At the Golden Globes on Sunday, some celebrities donned anti-ICE pins a in tribute to Renee Good, who was shot and killed in her car by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer last week in Minneapolis.
About the protest: The black-and-white pins displayed slogans like "BE GOOD" and "ICE OUT," introducing a political angle into the awards show after last year's relatively apolitical ceremony.
Who participated: Mark Ruffalo, Wanda Sykes and Natasha Lyonne wore the pins on the red carpet, while Jean Smart and Ariana Grande donned them once inside the ballroom. Smart had the pin on her dress as she accepted the award for best performance by a female actor in a musical or comedy series.
Some celebrities donned anti-ICE pins at the Golden Globes on Sunday in tribute to Renee Good, who was shot and killed in her car by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer last week in Minneapolis.
The black-and-white pins displayed slogans like "BE GOOD" and "ICE OUT," introducing a political angle into the awards show after last year's relatively apolitical ceremony.
Mark Ruffalo, Wanda Sykes and Natasha Lyonne wore the pins on the red carpet, while Jean Smart and Ariana Grande donned them once inside the ballroom. Smart had the pin on her dress as she accepted the award for best performance by a female actor in a musical or comedy series.
Since the shooting Wednesday, protests have broken out across the country, calling for accountability for Good's death as well as a separate shooting in Portland where Border Patrol agents wounded two people. Some protests have resulted in clashes with law enforcement, especially in Minneapolis, where ICE is carrying out its largest immigration enforcement operation to date.
"We need every part of civil society, society to speak up," said Nelini Stamp of Working Families Power, one of the organizers for the anti-ICE pins. "We need our artists. We need our entertainers. We need the folks who reflect society."
Congressmembers have vowed an assertive response, and an FBI investigation into Good's killing is ongoing. The Trump administration has doubled down in defending the ICE officer's actions, maintaining that he was acting in self-defense and thought Good would hit him with her car.
Just a week before Good was killed, an off-duty ICE officer fatally shot and killed 43-year-old Keith Porter in Los Angeles. His death sparked protests in the Los Angeles area, calling for the officer responsible to be arrested.
Organizers bring grassroots push to Golden Globes parties
The idea for the "ICE OUT" pins began with a late-night text exchange earlier this week between Stamp and Jess Morales Rocketto, the executive director of a Latino advocacy group called Maremoto.
They know that high-profile cultural moments can introduce millions of viewers to social issues. This is the third year of Golden Globes activism for Morales Rocketto, who has previously rallied Hollywood to protest the Trump administration's family separation policies. Stamp said she always thinks of the 1973 Oscars, when Sacheen Littlefeather took Marlon Brando's place and declined his award to protest American entertainment's portrayal of Native Americans.
So, the two organizers began calling up the celebrities and influencers they knew, who in turn brought their campaign to the more prominent figures in their circles. That initial outreach included labor activist Ai-jen Poo, who walked the Golden Globes' red carpet in 2018 with Meryl Streep to highlight the Time's Up movement.
"There is a longstanding tradition of people who create art taking a stand for justice in moments," Stamp said. "We're going to continue that tradition."
Allies of their movement have been attending the "fancy events" that take place in the days leading up to the Golden Globes, according to Stamp. They're passing out the pins at parties and distributing them to neighbors who will be attending tonight's ceremony.
"They put it in their purse and they're like, 'Hey would you wear this?' It's so grassroots," Morales Rocketto said.
The organizers pledged to continue the campaign throughout awards season to ensure the public knows the names of Good and others killed by ICE agents in shootings.
Copyright 2026 NPR
"Strong" military action if more protesters killed
By Ruth Sherlock | NPR
Published January 12, 2026 7:27 AM
(
AP
/
UGC
)
Topline:
President Donald Trump has both threatened "strong" military action against Iran should more demonstrators be killed, and said on Air Force One late Sunday that a meeting was "being set up" with Iranian officials.
Why now: Hundreds of protesters have been killed in Iran, rights groups say, as videos showing security forces violently trying to suppress demonstrations filter through, despite an internet blackout imposed by the Iranian regime facing a nationwide challenge to its decades-long rule.
What's next: Iran, which has threatened to strike Israel and American bases and ships in the region should the U.S. take military action against it, has indicated that it would be open to negotiation.
