murals for motivation at gulf avenue elementary

Avalon Continuation High School and Sharefest have partnered up again, this time with the generous help of the State Farm Youth Advisory Board, in order to provide “Murals for Motivation.” This year’s art project is aimed towards elementary and middle schools across the South Bay. Avalon students, and Sharefest Interim Program Director George Wing, have partnered up with a local artist to provide murals for select schools in Wilmington. Last week I was able to catch up with Gulf Avenue Elementary principal David Kooper in anticipation of the mural being provided to his school this week. Principal Kooper is extremely excited to have Sharefest come to his campus in order to provide some much needed color to the walls of his school. The following excerpts come from an interview I held with the principal as he showed me around the Gulf Avenue campus, and pointed out to me the benefits that will be brought to Gulf from having Avalon students come in and create.

Principal David Kooper in front of the bungalows that will soon be transformed through Murals for Motivation.Rosie Parra (RP): Hello Principal Kooper! Thank you for meeting with me. Right off the bat, do you have a particular vision for the mural Sharefest will be providing?

David Kooper (DK): Most likely the mural that we’re going to be doing is bungalows 31 & 32, which we’re going to convert into a library, so the mural I’m hoping to receive will have something to do with literacy.

RP: Oh that would be nice; do you want it to have something to do with your school’s mascot, the eagle?

DK: The wall’s a very public wall; it goes across two different classrooms. Parents across our school see it at least twice a day. Because it’s such a prominent wall, I wanted to make sure that it is clean, expresses a point of view, and has something to do with Gulf itself – whether that is in relation to the ocean, a relation to eagles or birds, or a relation to literacy, which is what we’re about here – reading and writing. If we could find a way to create everything, that would be perfect.  To be honest, the school’s a blank canvas. We have a lot of clean walls, but  I want something that kids can identify with and  of, and that will curb graffiti – and I want something in which we, parents, students, teachers, and the neighborhood in general, can find a source of pride.

RP: Do you think that it will definitely boost school spirit?

DK: Absolutely. You can’t help but have spirit, and it’s been proven that when schools have murals, those schools don’t’ get tagged. The kids take ownership, the parents take ownership, and they protect it. I’ve worked very closely with GAP and the city of LA to make sure that we eradicate all graffiti problems in the school and the area that surrounds us outside.

RP: Yeah I definitely didn’t see any kids writing on the walls on my way in.

DK: Exactly. Good things are happening in this school and these murals will help the school and the community surrounding it continue to celebrate the school’s success – academically and community wise.

And the school definitely has plenty to celebrate. It is in the heart of Wilmington, in a residential area that has huge pockets of affordable housing. While people outside of the community usually think of these areas as havens of crime, the Gulf Avenue community – the area surrounding the school – has worked hard to shift the attitudes toward the school’s success and presence.  

Just five years ago, schools like Gulf had API (Academic Performance Index) scores in the 500s – which according to the Department of Education is below basic performance. Gulf now has a score of 805 (a score of 800 is proficient). This is evidence of tremendous academic growth, and Principal Kooper attributes that to the work of Gulf’s previous principal, Nora Armenta, and the continuing work of students, teachers, and parents.

Avalon students will also be able to take pride in their community involvement. Wilmington residents are certainly passionate when it comes to our town, so ideally Sharefest’s mural – and positive involvement from Avalon students – will provide the Gulf Avenue community, and the Wilmington community as a whole, with the proverbial cherry atop their sundae of success.

For a closer look at State Farm’s Youth Advisory Board projects, click here.

Written by Rosie Parra//YDA tutor

state farm presents sharefest with $25,000 towards our programming at avalon high school

Today, at Avalon High School, we celebrated the generous donation of State Farm's Youth Advisory Board towards our after school programming at Avalon High, specifically towards the Murals for Motivation project.  We will be sending out teams of students from Avalon High School to complete 12 murals at local LAUSD schools in the area.  This collaborative effort was mentioned in the Daily Breeze today.

The check was presented by State Farm Representatives Frank Leon and Priscilla Orozco, who have each made additional visits to Avalon High to invest in the students on many different levels.  Many individuals from LAUSD came out to show gratitude, including Board Member Vladovic's Chief of Staff Jacob Haik, Gulf Avenue Elementary Principal David Kooper, and the Wilmington Area High School Director Veronica Aragon.  Lupe Lopez, the honorary Wilmington Mayor and Rebekah Kim from Supervisor Don Knabe's office also came out to vocalize their appreciation and show support for what we are doing in the area.  

It was great to hear from several of our VIPs, as they not only expressed their gratitude for what Sharefest has done over the years, but as they ebcouraged the students to go and and make a difference. State Farm's Frank Leon challenged the kids to keep pursuing their dreams and to be intentional about giving back to the community. 

It was a great morning, and we are blessed by the support and enthusiasm.  Thank you to all who continue to invest in us so we can continue to do the work we do.  View our photos on Flickr.

