The 5 Pillars Of The Partnership For Los Angeles Schools' 2025-2030 Strategic Plan: A Deep Dive Into LA's Educational Revolution

Contents

The Partnership for Los Angeles Schools (PLAS), one of the largest in-district public school transformation organizations in the United States, is currently driving a massive educational overhaul for the 2025-2026 school year and beyond. Launched in 2007, the independent non-profit works directly within the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) to manage 20 historically underserved schools, serving over 13,500 students in some of the city's most critical communities. The organization’s foundational mission is to transform schools to revolutionize school systems, ensuring all students are empowered with a high-quality education.

As of late 2025, the focus is squarely on the recently unveiled 2025-2030 Strategic Plan, a roadmap designed to dramatically accelerate academic gains and prepare students for a rapidly changing world. This new plan, rooted deeply in principles of equity and student voice, is the organization’s response to the extraordinary challenges and opportunities facing urban education today, aiming for a long-term vision where every Partnership student thrives by 2040.

The Partnership for Los Angeles Schools: A Profile of Transformation and Leadership

The Partnership for Los Angeles Schools operates as a unique, in-district model, allowing it to leverage the resources of LAUSD while maintaining the agility of a non-profit. This structure enables PLAS to implement innovative programs, develop new curricula, and advocate for equitable funding and staffing across its network of schools.

Key Organizational Profile and Leadership

  • Organization Name: The Partnership for Los Angeles Schools (PLAS)
  • Founding Year: 2007, launched by then-Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.
  • Scope: Manages 20 LA Unified schools (elementary, middle, and high school levels).
  • Student Population: Serves over 13,500 students. The student body is predominantly Latino (approximately 88%) and African-American (around 10%).
  • Communities Served: Boyle Heights, South LA, and Watts.
  • Current CEO: Guadalupe Guerrero. Appointed after Joan Sullivan Anane stepped down in late 2023, Guerrero is leading the organization through its current strategic period.
  • Key Leadership Team: Includes Ian Guidera (Chief Academic Officer) and Dominique Morris (Chief People and Operations Officer).
  • Collective Impact (as of 2025): Over $110 million invested, 160+ Teacher Leaders developed, and 11,600+ Parents & Families empowered through various programs.

The 2025-2030 Strategic Plan: Charting the Future of LA Education

The current strategic period is defined by the ambitious 2025-2030 Strategic Plan, which is designed to close the academic achievement gap and ensure "real-world readiness" for all students. This plan moves beyond traditional metrics, focusing on holistic development and community empowerment.

The Five Core Pillars of the New Strategy

The Strategic Plan is built on five interconnected pillars that address the multifaceted challenges faced by historically underserved school communities. The focus is on deep, lasting investments in the entire school ecosystem, from the classroom to the family unit.

  1. Culturally Responsive Teaching and High-Quality Instruction: This pillar emphasizes the need for instructional practices that affirm students' cultural identities and lived experiences. It involves intensive professional development for teachers and school leaders to ensure high-quality, rigorous curriculum delivery that is relevant to the student population (predominantly Latino and African-American students).
  2. Revolutionizing School Systems: PLAS continues its original mission of proving that systemic change is possible within a large district like LAUSD. This includes advocating for equitable funding, streamlining administrative processes, and creating scalable solutions that can be adopted across the district.
  3. Building Capacity of School Communities: This involves empowering key stakeholders—principals, teachers, and parents—with the tools and knowledge to drive change. Programs are designed to develop and strengthen expertise, ensuring that leadership is strong at every level of the organization.
  4. Student Voice and Agency: A central tenet of the 2025-2030 plan is elevating the student experience. Initiatives are being launched to create schools that cultivate joy and confidence, ensuring that students have a genuine say in their educational environment and pathways.
  5. Real-World Readiness and College Access: This pillar ensures that academic success translates directly into future opportunity. It focuses on expanding programs like the STEM Scholars Program, which provides intensive academic enrichment and experiential learning, and the development of career pathways that align with high-demand fields in the Los Angeles economy.

Impact on Underserved Communities: Watts, Boyle Heights, and South LA

The Partnership's work is concentrated in three of Los Angeles's most historically underserved neighborhoods: Watts, Boyle Heights, and South LA. These communities have historically faced systemic disinvestment, and the Partnership's 20 schools serve as critical hubs for change, connecting education with broader community development.

Community-Centric Programs Driving Change

The success of the Partnership model relies heavily on deep collaboration with families and community partners. The organization mobilizes hundreds of community partners to provide a comprehensive network of support services, including social-emotional resources, academic workshops, and parenting programs.

  • Parent College: This signature program is a cornerstone of family engagement, offering workshops and resources to empower parents to become active, effective advocates for their children's education. This initiative recognizes that a student's success is inextricably linked to the capacity of their family and community.
  • STEM Scholars Program: Expanded significantly during the 2024-2025 school year, this program provides targeted support for students interested in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math. The focus is on experiential learning and mentorship to increase Latinx and African-American representation in STEM fields.
  • Lundquist Fellows: The Partnership also invests in developing future leaders through programs like the Lundquist Fellows, which focuses on building the capacity of school leaders and educators within the network.

The collective impact of these efforts is evident in the academic performance. Partnership schools have celebrated significant gains in academic achievement across all levels—elementary, middle, and high school—demonstrating a proven model for closing the academic achievement gap in urban settings.

Future Outlook: A 2040 Vision for Equity

With the Guadalupe Guerrero-led organization fully engaged in the 2025-2030 Strategic Plan, the trajectory for The Partnership for Los Angeles Schools is focused on sustainable, scalable solutions. The long-term vision to 2040 is not just about test scores, but about creating school environments that are joyful, equitable, and capable of building the confidence, knowledge, and skills necessary for every student to thrive. The continued collaboration with LAUSD and the deep investment in Culturally Responsive Teaching and Parent College programs ensure that the Partnership remains at the forefront of educational reform in Los Angeles.

The 5 Pillars of The Partnership for Los Angeles Schools' 2025-2030 Strategic Plan: A Deep Dive into LA's Educational Revolution
los angeles partnership schools
los angeles partnership schools

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