Community Connections:
UES Makes Plans to Open New Campuses
by Jim Kennedy, Ed.D.
This year Corinne A. Seeds University Elementary School at UCLA celebrates
its 125th year as a laboratory school, dedicated to the research and
development of programs that promote the social and cognitive development
of children. Although the current school has only been situated on the
UCLA campus since 1950, the work of the lab school began in 1882 as an
adjunct to the southern branch of the State Normal School located near
downtown Los Angeles. Now, as UES prepares to celebrate its rich history,
preliminary plans are being made that would allow UES to make a return to
its roots by opening new campuses in inner-city, low-income Los Angeles neighborhoods.
The new schools will be extensions of the Westwood campus
and make the UES approach to education accessible to students and families
across the city as well as make it possible for UES to further advance its
goals of outreach, research, and teacher education.
Although the name and location of the school have changed over the years, the defining characteristics at the heart of the UES philosophy have remained constant. Learning continues to be embedded in inquiry, discovery, and thoughtful reflection in an environment that is child-friendly. As in the past, developmentally appropriate programs are designed to be rich in experience in order to facilitate motivation and engagement among students. Students learn to think critically and to express their ideas with confidence. Both creativity and reasoning are supported in a hands-on approach that is project-based and celebrates the unique contributions of each child as an individual.
The new campuses will provide UES the opportunity to take a hands-on approach to outreach by getting deeply involved in the toughest issues in urban education, enabling researchers to study programs that successfully develop the social and cognitive growth of students from very diverse backgrounds. Teacher educators will have the opportunity to place student teachers in inner city teaching environments with the assurance they will be supported by a strong educational philosophy.
The new UES campuses will allow the school to increase its diversity and have a direct impact on many of the most difficult challenges facing public schools, such as poverty, students who are learning English as a second language, and the persistent achievement gap that exists among student groups. Students who live in areas of Los Angeles where daily trips to UES are impossible will have an opportunity to attend a UES classroom close to home, thereby eliminating the obstacle of transportation. Furthermore, because UES is the laboratory school of the Graduate School of Education & Information Studies, UES campuses will enable partnerships that join together the strengths and priorities of the communities with the resources and expertise of the university.
As we reflect on our impressive history and celebrate the continued success of our students, we are reminded that UES is first and foremost a laboratory school. Our greatest challenges and rewards are found in our commitment to continually improve the practice of public education so that children everywhere are able to achieve at their highest potential. With that in mind, the future of UES looks every bit as bright as its past.
Jim Kennedy joined UES in July 2007 as the principal. He holds the Carol L. Collins Principal's Chair.
Updated February, 2008.
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At left is a photograph taken in 1895 of the southern branch of the State Normal School. The school was at Fifth and Grand Avenues, where the Central Library now stands. (Photo reprinted from Views of Los Angeles: 125 Black and White Photographs Contrasting the Past With the Present, by Gernot Kuehn)
An earlier version of this article appeared in the Fall 2007 issue of Connections, the newsletter of CONNECT: a center for research and innovation in elementary educationat UCLA. Download a copy of the newsletter here.