Hundreds of protesters have been killed in Iran, rights groups say, as videos showing security forces violently trying to suppress demonstrations filter through, despite an internet blackout imposed by the Iranian regime facing a nationwide challenge to its decades-long rule.
As the White House weighs whether to respond to the crackdown on this popular uprising against the Iranian clerical establishment long hostile to America, President Trump has both threatened "strong" military action against Iran should more demonstrators be killed, and said on Air Force One late Sunday that a meeting was "being set up" with Iranian officials.
"Iran wants to negotiate, yes. We might meet with them," he said. "But we may have to act because of what is happening before the meeting."
Iran, which has threatened to strike Israel and American bases and ships in the region should the U.S. take military action against it, has indicated that it would be open to negotiation. Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman, Esmail Baghaei, on Monday said a channel remained open with the United States. "Through that channel, the necessary messages are exchanged," he said.
Officials will brief Trump on Tuesday on options for intervening, according to the Wall Street Journal. These could include everything from military strikes, to using secret cyber weapons, to sanctions, to helping meet the needs of the protesters.
Iranians in L.A.
An outsized portion of the Iranian diaspora make their homes in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. As of 2019, nearly 140,000 immigrants from Iran — representing more than one in three of all Iranian immigrants in the U.S. — lived in the L.A. area. More than half of all Iranian immigrants to the U.S. live in California overall.
Death toll mounts
The Human Rights Activists in Iran monitoring group, or HRA, that is based in the United States but maintains extensive networks across Iran, has documented 495 fatalities among protesters, with over 500 other reported cases under review. Some members of the Iranian security forces have also been killed. HRA says over 10,600 people have been arrested in these 15 days of protests.
"We're seeing horrifying images," Skylar Thompson, the deputy director of HRA, told NPR, adding that security forces are using "military grade weapons" to disperse crowds.
Protests that began over the collapse of the country's currency in an economy already squeezed by international sanctions have spread and grown into calls to end Iran's theocracy. HRA says it has documented some 580 protests in more than 185 cities in the last two weeks.
The regime responded by cutting the country's internet and phone networks last Thursday. Despite the blackout, some videos of the demonstrations have reached the rest of the world, likely using Starlink satellite transmitters. They show massive crowds of demonstrators, and, as anger mounts, there have been chants of "death to the dictator," referring to the country's supreme leader, 86-year-old Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
On Monday, in response to the protests, Iranian leaders drew large crowds of pro-government demonstrators to the streets. Iranian state television showed images of demonstrators thronging Tehran toward Enghelab Square, or "Islamic Revolution" Square, in the capital. It called the demonstration an "Iranian uprising against American-Zionist terrorism."
State broadcasters have framed the anti-government protests as actions fomented by the U.S. and Israel and have said "armed rioters" were being arrested. On Saturday the Iranian attorney general warned that anyone taking part would be considered an "enemy of God," a sentence that carries the death penalty. Iran's military said it was ready to "firmly safeguard national interests."
Footage geolocated to a morgue in Kahrizak just south of the Iranian capital, and highlighted by various rights groups, shows bodies wrapped in black mortuary bags on the ground outside as grieving relatives search among them for loved ones. A health worker at a hospital in Tehran told BBC Persian that protesters were arriving with gunshot wounds to the head and chest.
Trump told Fox News last week that he has "put Iran on notice" and that if the regime shoots at demonstrators the U.S. will hit Iran "very hard." "I've said it very loud and very clear, that's what we're going to do," he said. On Sunday, Trump told reporters on Air Force One that with its violent response to the demonstrators, Iran's leaders were "starting to" cross the threshold that could trigger a U.S. response.
Economic crisis
Iranian experts say the country's regime is the weakest it's been since the Islamic Republic came into existence in 1979. The collapsed economy is making life untenable for many Iranians. "There are people who can't buy dairy or meat or, you know, just even beans," Golnaz Esfandiari, the managing editor of the Persian language service of Radio Free Europe, told NPR. "Also people have had enough of the nearly 50 years of repression, mismanagement, corruption."
Iran has recently lost geopolitical status, as proxy militias that it had long used as a security buffer and to project influence come under attack. Israel's war in Gaza has dramatically reduced the power of Hamas. And the collapse of President Bashar al-Assad's regime in Syria a little over a year ago cut off vital supply lines to the Iranian-backed Lebanese militia, Hezbollah.
