MLA Appoints New Board of Advisors for MLA Partner Schools

With the launch of West Adams Prep and the city's first MLA Partner School, MLA announces the appointment of its esteemed board of advisors headed by Fox Chairman Peter Chernin and Amgen Chairman Kevin Sharer. The council is comprised of Los Angeles-based leaders of corporate America and supports the development and advancement of MLA Partner Schools. Members are:

Peter Chernin Fox Entertainment Group

Ivelisse Estrada Univison

Robert Huizenga, M.D.

Robert Iger Walt Disney Company

Frank McCourt LA Dodgers

Kevin Sharer Amgen

Ron Sugar Northrop Grumman

MLA Announces 2007-2008 Grants for Teacher Innovation and Research

MLA's 2007-2008 Teacher Innovation Grants (TIG) program will provide funding to teachers in the MLA affiliated schools of West Adams Preparatory High School and Manual Arts High School.

The TIG program is intended to promote the intellectual, innovative, and entrepreneurial capacity of teachers. Designed to give each classroom teacher more creativity and individual agency, the grants will provide much needed financial support for the classroom, professional development, and the fostering of project-based curriculum.

Previously funded projects have included a community garden project proposed by a biology teacher seeking to develop an inquiry-based approach to engaging students in the real world applications of scientific principles. In the project, students worked as scientists to investigate the issue of creating sustainable green spaces in urban environments. Students investigated the features of an ecosystem and researched plant biology. Their work culminated in the creation of a community garden located on their school campus and continues to serve as a laboratory for future biology classes.

MLA will conduct mandatory orientations to familiarize and guide applicants through the process of completing an application. Orientations will take place at 4:30 pm on both Thursday, November 1, 2007, and Wednesday, November 7, 2007, at MLA headquarters located at 1035 South Grand Avenue, 2nd Floor, in Los Angeles. In addition, MLA school site staff will be available for consultation.

For more information on the grant program, teachers should contact their school's MLA Associate Director, or Jamila Salisberry at 213.455.1325.

Amgen Foundation Awards Grant to Mentor LA to Help Improve Public High School Education in Los Angeles

Mentor LA (MLA) and the Amgen Foundation announced the launch of a three-year partnership to improve education in South Los Angeles. The Amgen Foundation grant of $4 million over three years will assist MLA in advancing a new model of high performance public schooling, one where the public and private sector work together through a shared leadership structure to create successful high schools. "As one of the largest corporate foundations in Southern California, the Amgen Foundation seeks to improve education in the areas of greatest need in our surrounding communities," said Phyllis J. Piano, vice president of corporate communications and philanthropy at Amgen and Amgen Foundation board member. "We look forward to partnering with Mentor LA to advance their innovative reform program, share their model with the broader community, and help to provide high quality education to the students of South Los Angeles." MLA aims to provide a first-rate education to students and create an infrastructure that supports and breeds innovation. Central to MLA's current approach is the idea of a "hybrid model of shared leadership" in which the private sector (MLA and industry partners) and the public sector (Los Angeles Unified School District [LAUSD]) work as strategic partners to run the operations of a school. West Adams Preparatory High School represents MLA's pioneering approach to school reform, and a major investment by the Amgen Foundation in leveraging dramatic change in our public schools.