UNIVERSITY-ASSISTED. Public universities have a moral obligation to promote educational equity and excellence through engaged scholarship in K-12 public schools. As a university-assisted school, Los Ositos will embody UCLA’s commitment to equity and excellence in education. Founded in the 1860s as a land grant institution, the University of California has more than 150 years of experience serving the state’s public. Through its active involvement in public school partnerships, the university has strengthened the expertise of teachers and the academic achievement of students in communities throughout California. “Lab schools” such as UCLA’s Xxxxxxx X. Xxxxx University Elementary School—founded in 1882 and named after a student of Xxxx Xxxxx’x—have served as important sites of research, teaching, and service. Now, more than a century later, research universities across the nation are creating a new generation of K-12 schools. Seeking to redefine their commitment to public service, these campuses are developing novel ways of engaging with schools. Within the University of California, university-assisted schools have been established by three campuses: San Diego, Berkeley, and Xxxxx. Xxxxxx School UCSD has consistently been ranked as one of the top public high schools in San Diego County. For three consecutive years, 100% of Preuss graduates have gone on to attend college (with most attending four-year universities). Berkeley established its school, the California College Preparatory Academy or CAL Prep in 2005 within the Oakland Unified School District and will graduate its first cohort in 2011. UC Xxxxx is about to launch its school, West Sacramento Early College Preparatory, this fall within the Washington Unified School District. The “Los Ositos” team at UCLA has participated with these campuses in developing the UC-Network of University-Assisted Schools to further support such ventures throughout the state and nation. These UC-assisted schools are part of a larger national trend. Building on the legacy of its historic Laboratory School—founded by Xxxx Xxxxx in 1896—the University of Chicago recently created a set of three charter schools to serve low-income students of color on Chicago’s south side. The University of Pennsylvania’s “Xxxx Xxxxxxxxx” K-8 public school is another example of a major research university’s significant and long- term commitment to public school improvement through engaged scholarship. Stanford University has also established a charter school, East P...
