Los Angeles Unified and Junior Achievement Launch Career-Readiness Initiative at Crenshaw STEMM Magnet High School

• Students will build academic, leadership and entrepreneurial skills
• Program will be the first of its kind to open in California

LOS ANGELES (May 5, 2021) – Superintendent Austin Beutner today announced a partnership between Los Angeles Unified and Junior Achievement of SoCal to launch a new approach to career education supported by 3DE (Three Dimensional Education) this coming school year at Crenshaw High STEMM Magnet. Students will engage with business professionals and work on real world case studies to help them prepare for 21st century careers.

Beginning in their freshman year, students in the Crenshaw program participate in “case challenges” centered around businesses like Delta Airlines and NBCUniversal. As seniors, the students will have the opportunity for semester-long internships to help them gain experience in the workplace.

“This effort combines a collaborative team of teachers with real world experiences students will study and mentorship from experienced business professionals,” Superintendent Beutner said. “We’ve seen great results from this approach in other parts of the country. I know the team at Crenshaw will create something truly special for students.”

3DE and Junior Achievement opened the first of these efforts in Georgia in August 2015, and will be expanding to 28 schools this year, with Crenshaw being the first school in California to be part of the initiative. Each school in this program has demonstrated marked increases in student engagement and academic outcomes and higher graduation rates.

“This is a tremendous opportunity for our students to enhance their learning experience in and out of the classroom,” Los Angeles Board Member Dr. George J. McKenna III said. “Growing the points of exposure to new things can only maximize our students post-secondary options.”

Credit: LAUSD Local District West

“3DE’s bold approach is designed to catalyze change in a way that not only affects individual students, but impacts the entire education system to significantly drive economic opportunity and economic mobility within our community.” said Dr. Les McCabe, President and CEO, Junior Achievement of SoCal. “Working in partnership with Los Angeles Unified and Crenshaw High School has allowed us to bring this exciting new approach for the first time to the Greater Los Angeles region.”

Los Angeles Unified and Crenshaw school leaders have worked closely with 3DE and Junior Achievement for the past year and a half to prepare for the launch of the initiative in the 2021-22 school year.

“The partnership with Junior Achievement, 3DE and Crenshaw High School has major possibilities for our students and uplifts the community,” Local District West Superintendent Dr. Adaina Brown said. “It not only creates the necessary connection between what students are learning in the classroom with real world experiences but it also gives our students a tangible future with hopes and dreams that are now within reach. The door of possibility has been opened for our high school students and Local District West is so excited to be a part of this amazing journey.”

Credit: LAUSD Local District West

Maynard Brown, a teacher at Crenshaw and a member of the Junior Achievement of SoCal board, called 3DE “innovative, transformational and game-changing.”

“This real world approach is the most innovative instructional model in a generation,” he said. “It’s transformational in moving the culture and mindset of our students and is a game changer in preparing them to be competitive in the workplace of the 21st century.”

Akil West, a 1992 graduate of Crenshaw High who is now CEO of Sole Folks, said this effort will provide students with essential real-life skills for success.

“As an alumni of Crenshaw High School, I remember being supported with the fundamentals of how to get a job and work for someone else,” he said. “I always had the ingenuity and courage to start my own business but never had the tools or community examples. I’m excited for the endless possibilities this partnership will bring to a young person, in the light of entrepreneurship and positive reinforcement.”

For more information, please visit apply.lausd.net, and search for Crenshaw High or visit Crenshaw High School STEMM Magnet.

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