Behind the scenes GIVING BACK
Former Assistant Head of School Lois Levy reports on her work with Bright Star Schools and how CEE is helping to give back to deserving students in the Los Angeles area
Lois Levy
Bright Star Schools is a free, open enrollment non-profit organization that includes eight charter schools for K-12 students in West Adams, Koreatown, and Panorama City. 2,800 Bright Star students experience rigorous academics, inclusive education, social-emotional support, and rich life experiences beyond the classroom. The resources available to Bright Star Schools are extremely limited as it serves many economically-challenged families.
In order to stay connected to education after retiring from 40 memorable years at CEE, I decided to volunteer my time to be on Bright Star’s Board of Trustees. I learned of all that Bright Star was striving to accomplish through a former student, Ari Engelberg ‘83, who was serving as Executive Director of Bright Star Schools. Ari’s description of Bright Star’s mission to educate the whole child reminded me very much of all that CEE strives to accomplish. My hope was that my rich experiences at The Center might be helpful to Bright Star’s Board. Since CEE will soon be tearing down Building B when the new building on Clinton is complete, the school has generously offered to donate Building B’s classroom furniture, office furniture, Smart Boards, and more items to Bright Star. This generous donation is tremendously appreciated as Bright Star is opening new schools with limited budgets. The donated materials will be put to extremely good use in their new classrooms! Thank you, CEE!
TODDLER PROGRAM UPDATE
Historically, CEE’s Toddler Program has consisted of one team of faculty teaching a morning session for the younger children in the grade, and an afternoon session for the older children. While this program has always provided a wonderful experience for children, the school aspires to make the program more accessible to a wider range of families, especially those with dual working parents, since family diversity of all kinds is central to our mission. With that goal in mind, some exciting changes are coming for the 2019-2020 school year. Parents may now choose either a half-day or a full-day option, regardless of where their child falls in the age range of the class. The grade will consist of two separate classrooms running simultaneously, with half-day and full-day children mixed together. Starting in fall 2019, classes will be held in the new Toddler Center (where EC2 classes are now) in Alfred House, just south of the main campus.
