Green Dot to Open a School for Downtown?
DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES — Earlier this week the Times ran an interview with AEG head Tim Leiweke talking about the company and its big bet on Downtown. It was a good read, but one bit in particular stuck out to me. When asked about LAUSD, Leiweke replied:
I think people can go spend all the money they want on L.A. Unified, but I'm frustrated with L.A. Unified because I can't figure out how anyone's ever going to fix it. So we love Green Dot. We've already made a million-dollar commitment to Green Dot for the charter school that they're going to put on our end of town. I hope L.A. Unified gets worked out, but I worry about L.A. Unified.
One has to assume that "on our end of town" means that AEG is working with Green Dot to place a school in South Park. I emailed Green Dot's PR contact to try and get a statement from them, but did not get a response.
If correct, this would be a great bit of news for Downtown. Education and schools are going to be big issues for Downtown in the next ten years. Green Dot's doing important things for education in LA, and it would be a big plus to have them charter a school to serve South Park. Though the group operates a school Downtown -- Oscar De La Hoya Animo Charter High School, which meets in the World Trade Center -- it does not currently serve Downtown students.
Just a note in the interest of disclosure: My wife Kathy teaches at ODLH. I've previously mentioned their first graduation.
David Kennedy on October 23, 2007, at 03:49PM – #1
This comment is encouraging because it suggests a more expansive view of urbanity. Too often, downtown development is perceived through a very restrictive paradigm. Cities are not just the preserve of hipster urban pioneers, empty nesters, and corporate types. In fact, cities have been home to family life for millenia. Why families should be discouraged from living downtown always puzzles me, since it is in fact quite ammenable to family life. Alas, the hold of the suburban paradigm on the collective imagination is very engrained.
I also like the idea that making downtown more family friendly will lead to other healthy developments like more and better park space. Kudos to Mr. Leiweke.