAY THAT YOU ALL FRAMED IT FROM THE BEGINNING WAS THAT SPECIFICALLY, THAT'S WHY THERE'S QR , THERE'S SPECIFIC SURVEY QUESTIONS THROUGH A QR, UM, THAT YOU SEE ON THE WALL.

WE ALSO LET INDIVIDUALS KNOW THAT THEY CAN ANSWER THE QUESTIONS AND LEAVE POSTITS POST-ITS ON THE MM-HMM .

UM, BOARD ITSELF.

UM, AND THEN ANY PUBLIC COMMENT THAT'S BEEN RECORDED WAS THE WAY THAT IT WAS FRAMED.

THAT IS HOW YOU WILL BE SYNTHESIZING THE, THE, GOT IT.

WELL, WITH, WITH ALL THAT, UM, UH, AS LONG AS MY FELLOW AD HOC COMMITTEE MEMBERS ARE IN ALIGNMENT, AND IF NOT COMPLETELY FINE, UM, WE CAN HAVE THE DISCUSSION.

UM, I WOULD RECOMMEND THAT WE CLOSE THIS AD HOC, UH, COMMITTEE GIVEN THAT WE DELIVERED THE OBJECTIVE TODAY IN, IN, IN QUITE A SUCCESSFUL ROBUST, UH, PRESENTATION.

AND THEN, UM, YEAH, WE CAN, THAT'S MY RECOMMENDATION.

BUT I DO WANNA CHECK IN WITH MY FELLOW AD HO COMMITTEES.

DOES THAT WORK WITH WHEN MAKE A THUMBS UP, THUMBS UP.

SO THAT IT IS, IT IS A FORMAL RECOMMENDATION TO THIS BODY, UH, TO CONSIDER.

I JUST WANNA SAY, IF YOU HAVE NOTES, FEEL FREE TO SEND THEM TO STAFF TO MYSELF, MEGAN, ALWAYS KEEP THOSE NOTES FOR YOU.

AND THEN JUST TO CLARIFY, SO WHAT, UM, COMMISSIONER LAR CAN DO IS SAY THAT HE'S MAKING A FRIENDLY AMENDMENT TO THE MOTION, UM, TO CLOSE THE AD HOC COMMITTEE.

RIGHT.

AND SO, FOR THE RECORD, I'LL REPEAT THAT WITH THAT FRAMING.

I, UM, I RECOMMEND FOR THE MOTION ITEM, I'M ON THE FLOOR TO, UH, ADOPT A FRIENDLY IF BOTH THE PERSON WHO PUT IT ON THE FLOOR AND SECONDED, AGREE TO CLOSE THIS.

COMMISSIONER MO THUMBS UP FROM COMMISSIONER MONTGOMERY, WHO'S THE, WHO SECONDED IT.

IT.

SO DO YOU ACCEPT AS WELL? ALRIGHT, THANK YOU.

UM, AND SO WE'VE, UH, HAVE THIS MOTION, WE HAVE ONE MORE, UH, PROPOSAL, WHICH I'LL PASS TO COMMISSIONER ESTES TO SHARE.

ALL RIGHT.

SO, UM, THIS IGA THIS IDEA CAME TO ME THROUGH MY INVOLVEMENT WITH DIFFERENT

[02:25:01]

NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS.

AND FROM HEARING OUR COMMISSION AND CITY COUNCIL BEGIN MEETINGS WITH A LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT, IT MADE ME ASK, BEYOND ACKNOWLEDGING THE LAND, WHAT IS OUR CITY DOING TO BUILD A MEANINGFUL RELATIONSHIP WITH THE TONGVA AND OTHER INDIGENOUS NATIONS? THROUGH MY RESEARCH, I LEARNED THAT IN 2023, THE CITY CONSIDERED CREATING A INDIGENOUS PEOPLE'S COMMISSION.

BUT THOSE DISCUSSIONS DOES, THOSE DISCUSSIONS EVENTUALLY FALL UNDER OUR EQUITY AND HUMAN RELATIONS COMMISSION.

SINCE THEN, HOWEVER, IT APPEARS THAT THERE'S BEEN LITTLE MOVEMENT SPECIFICALLY FOCUSED ON INDIGENOUS REPRESENTATION AND ENGAGEMENT.

