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LAUP ANNOUNCES NEW CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, DR. GARY MANGIOFICO

LAUP's Board of Directors is pleased to announce their appointment of Dr. Gary Mangiofico as the new Chief Executive Officer.

Gary Mangiofico, LAUP's new CEO

“We are confident that LAUP has a strong foundation which will enable us to achieve the vision of providing access to preschool for 4-year olds in Los Angeles County. The Board has tremendous confidence in Gary’s ability to maintain needed continuity and to lead LAUP into the future,” LAUP Board Chair Elizabeth Lowe said.

Mangiofico joined LAUP in the very early days of its existence, and is the principal architect of LAUP’s organizational design. He holds graduate degrees in both developmental and organizational psychology, and has 30 years of experience in the educational and business sectors, including as a leadership, health, and organizational consultant for organizations such as Head Start, the Los Angeles County Office of Education (LACOE), and the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD).

“I am deeply honored by the Board’s confidence in me, and in its confidence that LAUP is moving in the right direction,” Mangiofico said. “I look forward to continuing our work to make LAUP the premier service organization to preschool providers, and to increasing our connections with families and communities across Los Angeles County.”

Former LAUP CEO, Dr. Graciela Italiano-Thomas, will soon begin her new role as president and CEO of “Thrive by Five,” a public-private partnership recently created to ensure that all children in the State of Washington are prepared, from birth, for success in school and life. The partnership combines resources from the state and more than ten private foundations and corporations, including the lead funder, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

“While I look forward to new challenges,” Italiano-Thomas said, “it has been an honor and pleasure to serve the families of Los Angeles County during my time at LAUP, and I am deeply grateful for having had this wonderful opportunity.”

LAUP Board Chair Elizabeth Lowe said. “Graciela has contributed her talent and expertise in launching LAUP, for which the Board is truly grateful, and we wish her continued success in her new endeavor.”

Please join us in welcoming Gary to his new position and wishing Graciela the best of luck in Washington State.

LAUP MAKES SURE THAT LYNWOOD'S 4-YEAR-OLDS DON'T HAVE TO WAIT FOR PRESCHOOL

For young children in the city of Lynwood, October 24th was a day to celebrate, even if they might not realize it for a few years. Because that was the day when, in front of a crowd of parents, children, and community leaders, LAUP and the Lynwood Unified School District joined together to mark the opening of new LAUP-funded preschools at every one of the district’s 12 elementary schools. These classrooms will serve about 600 children each year.

At Janie P. Abbott Elementary School, LAUP CEO Dr. Graciela Italiano-Thomas presented Lynwood USD Board President Maria Lopez and Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Dhyan Lal, with a check for $1,569,000—the first installment of a multi-year, multi-million dollar commitment by LAUP to help make quality preschool available to every 4-year-old in Lynwood.

Making preschool available to more children has been one of the district’s main goals since Dr. Lal took office a couple of years ago. And his timing couldn’t have been more perfect. As the district was looking earlier this year for ways to open preschool classrooms in each of its elementary schools, LAUP was launching its second round of funding. That round was dedicated to creating new preschool capacity in areas of the county—like Lynwood—that need it most.

In fact, before LAUP started funding programs in Lynwood, there were only enough licensed spaces for about 30% of the area’s children. With the new spaces at Lynwood public schools, and the other (private) preschool classrooms being funded by LAUP, more than 70% of children in Lynwood now have access to preschool. And as a measure of how desperate the need in Lynwood has been, by the time those twelve new classrooms opened in October, almost all the new spaces were already full.

Dr. Lal and the Lynwood School Board see high-quality preschool as one of the best ways to continue improving their K-12 system. In addition to an aggressive school-building program to relieve overcrowding, many of Lynwood’s elementary schools have seen growth in academic performance over the last few years, but have historically been low-performing using statewide measures. This new investment in preschool will help more children be ready for school the day they start Kindergarten.

LAUP is proud to partner with Lynwood USD, and with the many private providers we fund and support across that city. A list of LAUP-funded preschool programs in Lynwood is available by searching our website: www.laup.net or calling 866-675-5400.

