About+LEMA

LEMA’s vision is that all of its students will graduate on time prepared to enter college and/or ready to engage in 21st century careers in the entertainment industry, with the 21st century skills needed for success in college or careers in any industry. LEMA has adopted the Community School model, which integrates a wide range of academic, mental and physical wellness, youth development, community empowerment, and social services, to ensure that students are successful. LEMA believes global economies and new technologies are transforming society, and students require 21st century literacies. Therefore, we heavily emphasize computer usage and media production skills in addition to the core academic, legal and financial competencies. Students acquire problem-solving and collaboration skills, and become proficient in composing with images, facile in desktop video editing, graphic design, digital streaming podcasts, and social networking software, because these are the skills that all 21st century companies require. LEMA believes that schools have not kept pace with the needs or with students’ capabilities (extensively practiced outside of school) and must be transformed. The goal is for LEMA students to master 21st century literacy “goals (reading, writing, listening, speaking, critical thinking, habits of mind and technology) and competencies that result in academic success across all college disciplines,” [Academic Literacy – A Statement of Competencies Expected of Students Entering California’s Public Colleges and Universities (Spring, 2002) as defined by the Inter-segmental Committee of the Academic Senate of the California Community Colleges, the California State University and the University of California; D. Conley, Redefining College Readiness; Gates Foundation, 2007].

Students take a rigorous interdisciplinary college preparatory A-G curriculum, so they will become proficient in communication, multimedia and technological skills, and learn the fundamental business, legal and life skills, and practice the habits of mind necessary for academic and career success. In short, LEMA students learn how to learn, and to master the leadership, analytical, career and organizational skills within sequential, standards-based pathway interdisciplinary programs that integrate classroom, laboratory, project and work-based instruction as well as internship, community classroom, work experience, and cooperative career technical education. LEMA has two CTE pathways Law and Entertainment and Media Arts and offers three majors: Law and Leadership; Entertainment/Filmmaking, and Media Arts, with a specialization in videogame design. These build on our students’ strengths (multi-lingual, culturally diverse) and provides them with the 21st century skills they need to obtain and maintain employment stability, with a significant number of well paid entry-level jobs leading to high wages in large, stable or growing industries.

We have just completed our first year of implementation, and it is clear that LEMA’s approved plan is being implemented by a collaborative faculty and distributed leadership, which includes active parent, community, faculty, staff and student components. The fundamentals of LEMA’s plan are research-based, and among the many priorities of our 1st year start-up, data collection and analysis remains a clear focus and an unmet need. The primary goal of LEMA’s 1st year plan was to establish a culture which includes increasing expectations for graduation, establishing an environment where both students and teachers can freely admit they need help to improve, without fear, and focus on literacy competencies, which include numeracy, academic, legal and technology proficiencies, and not settle for “basic” or “passing.” Changing the culture includes a collaborative teaching environment, focused on creating an engaging, yet rigorous, curriculum, which prepares students for college and the workforce, by providing authentic linked learning opportunities, including project-based learning, extended learning opportunities out of the classroom, internships and work experience. We have become a team of committed professionals, who remain committed to achieving success for our students but continue to be hampered by a lack of integrated information and data, presented to teachers when they need it and operationally oriented systems to support personalization and tailoring education for our students.