I WOULD LIKE TO PROPOSE THAT WE BEGIN BUILDING, EXCUSE ME, BUILDING A RESPECTFUL AND ONGOING RELATIONSHIP WITH THE TONGVA REPRESENTATIVES.

WE COULD START BY INVITING THEM TO OUR COMMISSION, LISTENING TO THEIR PRIORITIES, AND IDENTIFYING OPPORTUNITIES FOR GENUINE COLLABORATION, EDUCATION, AND INCLUSION.

I WOULD APPRECIATE THE COMMISSION SUPPORT IN EXPLORING APPROPRIATE NEXT STEP, NEXT STEPS OR CREATING AN AD HOC.

AND SO I BELIEVE, UM, THAT THE, UH, MOTION YOU CAN MAKE, YOU CAN SAY THAT YOU MOTION TO MAKE A FRIENDLY AMENDMENT TO THE MOTION TO CREATE AN AD HOC AND YOU CAN DESCRIBE THE MOTION.

HEY, COMMISSIONER FLORES.

UM, UNLESS THERE'S DISCUSSION FOLKS WANT TO HAVE, I'M VERY EXCITED THAT IN YOUR SECOND MEETING YOU'RE TRYING, YOU'RE MOVING TO MAKE AN AD HOC.

THE LAST PERSON DID THAT WAS, I THINK ME SO VERY EXCITING.

UM, I, I'LL JUST SAY REALLY QUICKLY, YOU KNOW, I, UM, COMMISSIONER S HAS PUT AN INCREDIBLE AMOUNT OF WORK, UM, REALLY TRYING TO BUILD OUT WHAT A, UH, INDIGENOUS RELATIONS COM, UH, AD HOC COMMITTEE COULD LOOK LIKE, AND HAS ACTUALLY, UH, CREATED KIND OF A PLAN OF ACTION OF, UH, IMMEDIATE CONTACTS THAT COULD BE MADE RESEARCH THAT COULD BE DONE TO DO THIS.

AND, YOU KNOW, THE, THE WORK OF NOT JUST DOING AN ACKNOWLEDGEMENT IN THE BEGINNING, BUT ACTUALLY ENGAGING IN, UM, ACTUAL DIALOGUE.

THAT'S, THAT'S THE NEXT STEP BEYOND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT.

UM, AND SO I THINK WHAT WE'LL NEED TO DO IS YOU CAN MAKE THE, UM, FRIENDLY AMENDMENT AND THEN WE'LL NEED TO SEE WHAT COMMISSIONERS WOULD BE INTERESTED IN JOINING THAT AD HOC.

UM, AND IF WE GET AT LEAST ONE OTHER, UH, THAT IT'S ELIGIBLE TO BE FORMED.

SO, UM, ARE YOU MAKING THAT AS AN OFFICIAL FRIENDLY AMENDMENT? YES.

EXCELLENT.

UM, ANY AD HOC MEMBERS YOU ACCEPT? OKAY.

AND THEN, UH, SEMI WHILE ACCEPTS WHO WOULD LIKE TO JOIN THAT AD HOC? COMMISSIONER BROWN.

ALRIGHT, WE HAVE OUR, UH, BRAND NEW THANK YOU COMMISSIONER ESTES FOR YOUR VERY FIRST AD HOC COMMITTEE.

I'M EXCITED FOR WHERE THIS GOES.

UM, WITH THAT, UH, WE HAVE, UM, ONE AD HOC, UH, FRIENDLY AMENDMENT TO CLOSE ONE NEW AD HOC TO FORM.

I'LL PASS TO CLERK FOR THE VOTE AND CHAIR, JUST TO CLARIFY, WHAT IS THE NAME OF THIS AD HOC? UH, ANYBODY HAVE ANY IDEAS? , YOU SHOULD PROBABLY CHANGE, RECOMMEND A CHANGE OUR SORT OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLE'S ENGAGEMENT.

YEAH, INDIGENOUS ENGAGEMENT.

GREAT.

COMMISSIONER CASTER VOTE.

