Our Mission

The Los Angeles Fund for Public Education is a philanthropic organization dedicated to driving positive change in the Los Angeles Unified School District.  The LA Fund invests in innovative, results-oriented programs designed to ensure every student in the nation’s second largest school system has a chance to succeed.

Our History

LAUSD Superintendent John Deasy and philanthropist Megan Chernin formed the Los Angeles Fund for Public Education in 2011 with a simple goal: support ideas that can make a dramatic and direct impact on kids’ lives and make sure those ideas have the support to be permanent. An independent 501C3 charitable organization, the LA Fund brings private, philanthropic dollars to support the needs of students, teachers and families in the Los Angeles Unified School District. We work with collaboratively with District leadership, donors and school stakeholders to identify innovative “game-changing” programs for students across Los Angeles.

What We Do

We’re making investments that have a direct impact of the lives of LAUSD students.  In just 16 months we’ve:

      • Helped LAUSD re-invent school breakfast by launching “Food for Thought.”  With the District and a coalition of nine nonprofit partners, we figured out how to double the number of students who start their day with a healthy breakfast by changing to a breakfast in the classroom model.  To address the childhood obesity epidemic, we’re launching a wellness campaign that helps students build a lifetime of healthy habits.
      • Inspired 7,000 students to stop bullying in schools.  The LA Fund brought together students from 49 different LAUSD schools for the largest gathering of youth against bullying in California.  The LA Fund will also provide anti-bullying grants to further support schools in their transformation.
      • Established 2 exemplar blended learning programs that integrate online curriculum with traditional teacher-led classroom instruction.  We’re creating new instructional models to support LAUSD in its bold initiative to cross the digital divide for every student through the use of tablet computers.

 

Each day LAUSD serves nearly 1 million students from Pre-K to adult, nearly 80% of whom live in circumstances of poverty. With over 1,000 school sites spread over a 710 square mile attendance area, few public agencies in the world impact so many lives.  The LA Fund works with LAUSD to garner philanthropic support across a wide spectrum of opportunities that directly impact students.  Together, we can ensure that Los Angeles youth have the resources they need to succeed.