STARTING POINTS 4 PRESCHOOL

For Lilit Barsegyan, having an experienced educator like Sally Grimaldi to help her prepare for an evaluation of her preschool made a big difference. Grimaldi is one of ten coaches LAUP sends out into the field every day as part of our Starting Points 4 Preschool program. The Starting Points team works with providers that are new to the LAUP network—helping guide new classrooms through all aspects of the start-up phase, and making sure existing programs are ready to successfully meet LAUP’s quality criteria.

One of the most important elements of the Starting Points program is that these coaching relationships must be true partnerships. “We’re not there to tell teachers or program directors what to do,” Grimaldi said. “We’re there to partner with the program and provide support and guidance, encouraging programs to take an active role in reach their goals.”

The arrangement worked well for Barsegyan, who directs the Armenian Relief Society’s Nairy Preschool in Montebello, “I listened to her opinion, and she listened to mine. We were always friendly and worked as a team because we had the same goal.”

A typical Starting Points contract with LAUP lasts 6 months, after which the classroom receives a thorough evaluation by independent experts contracted by LAUP. When the classroom meets LAUP’s quality criteria, it is offered a full contract for more funding and on-going quality coaching.

Starting Points is a vital part of LAUP’s efforts to improve access to high-quality preschools. For many providers, the will and the energy and the passion to be a terrific preschool have always been there, even if the resources haven’t been. LAUP is able to provide additional funds to these programs, but it’s the mentoring and expertise and shared learning provided by coaches like Sally and her colleagues that can set a program on the path to long-term success. Barsegyan agrees. “Before,” she said, “my school was not high quality because we just couldn’t do it. But now, with help from LAUP and Sally, I am very proud to know I can really say we have a high-quality preschool.”

STORYBOOK CORNER

Abiyoyo: Based on a South African Lullaby and Folk Story

By Pete Seeger

A young boy loves to serenade the adults in his town by playing his ukulele, but his music only bothers them. The young boy’s father also annoys the other townspeople with his magic tricks. Eventually, the people become fed up, and they ostracize the boy and his father to the outskirts of the town.

But when a fabled, people-eating giant named Abiyoyo comes to life and threatens the town, the young boy and his father figure out how to use their music and their magic to save the people who had cast them out.

Abiyoyo begs to be performed by the reader who can also use the story to invite children’s dramatic participation and singing. Children can pretend to play the role of the young boy’s father, for example, by using an imaginary magic wand to zap things into disappearance. Another child can pretend to be the young boy and play the ukelele, mesmerizing the monster into a furious dancing frenzy. Yet another child can pretend to be the monster and dance furiously until he falls and is stilled. The rest of the class can pretend to play the role of the townspeople welcoming back the heroes.

The storytelling also provides a perfect example of how sophisticated vocabulary can be introduced to children within context, cleverly defining the word “ostracized” in a way that a young child can understand.

Folk-singer Pete Seeger took his inspiration for the story from the footnote of a lullaby that he used to lure his own children into sleep each night. Michael Hays depicts the vibrancy of life in a small town with his brilliant color illustrations. Children and adults yearning to read on to even more adventurous Abiyoyo stories will be equally entertained by Abiyoyo Returns, a revival sequel that reunites Seeger and Hays, with the additional voice of Paul Dubois Jacobs. Pair these Abiyoyo books with Maurice Sendak’s beloved Where the Wild Things Are, and watch the “wild rumpus” begin.

Click here to purchase the original Abiyoyo book with an accompanying CD from the publisher.

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2006 Holiday Card Contest Winner

Congratulations to Monzerrath Perez for drawing the winning artwork for LAUP's 2006 holiday card!

Monzerrath is an LAUP preschooler that attends Aguilar Family Child Care in South El Monte. Her prize will be a collection of children's books to start her very own library. In addition, Monzerrath's classroom will also receive a selection of books to share.

We had received many beautiful and creative drawings and it was difficult to select just one. Thank you to all the talented children who participated!