UH, INDIGENOUS ENGAGEMENT AD HOC COMMITTEE.

AND THEN CHAIR, DID YOU WANT TO TAKE PUBLIC COMMENT ON THIS ITEM? UM, YEAH, LET'S, WE'LL JUST TAKE PUBLIC COMMENT.

SO AT THIS TIME, IF ANY MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC WOULD LIKE TO SPEAK ON THIS ITEM, PLEASE APPROACH THE PODIUM OR RAISE YOUR HAND IN THE ZOOM MEETING.

AND THERE ARE NO PUBLIC COMMENTS FOR THIS ITEM CHAIR.

ALL RIGHT, WE'LL MOVE TO VOTE.

COMMISSIONER DOCKERY AND COMMISSIONER ESTES.

I SAW ME, BUT YES.

THANK YOU, CITY CLERK.

UM, WITH THAT, THAT CONCLUDE, THAT CONCLUDES THAT PORTION OF THE AGENDA.

WE ARE NOW GOING TO MOVE TO ANNOUNCEMENTS.

UH, WE ARE, OH, NO, SORRY.

UM, WE'RE GONNA TAKE NON AGENDA, PUBLIC COMMENT FIRST, IF ANY MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC HAVE NON AGENDA COMMENT, UM, CLERK, PLEASE CALL IF ANY MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC WOULD LIKE TO SPEAK ON SITE AND PLEASE APPROACH THE PODIUM OR RAISE YOUR HAND IN THE ZOOM MEETING AND SEEING NONE.

CHAIR, THAT CONCLUDES PUBLIC COMM.

ALL RIGHT, COMMISSIONERS,

[PUBLIC COMMENT Opportunity to address the Equity and Human Relations Commission on non-agenda items. Each speaker is limited to three minutes to make their comments unless extended by the Chair.]

UH, HOME STRETCH HERE.

WE ARE GONNA OPEN UP FOR ANNOUNCEMENTS FOR ANYBODY.

GO AHEAD AND QUEUE UP TO MUTE.

GO AHEAD.

UH, I DON'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT YOU.

HI EVERYBODY.

UH, I'LL KEEP IT BRIEF.

FIRST OF ALL, WELCOME JT AS OUR, UH, AS OUR CLERK.

[02:30:01]

I JUST WANTED TO SAY WELCOME.

YOU HAVE, UH, THE SAME NAME AS MY SON.

UM, ON, UH, UH, SEPTEMBER 28TH.

UH, YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE OTHER THINGS THAT THEY WERE LOOKING AT, UH, TO REDUCE BUDGET,

[ANNOUNCEMENTS]

YOU HEARD ABOUT THE LIBRARY.

YOU HEARD ABOUT THE PHEN.

YOU DIDN'T REAL, YOU DIDN'T MAYBE KNOW THAT THEY'RE TRYING TO CLOSE THE NATURE CENTER AT EL DORADO PARK ON TUESDAYS.

YEAH, YOU DIDN'T HEAR ABOUT THAT.

'CAUSE I DON'T KNOW ABOUT A UNION, BUT, UH, UM, SOWING THE SEEDS, PARTNERS OF PARKS HAS A FUNDRAISER ON SEPTEMBER 28TH.

UH, AT THE NATURE CENTER.

UH, UH, TICKETS ARE AVAILABLE ONLINE.

UH, THEY WILL BE HONORING, UH, JEFF KING, WHO IS, UH, THE PARDONS OF PARKS PASS, PRESIDENT MEGAN KERR, OUR FIFTH COUNCIL, UH, FIFTH DISTRICT COUNCILWOMAN AND BRENT DENNIS, UH, WILL ALSO, UH, BE HONORED.

UM, HE'S OUR, UH, PREVIOUS, UH, LONG BEACH PARKS AND REC DIRECTOR.

UH, THERE'LL BE, UH, AUCTIONS.

I THINK THERE'LL BE A RAFFLE, UH, FOOD.

UM, AND IT'S JUST A REALLY, REALLY GREAT, UH, FUNDRAISER AT THE NATURE CENTER.

UH, UM, AND, UH, I'D LOVE TO ALL TO, UH, TO COME AND JOIN ME THERE.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS? NO.