Make it Possible. State Farm Representative Frank Leon

State Farm Agent Frank Leon and his staff showed up at Avalon Continuation High School this week with arm loads of pizza and big smiles on their faces as they prepared to give their Make it Possible presentation. Make it Possible is a program that brings its name to life. Through this unique program, State Farm® Bank and local State Farm agents are making it possible for people realize their dreams.

They host workshops on a number of topics:  One topic is adequately titled “A Slice of L.I.F.E.™”. L.I.F.E. stands for Lessons In Financial Education. The icon of the pizza is a way to engage young adults and educate them on the different “slices” of financial subjects that can help them create a successful financial life. Frank’s presentation covered topics from budgeting, making financial goals, looking out for credit traps, the importance of credit, and investing for the future. Students were excited to learn about banking and the possibilities for how it can positively affect their future. They all received small red piggy banks as encouragement to save and invest in their futures. The message behind the banks was

Start Simple – Start saving as young as you can, with whatever you can, even if you are simply setting aside pocket change. – Just do it.

The second aspect of Frank’s presentation “Your First Car” helped students navigate the process of purchasing their first car beginning with finding the right car and ending with, how to finance it.

This was Frank’s second visit as a presenter to Avalon. On his first visit, he came as a guest speaker and encouraged the student’s to find a mission, cause, or goal in life that they were so passionate about, they’d be willing to die for it.  He used personal stories to add a comedic emphasis to his messages. He encouraged all students to look for the opportunities around them to finish High School and to go to college. He stressed the importance of education, goal setting, hard work and family. These were the pillars upon which Frank has built his life and through bumps in the road as a youth, marriage, children and a life altering surgery, Frank definitely considers himself a success and a role model for those who are looking for a way to succeed.

Sharefest and the faculty at Avalon Continuation High School are extremely grateful for State Farm’s commitment to educating today’s youth to be tomorrow’s leaders. Agents like Frank Leon are shining examples to our young adults that not only can they be successful, because they have now been given the tools, it is expected of them.  This was a very unique opportunity for a high school, a non-profit organization and a business with a local presence to collaborate for the benefit of educating and empowering young people and Sharefest is grateful for each entity’s investment.

Like A Good Neighbor...

Avalon Continuation High School experienced one of its most dynamic speakers yet, when it was visited by Ms. Priscilla Orozco, Public Affairs Specialist for State Farm Insurance.  Ms. Orozco came at my request to offer insight to the Teen Skills course on future possibilities and the importance of higher education. She began her talk with a brief history of her own career path, including that before beginning her career in insurance, she was headed toward a future of Law Enforcement, pursuing it as far as interviewing for the FBI. She admitted to the kids that her career path changed when during an obstacle course at the Police Department, she couldn’t make it over the 6 ft. wall. (Don’t worry Priscilla, we have all had our share of 6 ft. walls that have steered us into different directions, in our careers as well as our personal lives!)

After warming the extremely attentive class up with stories of her career pursuits, Priscilla took the class down a more personal road, explaining the role education, family and beauty pageants have played  in making her the phenomenal woman she is today . Priscilla was born and raised in Sacramento, California. She is the youngest of seven kids and the first to attend college. While that is a notable accomplishment, her road to higher education was a little rough. In elementary school, Priscilla had some behavior issues and had to transfer to a continuation school herself in order to get her grades on track. Before she left, her principal told her that she would never amount to anything. She was only in the sixth grade. At that point, Priscilla decided to change her attitude about her altitude. She decided that the fulfillment of her potential was up to her and that her future would not be determined by anyone else. The interesting part is that when she began to make good grades, it was rare that she was encouraged by her High School teachers or counselors to pursue higher education. She and many of her classmates were only being encouraged to seek out labor-intensive jobs or trades despite their extremely high GPA’s.

One place where Priscilla did receive plenty of inspiration to dream and encouragement to go to college was in the world of pageantry. Priscilla competed in the pageantry circuit that eventually lead to the crown jewel of the pageant world, the Miss America pageant. Priscilla learned a lot from competing in pageants. She gained plenty self-confidence, found expression for her love of dancing and won plenty of scholarships to help her pay for college. Priscilla’s family was also extremely supportive during these formative years and she found comfort in their love for her individuality and their cultural attributes that they passed on to her to appreciate.

At the end of her talk, she turned the discussion towards the students, going around the class and asking each student about his or her individual aspirations. Most students said that after graduating from High School, they wanted to go to college. One female student even shared her plan to become an astronaut. A couple of our male students announced that they aspired to marry Priscilla. Their offers were only  good until they found out her annual salary, and that she only obtained it after seventeen years of hard work with State Farm. I think they all decided that they should probably finish college first so that their hand might have a little money in it, before they offer it in marriage; but the complement was well received. Priscilla was able to encourage all of Avalon’s students towards the accomplishment of their dreams, sharing advice from her own experience that “the only person who has the authority to decide your future is you!”  She also offered that “If you finish college and still can’t decide where to work, always remember that, like a good neighbor, State Farm is there!”