"Syria was a lifeline for Hezbollah," said Lina Khatib, visiting scholar at the Harvard Kennedy School's Middle East Initiative. "Syria was the place through which Hezbollah got a lot of its finances as well as weapons, from Iran."
Khatib says the Iranian regime "persistently for decades asked the people of Iran to sacrifice, including economically, for the sake of the survival of the Islamic Republic" as it poured countless sums of money into these proxies. But the weakening of these militias, she says, combined with Israeli and American strikes on targets inside Iran in June last year, have "left people feeling that they sacrificed for nothing."
Outside Iran, Reza Pahlavi, the exiled son of the country's last shah and a prominent voice in the fragmented opposition, has encouraged Iranians to continue their demonstrations. "Do not abandon the streets. My heart is with you," he said in a recorded address. "I know that I will soon be by your side." While some videos have emerged showing protesters calling for Pahlavi to take the reins of power, it's not clear how widespread this support is.
For now, experts say, expectations that the regime could collapse may be premature. While the protests have seen Iranians from many demographics voice their grievances, there is no sign yet of defections or dissent in the security apparatus that maintains the country's theocracy.
Copyright 2026 NPR
The Foo Fighters play Dave Grohl's annual birthday show on Wednesday. This year, $25 of each ticket sale benefits Hope United.
(
Scott Dudelson
/
Getty Images for Coachella
)
In this edition:
The Foo Fighters play the Forum, a Grease drive-in on the Pier, Chicano radical history and more of the best things to do.
Highlights:
Getty’s president, Katherine Fleming, will speak about her research expertise at the Getty Villa in a lecture titled "Bakeries and Synagogues: Shared Greek and Jewish Space of the Late Imperial Mediterranean."
The Foo Fighters are playing Dave Grohl's annual charity birthday show. This year, $25 of each ticket sale benefits Hope United.
Experience the history of the Chicano rights movement through vibrant posters by 40 artists and collectives, on loan to The Huntington from the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C.
Put on your poodle skirt and slick your hair back for a drive-in screening of Grease on the Santa Monica Pier.
I had the privilege of attending the House Museum’s Fire Memorial event in the Palisades last week, and I was so moved by the ingenuity of the team preserving the remaining chimneys from houses burned in the fire, the beauty of the space and the resilience of the community. While last week was filled with somber events, this one was bittersweet but overall so positive, and that’s the energy I hope we can all bring into 2026.
Music and art are scientifically proven to make you feel good. Licorice Pizza has your music picks, including Oscar-nominated composer Laura Karpman doing a live performance of her ‘American Fiction’ score at the Blue Note L.A. on Monday. On Tuesday, legendary rock photographer Henry Diltz will be in conversation at the Grammy Museum. On Wednesday and Thursday, powerpop brothers the Lemon Twigs will be at the Troubadour. Also on Thursday, local indie rock hero Ty Segall will be doing an early DJ set — 5 p.m. for my fellow in-bed-by-10 friends out there — at Sid’s Bar at the Sid the Cat Auditorium, free with RSVP.
Getty’s president, Katherine Fleming, will speak about her research expertise at the Getty Villa in a lecture titled "Bakeries and Synagogues: Shared Greek and Jewish Space of the Late Imperial Mediterranean." (I would have called it "From Babka to Baklava," but no one asked me. It’s part of The Gennadius Library’s Thalia Potamianos Lecture Series, and Fleming’s research expertise focuses on Mediterranean, Jewish and Greek history and religion, including the emergence of the Modern Greek state. The event is also available to join online. Dr. Maria Georgopoulou, Director of the Gennadius Library, said Professor Fleming’s scholarship "not only illuminates the past but also fosters a greater understanding of the enduring impact of these traditions on the modern world."
Grease Drive-In
Thursday, January 15, 4 to 9:30 p.m. Santa Monica Pier 200 Santa Monica Pier, Santa Monica COST: FREE, CURRENTLY WAITLIST-ONLY; MORE INFO
Put on your poodle skirt and slick your hair back for a drive-in screening of Grease on the Santa Monica Pier. There’s a waitlist for driving onto the pier, but I imagine it will be a fun, costumed, summer-lovin’ scene all the way down to the beach.
