YEARLONG LEARNING ACROSS LOS ANGELES
Academic Year 2023 – 2024 | 201 LA’s BEST Afterschool Sites
Afterschool Programs Across Los Angeles
During the academic year, LA’s BEST provided enriching afterschool and morning programs in 201 schools across Los Angeles. These programs positively impacted 16,200 students, from neighborhoods spanning San Pedro to Sylmar and Venice to East LA.
Morning Programs in Schools
In 2024, LA’s BEST expanded its reach to include morning programs at 12 elementary schools, serving 200 students each day. Operating from 6:30 AM until the start of the school day, the program provides students with a nutritious breakfast and engaging enrichment activities. LA’s BEST is committed to further expanding its Before School programs in the coming year.
Summer Learning Program
During the summer of 2024, LA’s BEST Summer Learning Program operated at 169 schools, providing 6,800 students with opportunities for growth, creativity, and discovery through dynamic educational and recreational activities.
ENRICHING EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING
Experiential learning has always been at the heart of LA’s BEST, supporting whole-child development by helping students feel safe, build confidence, connect with others, and grow into leaders in their communities.
We are grateful for the strategic partnership of the City of Los Angeles and LAUSD, along with generous support from individuals, foundations, and corporations, all of whom help make these transformative experiences possible.
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Nutrition & Wellness
The BEST Fit Department ensures every LA’s BEST site includes 30 minutes of daily physical activity and that all students take part in at least one nutrition program each year. In the 2023–2024 school year, 328 staff from 186 schools joined physical activity programs, and 386 staff from 152 schools attended nutrition workshops.
BEST Fit offers training on outdoor classroom management, safety, and non-elimination fitness games that focus on teamwork and skill-building. Based on student feedback, water games are added in the summer to keep activities fun and engaging.
Along with physical activity, BEST Fit partners with agencies to provide nutrition and cooking programs like Small Bites, Happy Healthy Me, and A Yummy Curriculum. These hands-on lessons feature simple, healthy recipes, and the department created its own LA’s BEST After School Snacks recipe book.
Together, these programs help students build healthy habits, share them with their families, and enjoy a positive, educational experience.
Seasonal Sports & Dance & Drill
During the 2023–2024 school year, LA’s BEST ran 489 seasonal sports programs across our 201 school sites, featuring Kickball, Flag Football, Basketball, Soccer, and Dance & Drill Team. Many sites hosted multiple sports, with a total of 9,135 student participants throughout the year.
The seasonal sports program is designed to give students and coaches safe, positive, and meaningful experiences through both play and learning. With weekend tournaments and training for coaches, the program helps students build fundamental skills, practice teamwork, and grow as leaders, all while having fun.
Beyond the games, our focus is on whole-child development. Sports become a space for social-emotional learning, community connection, and confidence building. We are committed to continuous improvement, making sure students have a voice in shaping their experience through leadership opportunities, age-appropriate modifications, and celebrations that showcase their growth and participation.
Literacy & Academic Support
The LA’s BEST Young Authors Program, inspired by the work of Alma Flor Ada and F. Isabel Campoy on Transformative Education, empowers students from UTK through 6th grade to discover “the author within.” Along the way, they build self-efficacy, deepen their appreciation for diversity, and develop a sense of agency to help make the world a better place.
The program has been implemented at over 190 LA’s BEST sites, with strong results from post-program surveys:
• 7 out of 10 students said they learned more about themselves.
• Many felt they improved their reading and writing skills in English.
• 75.2% said they enjoyed being part of the program.
Through this experience, students gain confidence as writers and take pride in publishing their own books.
STEM & Digital Learning
Since launching in 2014, the Droids Robotics program has expanded from 8 sites to 18, engaging 208 students this year. Another 32 sites joined robotics trainings, introducing students to coding and programming. Twice-monthly staff meetings support the program’s growth, building skills and a strong sense of teamwork.
Participation continues to grow as staff deepen their robotics skills and support each other, creating a connected and motivated community.
