Altadena Town Council's Education Committee Serves
Their mission is clear: The Altadena Town Council Education Committee is committed to strengthening our Pasadena Unified School District schools through encouraging enrollment in our PUSD public schools that exist within Altadena. The committee also encourages public conversations about our public schools and their role in our democracy through regular town halls.

Says Altadena Town Council Member and Committee Chair, Jennifer Hall Lee, "Public schools are an important part of our democracy, they are a public good.  These are difficult times for public schools and I think it is imperative that we support our pubic schools in any way we can, starting with the most important: Enrolling our children in public schools."
Recent Town Hall gathering at the Altadena Community Center
Also serving on the Committee are LeighAnn Samuel and Billy Malone. They have held two well-attended education Town Hall meetings in Altadena, which included Principals Benita Scheckel (Altadena Elementary), Merian Stewart (Frankly Elementary) and Lori Touloumian (Eliot Arts Magnet Academy Middle School) who are all passionate about the Altadena schools they lead.

Watch for more information about upcoming events hosted by the Education Committee, which will include another Town Hall meeting in August.
Public schools are not merely schools for the public, but schools for publicness: Institutions where we learn what it means to be a public and start down the road toward common national and civic identity.
Benjamin Barber, political scientist
The Vision | The children of Pasadena, Altadena and Sierra Madre all grow up in a safe, stable,
                        and supportive environment that prepares them for success in school and in life.
Celebrate Black History Month
Celebrate Black History 2018 in Pasadena by attending the parade and other special events, lectures and activities, now through Sunday, March 18, 2018. The City of Pasadena and volunteer Black History Parade and Festival Planning Committee presents a full schedule of events in celebration of the achievements by Black Americans and in recognition of African-Americans in US History.

Pasadena proudly hosts one one of the largest Black History Month parades in the US, set for 10 a.m. – 4 p.m., on February 17. Pasadena Media will record the parade in its entirety for broadcast on KPAS (pasadenamedia.tv), the City’s government TV station.
For more information about the many special events going on, please click here.
Pasdena Mentoring Partners Changing Lives
Pasadena Mentoring Partners, coordinated since 2008 by the Flintridge Center, provides leadership, resources, training and opportunities for networking to mentoring-focused organizations in the Pasadena/Altadena area. PMP supports mentor matches of more than 300 PUSD students through its partners. The beauty of Pasadena Mentoring Partners is that each mentoring agency has a different approach to mentoring, but all of the agencies are committed to using evidence-based practices in their work with youth.

Partnering agencies include Catholic Big Brothers Big Sister, A Step Ahead, Lake Avenue Community Foundation, Boys and Girls Club of Pasadena, and Mentoring for Partnership & Youth Development (MPYD).

Flintridge Center's mentoring program, Youth of Promise, is now a comprehensive youth development program that includes mentoring as part of a full support system that also includes tutoring, community service, college planning, arts, life skills and exposure to cultural events/activities. The program currently serves 30 youth, a third of them students at Washington Middle School where most of their high school students joined the program.
Mentors and their mentees at the recent Pasadena Mentoring Partners annual breakfast
Become a mentor! Some resources:
  • Flintridge Center, Youth of Promise Program, email lisa@flintridge.org
  • PUSD Mentor for L.I.F.E. (Listen, Improve, Focus, Encourage) program, email ayala.giovanni@pusd.us
  • Lake Avenue Community Foundation mentoring program, email domingom@lakeave.org
  • Reading Partners, email chloe.oliveras@readingpartners.org
One of the most passionate people about our public schools is Jennifer Hall Lee. A filmmaker, writer and speaker by day, Jennifer spends her evenings and spare time working as a member of the Altadena Town Council where she re-established the Education Committee.

Jennifer grew up on Staten Island in New York with a police officer dad and a social worker mom. Her mother worked at Willowbrook State School, an outdated institution that housed mentally disabled people. Her mother was a whistleblower and she and several others forced it to close. Says Jennifer, "Geraldo Rivera covered the scandal on his television show. This was my first experience with politics, power and the ability for citizens to create change."

After college, Jennifer pursued a career in the film business, holding positions in both San Francisco and Los Angeles  as a visual effects producer, compositor, editor, digital intermediate conforming editor and producer of miniature effects. In more recent years, she has produced documentary films, and in 2014, was named one of the Global Ambassadors for the Global Media Monitoring Projects. The GMMP is the longest ongoing study of gender in media in the world.





Jennifer and her family moved to Altadena in 2005 where she has now taken a leadership role in pursuing her passion for our schools.
Jennifer expresses her passion like this: "We learn to be citizens in a public school and pass on that learning to future generations. Being in a public school is really the only time in our lives that we are with people of different races, ethnicities, abilities and different income backgrounds. We are all in there together as Americans. Public schools are about democracy and civic identity. In public school there is always a place for a child and this is part of the beauty of public schools. In your local public school there is a seat for your child. They belong and they are valued. Children who attend a public school, in their neighborhood, naturally bind adults together and these relationships strengthen our communities.  As we invest in our public schools we invest in our democracy."
Neighborhood Leaders Convene
Earlier this week, a group of neighborhood association leaders from around Pasadena convened in a Neighborhood Forum, to explore the idea of forming an overarching network or coalition of associations. Elliot Gold, from such a coalition in Altadena (ACONA - Altadena Coalition of Neighborhood Associations) presented, offering insight and best practices to the enthusiastic group. Leaders will now go back to their neighborhoods to explore the formation of a similar coalition in Pasadena.
Calling all Collaborators to the February 15 Meeting
On Thursday, February 15, the Pasadena City Council and Pasadena Unified School District Board of Education will hold their annual joint meeting, beginning at 6:30 p.m. in City Council Chambers, City Hall. Collaborate PASadena will make a brief presentation, as will the Pasadena Office of the Young Child, and we invite you to please come and show support!
News and Events
Click here to find the latest news and events on the Collaborate PASadena website! We happily post partner news and events on our site and on our Facebook page and Instagram. Submit to elizabeth@collpas.org .
Partner Praise
Many local children, families and teachers have been given the opportunity to attend recent performances at the Pasadena Playhouse, including the blockbuster Pirates of Penzance, for free! Thank you for your generosity and expanding theatrical exposure and understanding among Pasadena families!
am-pluh-fahy
v. to make stronger; enlarge; extend