'Radical Histories: Chicano Prints from the Smithsonian American Art Museum'
Through Tuesday, March 31 The Huntington 1151 Oxford Road, San Marino COST: $29; MORE INFO
(
Courtesy The Huntington
)
Experience the history of the Chicano rights movement through vibrant posters by 40 artists and collectives, on loan to The Huntington from the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C. The exhibit is broken down by theme rather than chronologically, and it looks at moments like the Delano Grape Strike, the anti-war movement and more, all through the medium of printmaking. Free admission days — the first Thursday of each month — are available to book in advance.
Foo Fighters: A Show Benefitting Hope United
Wednesday, January 14, 7:30 p.m. Kia Forum 3900 W. Manchester Blvd., Inglewood COST: FROM $109; MORE INFO
I have rarely felt better than after Dave Grohl has screamed at me for a couple of hours. Maybe I’m oversharing here, but you too can let it all out (and to be sure, there’s a lot to let out lately!) at the Forum when the Foo Fighters play Dave’s annual birthday show; this year, $25 of each ticket sale benefits Hope United. Sadly, they will have a substitute guitarist for the gig since Pat Smear injured his foot in a “bizarre gardening accident,” but the band – as they always do – are taking the setback in stride and with a sense of humor.
Writers Bloc: Jacob Soboroff
Tuesday, January 13 Writers Guild Theater 135 S. Doheny Drive, Beverly Hills COST: $25; MORE INFO
(
Writers Bloc
)
Continuing the fire anniversary events this month, Palisades native and MSNBC reporter Jacob Soboroff has a new book out about the L.A. fires, Firestorm. He’ll be in conversation with Mariana van Zeller at Writers Bloc to discuss.
Zinque Dry January NA Cocktail Challenge
Monday, January 12, 5 to 10 p.m. Zinque 3446 Via Oporto, Newport Beach COST: FREE; MORE INFO
(
Zinque
)
We're in the middle of dry January, so have a great, well-balanced non-alcoholic drink. The experts behind the bar at Zinque are hosting a $10 mocktail challenge, where guests will try three different NA drinks for $10 each and vote on the favorite that will make the menu all month long. On Jan. 12, the event is at the Newport Beach location; on Jan. 13, the event is at Zinque in West Hollywood.
Coquito cocktails
Monday, January 12, 6 to 9 p.m. DTLA Proper Hotel 1100 S Broadway, Downtown L.A. COST: FREE; MORE INFO
(
Proper Hotel
)
If you’re having a more damp than dry January, check out this creative cocktail night, where some of SoCal’s top bartenders will debut their own bold versions of the classic Puerto Rican holiday rum-based drink, the Coquito. Bacardi Reserva Ocho will be featured as the rum, and guests will have the opportunity to sample each drink and vote for their favorites.
CAP UCLA: Seth Parker Woods, Julia Bullock and Conor Hanick From Ordinary Things
Thursday, January 15, 8 p.m. The Nimoy 1262 Westwood Blvd., Westwood COST: FROM $38.08; MORE INFO
(
Courtesy UCLA
)
Take a trip through the American songbook with a trio of elite musicians — Seth Parker Woods, Julia Bullock and Conor Hanick — at The Nemoy. 2022 Chamber Music America Michael Jaffee Visionary Award winner Woods is joined by Bullock, a Grammy-winning classical singer and artist and Hanick, a pianist “praised for his precision and articulation of classic and contemporary fare.” They will play works from George Walker, John Tavener, Maurice Ravel, Andre Previn and Nina Simone, as well as a new commission by Tania Leon.
Keep up with LAist.
If you're enjoying this article, you'll love our daily newsletter, The LA Report. Each weekday, catch up on the 5 most pressing stories to start your morning in 3 minutes or less.
Destiny Torres
is LAist's general assignment and digital equity reporter.
Published January 12, 2026 5:00 AM
Angie Portillo and Dulce Flores co-founded Ponte Your Moños, an initiative aimed at supporting and uplifting immigrant communities through traditional hair braids.
(
Courtesy of Ponte Your Moños.
)
Topline:
Two SoCal Latinas are using the delicate, intimate art of traditional braids as a form of activism and resistance to the ongoing ICE raids, and support immigrant communities.
What we know: Ponte Your Moños came about last summer after Dulce Flores and Angie Portillo wanted to find a way to help immigrant communities affected by ICE raids and to also create a space of healing and solidarity.