As Caiden Valadez from Latona Elementary shared, “My students who joined the Droids program at first were nervous and didn’t know if they were going to be able to code their robots. A few weeks later, some new students joined our club, and those same students who were once nervous about coding were teaching the new students.”
Arts
This year, 600 students participated in eight visual and performing arts residencies.
The Theatre Phoenix program has reached over 600 students across eight schools through residencies and assemblies focused on theatre and improvisation. Nearly 20 years since its start, the program continues to evolve to meet students’ needs, offering 10-week residencies and assemblies that teach theatre etiquette, improvisation, and creative storytelling.
Theatre Phoenix helps students build confidence, express themselves, and develop life skills like collaboration and problem-solving. Many have formed new friendships and found a positive outlet for self-expression, including one student who called her Theatre class the highlight of her day during a difficult time.
Theatre Phoenix’s long-standing partnership with the LA’s BEST arts program continues to provide a meaningful and transformative experience for students.
WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT
In its first year, the Workforce Development department has made strong progress in improving recruitment, creating staff resources, and building partnerships that support both educational and professional growth. One major milestone was launching the Student Worker programs.
Through this initiative, over 200 high school students from more than 30 LAUSD schools gained real-world work experience by supporting over 40 LA’s BEST sites. Student workers helped with homework, led engagement activities, and supported the safety of afterschool and summer programs.
Alongside its own Part-Time Program Helper position, LA’s BEST partnered with the District’s Office of Transition Services, LAUSD Linked Learning, and the Mayor’s Office Student to Student Program to expand these opportunities.
Staff Development
The Staff Development Department’s team of seven Learning Facilitators provided training to nearly 900 LA’s BEST Program Workers through the 5-day New Staff Orientation (NSO) held from July 2023 to June 2024. Originally in person, NSO shifted online during the pandemic and has since returned to in-person sessions. The training covers LA’s BEST values, program structure, safety procedures, and strategies for creating positive learning environments, along with important topics like self-care, employee burnout, and psychological first aid.
This year’s Professional Development Day (ProDay) at Los Angeles Trade Technical College brought together nearly 1,000 staff members for a full day of learning and growth. Attendees joined more than 35 workshops on STEM programming, classroom management, resume building, mental health awareness, fitness, digital learning, songwriting, social-emotional learning, team building, and resiliency.
Leadership Development
In the 2023–2024 school year, the Leadership Department supported staff at all levels through a robust training program. A total of 87 participants took part in the LA’s BEST in ME Mentor Cohort and Institute.
The team hosted 14 Area Program Supervisor meetings, each training 55 to 70 participants on topics like school openings, threat assessments, and programming. Regional meetings drew strong attendance, including 300 participants at “Breaking the Silence” and three joint sessions.
Four additional regional meetings brought together 70 participants at each location to focus on topics like “The Big Picture” and “Fostering Meaningful Connections.”
Specialized trainings also expanded, with 55 participants in “I Can, You Can, We Can,” 45 in “Developing Little Minds,” and 60 in incident reporting. Summer Huddles reached 300 participants via Zoom.
The department also led organizational growth efforts, offering anti-racism workshops for 47 participants and additional “Breaking the Silence” sessions for 55 departmental staff.
PUBLIC PARTNERSHIPS
Since our founding by Mayor Tom Bradley in 1988, LA’s BEST has built strong partnerships with the City of Los Angeles and the Los Angeles Unified School District, growing from 10 schools to more than 200. Along the way, we have expanded both access and quality in our programs while serving as a leading voice in advocating for afterschool programs for children across the state and country.
This year, LA’s BEST continued working with City and State officials to build support for the next chapter of our work. A major win was the Governor and Legislature’s decision to protect $4 billion in ongoing funding for expanded learning, despite a significant budget deficit, preventing cuts to these critical programs. To support this effort, LA’s BEST brought 12 staff members to Sacramento, joining more than 500 participants.
At the same time, the organization faced a significant cut to City funding due to the budget deficit, affecting salaries, transportation, supplies, and staff training. This challenge has only strengthened our commitment to deepen engagement with the City.
This included President & CEO Michele Broadnax testifying at City Council and a visit from former Council President Paul Krekorian.
