March 2021
News, updates and perspectives on the
future of education from Learn4Life
Iraqi Refugee Overcomes So Much to Graduate High School and Attend College
In just one year, Ayat Aldoori moved across the globe, learned English and graduated from Learn4Life at age 20. Her family escaped from war-torn Iraq and spent nine years in Egypt before immigrating to the U.S. Her education was erratic, and she missed three years of school because of the lengthy immigration process. She was grateful to find Learn4Life because she had aged out of public high school and would have had few options. 
 
Ayat took ESL classes and completed all her school assignments by reading the questions, translating them to her native language, writing the answers and retranslating to English – all while spending several hours each day at the hospital with her ill mother. 
From Homelessness to
HBCU Scholarship Recipient
Graduating from high school and attending college was once only a dream to 19-year-old Dreama S. After overcoming multiple obstacles including surviving cancer, the trauma of losing a sister and experiencing temporary homelessness, she graduated with honors in the fall of 2020 during a national pandemic. She recently started her first semester at Central State University (CSU), a Historically Black College and University (HBCU) in Ohio. CSU is part of the 1890 Universities Foundation’s multi-state network of HBCUs established in 1890 through the Second Morrill Act.

The Foundation and Lifelong Learning, a nonprofit educational services organization that supports public charter networks Learn4Life and FLEX High, have partnered to bolster college readiness and increase college access and enrollment for at-risk students. The partnership is the first of its kind between networks of publicly funded K-12 schools and a national consortium of HBCUs. 

Justices Overturn Ruling that Would Have Closed Five of Our San Diego Schools
In a major win for Opportunity Youth, an appeals court overturned a 2019 ruling that would have closed five Learn4Life schools for teens who have previously struggled in traditional schools. The ruling affects more than 1,100 students – 65 percent of whom had already aged out of public school and would be left with few options to graduate high school.

In 2019, a San Diego Superior Court ruled five of our schools must close because of a discrepancy over geographical boundaries. Learn4Life schools have been operating in compliance with the California Charter Schools Act and providing a quality education for hundreds of students. The charters in question are authorized by neighboring districts in the county and are sanctioned to locate and serve students where the need is greatest within the county. We appealed the decision, and last month the ruling was overturned, ensuring the area’s most needy students can continue their path to graduation, and 96 teachers and staff will keep their jobs.