What does hair have to do with politics? Indigenous communities wore braids as part of daily life and self-expression. But they also wore them during times of conquest and in resistance to modernization. Today, the hairstyle symbolizes a new form of resistance for many.
Read on … for how the hairstyle has become a new act of resistance.
You can’t miss them. The striking braids are woven with delicate lace and vibrant ribbon. It’s the statement and an Indigenous art that two SoCal Latinas are using as a form of open activism against the ongoing ICE raids and to support undocumented communities.
Dulce Flores and Angie Portillo, co-founders of Ponte Your Moños, have braided thousands of trenzas, intricate braids that have roots dating back thousands of years before the Spanish colonization of Mexico.
Today, amid the ongoing ICE raids, the two say it’s their message:
“The braids signified a way for us to just show that we're here,” Flores said. “We’re here, and we're not going anywhere.”
The women behind Ponte Your Moños use traditional ribbon braids as a form of open activism and resistance.
(
Courtesy of Ponte Your Moños
)
Since June, they’ve organized over two dozen pop-up events, braiding the hair of over 2,000 people.
Proceeds have gone towards people who have been detained by ICE and to support immigrant families afraid to go out for necessities like work or groceries.
“It made me feel anger. At the same time, we needed to figure out a way to really come together and do something to fundraise and give back to the community,” Flores said. “That's how Ponte Your Moños really came together – to braid because it was an act of culture and care and resistance, and also a space where Latinos and other individuals can come together.”
Ponte Your Moños, translates to “Put on your bows.” The name of the initiative was inspired by a Mexican expression, “No te pongas tus moños,” or “Don’t put on your bows,” which means don’t be demanding or intense. But Flores and Portillo flipped its meaning and now say, do that and more.
“Fashion is political,” Portillo said. “You don't like us, so I'm going to show you in your face that I don't care. I'm very proud of what I'm wearing, of what I am … y soporta porque (and deal with it because) we are not going anywhere.”
Indigenous communities wore trenzas as part of daily life, for celebrations and self-expression.
“(Braiding) carries that history, the identity, the ancestry,” Flores added. “Braids here for Latinos have become a visible way of expression of their pride and their resistance.”
Alexandro José Gradilla, associate professor of Chicana and Chicano studies at Cal State Fullerton, said the history of the trenzas interwoven with the ribbon mark survivance – a type of survival, resistance and existence mixed together.
“In many ways, the style survived despite multiple historical attempts to wipe it out,” Gradilla said. “The everyday existence of most Latina, Latino people, especially immigrants, is invisibility. These trenzas are definitely about being seen, but more importantly, being seen on one's own terms.”
Flores said today, many Latina women are wearing them as a symbol of cultural appreciation, pride and to make a statement.
What role does hair play in politics?
The two had taken a page from history during the Chicano Movement when Zoot Suits were used as a form of resistance.
Gradilla said visibility makes braiding an important political tool, a form of activism that calls attention to oneself.
“It is about understanding the mainstream gaze of how we are looked at, either we're sexualized or we're looked at as criminals. When one self-fashions or self-creates, you're saying, ‘No, this is who I am. You do not get to impose or project your stereotype or your image of me onto me,’” Gradilla said.
The ribbon braids were worn by Indigenous women during times of conquest and also by the Adelitas, the female soldiers of the Mexican revolution, he added.
“Now you're seeing a modern twist on it in many ways. I would call it a form of Rasquache politics,” Gradilla said. Rasquachismo is a resourceful form of political expression to reclaim narratives and stereotypes. “You can still be wearing your hoodie, your jeans, but you have these trenzas, and that's what makes it Rasquache, you're mixing two cultural forms into one.”
Flores said Ponte Your Moños is about solidarity and storytelling.
“Beyond this project, Ponte Your Moños really creates a space of healing and education and cultural expression, especially (with) what's going on,” Flores said. “It's a way for us to really connect back with our culture, but at the same time, show that resistance and also give back to the community that is being affected.”
The initiative’s next pop-up is part of the Galentine’s Day Pop-Up Estez Beauty Bar and Spa at 2615 W. 190th St in Redondo Beach from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Sabrina T. Sanchez
engages with parents of young children to shape stories that are useful and meaningful to them.
Published January 12, 2026 5:00 AM
School Game Plan: Bring it on a school tour!
