January 24, 2012
Honorable Monica Garcia, President
Los Angeles Unified School District Board of Education
333 South Beaudry Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90017
Subject: Support for Abram Friedman Occupational Center
Dear Board President Monica Garcia:
As a social services community partner and a Los Angeles Unified School District K-12 alumnus, I extend this correspondence as a letter of support for the Abram Friedman Occupational Center (AFOC) in their position to remain budget worthy. Mainly because of the fact that there remain questionable standards in relationship to what constitutes the right time for a person to fully grasp personal education, as recognized studies report how a significant number of people have an intrinsic disposition to complete formal education later rather than early in life.
The AFOC has proven its value to deliver instructive skills to an adult population in order for them to rightfully earn high school credits, and/or garner career ready skills. As most children are blessed to get it early, there are those who require secondary support, whereas an urbane civilization such as ours should consistently conduct itself in a manner that offers open opportunities that assist those mature persons, through education, to establish their unassailable right to contribute value back to society.
At present, the cohesive vision for helping people in the greater Los Angeles region emanates from the spirit and intent of the federal Workforce Investment Act, which still gives legislative guidance on the importance of collaborating to provide more efficiently and effectively essential resources throughout the community. We operate a nonprofit group, the POWER Collaborative Network, which would very much miss the AFOC work load from the social services landscape should it go away, whereas they truly make a critical difference in helping our most vulnerable segment of the Los Angeles populace, adults in need.
In view of that, we are encouraged that the Los Angeles Unified School District Board of Education will fully exercise all of its resources to ensure that adults, like children, have full access to proficient learning processes in the downtown section of Los Angeles. The best practices to have an accessible, low cost, quality education and job training center must be viable for all residents to improve their economic and educational situation.
Respectfully submitted,
Dean L. Jones, C.P.M.
CEO
Cc: Southland Partnership Board of Director Members