Dear ECP Families, 

The Endeavor family has been reflecting on the unjust and horrifying acts of violence towards the African American community, most recently with the murders of George Floyd and Ahmaud Arbery.

We are deeply affected as educators, as activists, as parents, and as family members. We know that there needs to be drastic change in our country to address the systemic racism and cycles of discrimination that consistently impact people of color. We owe it to those who have lost their lives, those that have mourned the murder of a loved one, and those who consistently and unjustly fear for their life. We recognize their struggle needs to become our struggle. It will take all of us working together.

We are committed to taking a stand. 

We stand against racism. We stand for inclusion, equity, and unity. We believe strongly in addressing systemic racism in the United States and we recommit to providing a quality education to develop our scholars into activists and leaders who can change our world. 

We are still processing the intense emotions surrounding the recent events and understand that you, your child, and your families are doing the same. We are here to help your child process, to provide historical context, and to teach him or her to use their voice for change. 

We have attached resources to support you in conversations about race and racism at home and will continue to share more. As always, if you or your child needs support, we are here for you. 

Be safe, 

Danielle Lukk

Head of School

Here are resources to support conversations with your child about race and anti-racism

Uplifting Families Through Healthy Communication about Race – https://www.apa.org/res/parent-resources/parent-tips.pdf

George Floyd. Ahmaud Arbery. Breonna Taylor. What do we tell our children? – https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2020/05/31/how-talk-kids-racism-racial-violence-police-brutality/5288065002/ 

How to talk to your children about protests and racism (from CNN)- https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/01/health/protests-racism-talk-to-children-wellness/index.html 

A Parent’s guide to Preventing and Responding to Prejudice – https://www.tolerance.org/sites/default/files/general/beyond_golden_rule.pdf

May 22, 2020

Dear parents, guardians, students, and members of our ECP community,

I hope you and your families are doing well and keeping safe. On behalf of the ECP Board of Directors, I want to tell you about some of the changes at ECP as we end our school year and look ahead to next year and beyond.

As you have heard by now, this will be Ms. Danielle Lukk’s last year as Head of School at ECP.  On behalf of the entire board, I want to thank Ms. Lukk once again for her many years of exceptional service to the ECP community as a teacher, a coach and as our leader.  Her passion and commitment to the school has been extraordinary and the work she has done to get ECP back on track to being an exceptional school has been impressive. Words cannot express our gratitude for her hard work, and I believe we will continue to see the value and impact of her contributions for years to come.

With each ending, there is a new beginning. And so, it is with much enthusiasm that I introduce to you ECP’s new Head of School, Ruben Alonzo. The Board invites you to meet Mr. Alonzo at one of two “cafecitos” we will be hosting via Zoom video conferencing on June 3, 2020. For your convenience, we will host one at 8:00 a.m. and the second one at 5:00 p.m.

You will hear from Mr. Alonzo directly during the cafecitos, but I want to share with you now just a little bit about his background. He is the founder and current Head of School of Excelencia Charter Academy, also in Boyle Heights.  He began his journey as the son of a migrant farm worker in Texas. His talents and hard work, combined with inspiration and support from his teachers, led Ruben to attend, and graduate from, three of the most exclusive and prestigious universities in the world: he graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with a degree in Economics and then from Harvard University with a master’s degree in Education and finally from Columbia University with a degree in School Leadership.

His passion for learning and teaching led him further to join the Building Excellent Schools program as a Fellow, and he eventually started his own school, Excelencia. In just one year, Excelencia tripled the entering math and reading proficiency rates of its students and was on course to continuing that growth and progress. Unfortunately, due to low-enrollment and facility challenges, Excelencia will be closing its doors at the end of this year. While disappointed by Excelencia’s closure, he is excited about merging his energy and talents with ECP’s mission.

We, the Board, feel strongly that Mr. Alonzo’s strengths align with ECP’s needs and objectives.  He is creative, solution-minded, high energy and has a whatever-it-takes work ethic. And his training and experience as an executive director gives him an understanding of aspects of the role that go beyond what a typical principal would need.

Mr. Alonzo will officially join the ECP staff on July 1 2020, but between now and then, he will work with our current leadership team on getting ECP ready for next year. I hope you find time in your day to join us on June 3, 2020 to learn more about Mr. Alonzo.

Finally, I want to thank you, on behalf of the Board, for your continued commitment to and support for ECP.  We recognize that together, we can make ECP a great school that will provide your children – our scholars –  with the foundation and the tools to, like Mr. Alonzo, find academic success and, ultimately, find their place in this world.

Very truly yours,

Emilio Gonzalez

Chair, Board of Directors

Endeavor College Preparatory Charter School

Dear ECP Family,

It is with these heartfelt words that I share that I will be leaving Endeavor at the end of the 2019-20 school year. Although I will miss our ECP family and the broader Boyle Heights community, I know that this decision is what’s best for Endeavor’s progress and my own personal growth.

I have deeply enjoyed my ten years at ECP. I hope you know how grateful I feel to have had the opportunity to grow with Endeavor and work alongside you through the challenges and successes. I remain deeply connected to our mission and have been working with the Board of Directors and staff to set next year up for success. They will soon introduce you to ECP’s new Head of School who will work diligently to carry out Endeavor’s mission.  If you have any questions regarding this matter, I invite you to call me at (323) 397-9849 or email me at dlukk@endeavorcollegeprep.org and I will get in touch with you as soon as possible.

Thank you for the opportunity to serve you, your children and Boyle Heights. I will greatly miss getting to see your faces, especially those of former students. I look forward to hearing great things about ECP’s accomplishments moving forward.

Sincerely,

Danielle Lukk