(
Ross Brenneman
/
LAist
)
Topline:
LAist distributed 7,200 guides across Los Angeles to help families choose the right school for their child.
Why we did it: Many families find choosing a school and the application process confusing, so LAist created the School Game Plan, an online series of guides to help families navigate their child's educational journey.
How we got the guide to people who need it: To reach more families, we printed thousands of workbooks for community distribution through events, partnerships with the LA Public Library, early childhood groups, and schools.
Read on ... for more about our efforts and what we learned.
Parents have consistently told LAist's education team that they feel confused and overwhelmed by L.A.'s school system — especially when selecting the type of school and navigating the application process.
In the Los Angeles Unified School District, there are more than 400 elementary schools to choose from, including magnets, multilingual, multicultural or gifted and talented programs.
To help, K-12 reporter Mariana Dale and Senior Education Editor Ross Brenneman created the School Game Plan, a series of guides designed to help families navigate their child's educational journey.
From this series, the team produced a printed workbook based on the online guide "How to choose a school in Los Angeles," meant to help caregivers determine the best option for their child within LAUSD.
But producing the guide was only the first step — we needed to figure out how to get it into families' hands.
School Game Plan is available in print from your local library!
(
Ross Brenneman
/
LAist
)
LAist has distributed print materials such as zines and guides before. However, this was the first time we tailored outreach specifically around a printed guide aimed at families raising children five and under.
Our efforts coincided with California's rollout of transitional kindergarten, a new grade level for 4-year-olds. That made it a timely opportunity to connect with parents of young children who may want more information about public schools in L.A.
That meant we had to think creatively and test new ways to reach families. Here's what we learned.
The goal
The goal was to distribute our printed workbook, "How to choose a school in Los Angeles," to parents and caregivers across L.A. from September to early November. With help from a grant, we printed 7,200 copies to give out.
How we did it
The guides were distributed in a variety of ways:
Tabling at early childhood events
Partnering with groups to distribute on our behalf
Presenting at education-related meetings
Offering copies to organizations through a web and social callout
Here's how we went about this outreach.
Events
We tabled at several events new to our team, from the L.A. Kids Book Festival — with an estimated attendance of thousands of families — to storytimes at local libraries drawing in about 20-30 caregivers at a time.
Ross Brenneman, LAist's Senior Editor of Education, is speaking with a mother about the team's workbook, "How to Choose a School in L.A.," at the L.A. Kids Book Festival.
(
Sabrina T. Sanchez / LAist
)
At the festival, we spoke to hundreds of parents. A large crowd hovered over our table for hours. The reason? Our glorious prize wheel. Who doesn't love free swag? Prizes included crayons, bubbles, and slime — and everyone got a guide. That day alone, we passed out over 300 of them.
The storytimes offered a more intimate setting. We attended three events at L.A. Public Library branches to reach families from varying geographical locations – Los Feliz, Reseda and the Westchester area.
LAPL recommended these particular branches since they had high attendance.
This was the format for each session:
Introduction. The children's librarian introduced us to the group.
Explain. We briefly shared who we are and what the School Game Plan offers.
Engage. After storytime, while the kids played, caregivers would come over and talk to us.
We handed out over 200 guides. Parents were overwhelmingly grateful for the workbook.
LAist's education attended the Los Feliz Branch Library's story time event and passed out workbooks.
(
Sabrina T. Sanchez / LAist
)
Presentations and meetings
The Los Angeles County Office of Education (LACOE) invited our team to present at a couple of meetings with early childhood educators and parents.
One focal meeting was LACOE's Head Start Policy Council, made up of parent representatives from all 16 of their delegate agencies serving about 7,000 children across L.A. County. Dale and I presented the School Game Plan, including the printed workbooks.
After the meeting, people stopped by our table where we gave out 600 guides. With LACOE's help, we also provided additional guides to schools and organizations within their network. This meeting led to the highest number of guides passed out in person.
Fountain Day Preschool invited parents of four-year-olds to explore LAist's workbook, "What Is a 'Good School' and How Do You Find One in Los Angeles?"
(
Sabrina T. Sanchez / LAist
)
In other cases, our presence at larger events opened up opportunities to have gatherings with smaller groups later on. The team met a preschool administrator at the L.A. Kids Book Festival who invited us to share our print workbook with parents of 4-year-olds. What started as a simple presentation turned into an intimate conversation where parents, a preschool administrator and I reviewed the workbook together. While that gathering was small, the conversation was incredibly invaluable.
