For Immediate Release June 16, 2014
Contact: Valerie Martinez, Juliette Funes (909) 445-1001

The Imagination Machine Performs Stories Written by K-8 Students

Lynwood, Calif.Students in Lynwood Unified’s Migrant Education 21st Century Writer’s program have been working hard polishing and enhancing their creative writing skills, and on May 31, their prose came to life.

Educational performance group, The Imagination Machine, celebrated the writing efforts of the K-8 Migrant Education students who participated in the District’s Saturday Day Writing Program by performing their short stories live.

“The 21st Century Writer’s program is all about empowering students to let their imaginations run free and sparking in them a joy of reading and writing, and this performance gave them an interactive glimpse of how learning can be fun,” said LUSD Board of Education President Briseida Gonzalez.

Unbeknownst to the students in the 13-week Saturday program, The Imagination Machine performed a select number of their stories during an assembly at the program’s host site, Roosevelt Elementary School.

The complete production of skits was acted out by professional actors and included music, props and costumes.

The writing class is part of the federally-funded Migrant Education program, which serves students whose family’s migratory patterns – due to work in the agricultural, dairy, lumber or fishing industries – require them to change schools frequently.

“Many of these migrant students have had to overcome educational disparities and cultural and language barriers and lack the instructional skills needed to thrive in school,” said Instructional Improvement Lead Sandra Verduzco, who oversees the program. “This program provides them the support and tools they need to have a successful transition.”

Previously run by the Los Angeles County Office of Education, this is the first year the Migrant Education Program – which serves about 160 Lynwood students ages 3 to 21 – is being administered by LUSD and its teachers.

Students in the Saturday writing program participate in small-group and one-on-one learning and are prompted with different writing tasks that align to the new English language arts and literacy requirements under the Common Core State Standards.

In addition to the writing program, LUSD’s Migrant Education services include after-school tutoring, preschool programs, summer college academics, outdoor camp and science academies, Saturday school and help in recovering high school credits.

Services are available at all LUSD schools.

“What our District wants most for these kids is progress and the opportunity to achieve as 21st century citizens and one way to do that is through high-quality programs like Migrant Education, which challenges them to develop their academic talents, sharpen their critical thinking skills and stimulate their imagination in a fun and creative way,” said LUSD Superintendent Paul Gothold.

PHOTO CAPTION:
MigrantEd: Actors from The Imagination Machine celebrate the writing efforts of the K-8 Migrant Education students who participated in Lynwood Unified’s Saturday Day Writing Program by performing their short stories live on May 31, 2014.