Taking the time to sit with parents surfaced so many questions — like how to apply, how long the application actually takes and more. Many of their questions were addressed in the workbook, while others weren't. It offered better insight into how the workbook can help caregivers, highlighting parents' needs, and showed where there's still work to do on our part based on questions that weren't addressed in our resource.
Partnerships
We also partnered directly with several early childhood organizations such as Partners for Children of South L.A., Children's Institute, and The Whole Child, which collectively distributed 900 guides throughout their programs.
Our largest partnership was with the Los Angeles Public Library, which dispersed 3,650 guides to 72 library branches across the city.
Digital
During distribution, Dale and Brenneman penned a story about the print workbook, including instructions on how organizations can request copies. (Once distribution ended, the instructions were removed from the article.)
We paired the story with a social post to promote the print workbook.
A family attending the Taste of Soul Family Festival.
(
Sherrell Jackson
)
Distributing workbooks across LAPL branches helped spread the work in parent communities. A parent shared in "The Atwater Village Moms' Group" on Facebook about how "awesome" the guide was after discovering it at a local library. This showed our engagement was spreading through word of mouth, which is a major way parents find support. The post provided organic reach to a parent group that has over 6,000 members.
Metrics
A member of Atwater Village Mom's Group on Facebook posted about LAist's workbook.
(
Sabrina T. Sanchez / LAist
)
Within the print workbook are QR codes directing readers to resources by LAist and elsewhere. During distribution, we tracked scans to LAist-linked QR codes to gauge whether outreach drove traffic.
In September, the QR codes in the workbook were scanned by 148 different people. The most scans occurred in early and late September and corresponded with our community events at library branches.
The numbers show that community events drove engagement with the print workbook's online resources.
What did we learn?
You can't do this work alone. Look for events or groups who see the value in the work and go there.
The education spaces we visited accounted for the largest in-person distribution. Educators and parents were highly engaged and interested in the guides. We learned that people want to print out the online guide, "How to choose a school in Los Angeles," but the reprints had issues. To troubleshoot the problem, we created a printable version of the workbook in both English and Spanish, which we added at the beginning of the article.
There's no one way to go about distribution. Conducting a multi-pronged outreach approach worked best – this included tabling events, presenting the workbook at educator meetings, sharing the guide online and through social media, and having organizations and groups distributing the workbook on our behalf. Each of these strategies played an essential role in our outreach efforts.
Here are some other takeaways:
Parents really like to hear from other parents. That's part of why we included a ton of parent voices in the guide itself. We also saw this in practice at one event, where parents asked each other many questions about their school preferences.
Strategic partnerships amplify reach faster and more effectively than through direct outreach alone.
When outreach occurs in trusted, familiar spaces, families are more likely to engage.
Establishing partnerships and distributing guides takes real time and effort. There's a lot of behind-the-scenes work — forming relationships, building trust, organizing the guides, driving across L.A. to drop off guides and hauling heavy boxes.
Social and web callouts fueled pick-ups!
Going forward, be clear on your purpose for showing up in person. Is it for connection, distribution, awareness, or all the above?
What could we do better next time?
The education team created the workbook to help level the playing field for every child. We distributed the workbook across various communities in the Los Angeles Unified School District. However, next time we aim to expand our presence in more diverse communities by participating in additional cultural and community events.
That means we may need to offer more resources in multiple languages, depending on the need.
As we learned, it's helpful to identify and work in spaces where families are already showing up. Next time, we'll connect with more daycare and childcare providers — especially those who didn't engage during this cycle.
Several groups, including preschool and early childhood organizations, invited us to present the workbook directly to the parents they serve. Although we could only do this once, it went very well, and we're interested in participating in more gatherings like this, as well as possibly hosting larger events, such as "cram sessions," to help parents navigate the school process in L.A.
How can you help make sure there's a next time?
Does your organization want to financially support work like the School Game Plan, which helps parents choose the right school for their child? Email: grants@scpr.org.
Community-focused reporting is made possible by generous supporters like you! Become an LAist member today at LAist.com/give.
If your organization or group is doing similar work, I love chatting about all things engagement! Or, if you want to invite us to your next community event, here’s how to get in touch. Email: ssanchez@laist.com.
