Mural Arts at Manual
Take a look at the Mural Arts club - one of the clubs sponsored by the Woodcraft Rangers.
In just a few years, college acceptance rates have doubled at Manual Arts Senior High School, just one of many improvements since LA's Promise became a helping hand.
The ever-changing South L.A. neighborhood builds a new image, making the transition from profound crime to nascent renown with continual investment from USC.
From free Internet to family-oriented programs, patrons of all ages and librarians consider the Vermont Square Branch Library to be a valuable and central resource for needs in their community.
Manual Arts Senior High School in Vermont Square does not have the money to fund coaches year-round, let alone pay for many other after-school activities. That is why the school has partnered with the Woodcraft Rangers to give students an opportunity to get involved in after-school arts and sports programs year-round.
The Woodcraft Rangers, who recently celebrated their 90th anniversary, is an organization that runs after-school programs at about 50 sites, including three high schools, in and around Los Angeles.
Manual Arts High School's program, Nvision , works with the school to provide programs that students want and need.
"If they want us to do an art club or if they want us to do a rock band club, we adjust it to what the students need" explained Arturo Garcia, Woodcraft Rangers coordinator for Manual Arts High School.
At Manual, Woodcraft Rangers supports girls basketball, girls soccer, the drumline, band and colorguard, Mural Arts, Skateboard, Break Dance and Fitness clubs, just to name a few.
However, as with many things in education, funding does have an impact on what clubs succeed.
"We used to have a drama club here, and that was hugely successful because we had a teacher here that was very into the arts," said Garcia. "We lost some of the performance arts funding, so we lost some of the support of the school and the program kind of fell apart."
Just because one club fails, though, it does not mean that the entire Nvision program is in danger. The program is funded by a grant called the 21st Century Grant, which is solely for programs that enhance the academic experience.
Before the Woodcraft Rangers can use the money, however, the grant first has to be signed off by Los Angeles Unified School District's Beyond the Bell program, which seeks to improve after-school activities.
Garcia explained how the relationship works, "Any permission or grants or anything that goes on after school runs through them [Beyond the Bell] first, and then it's us."
The administrators at Manual Arts have been highly supportive of the Woodcraft Rangers because, like Garcia, they recognize the importance of after-school clubs.
"Well, as more and more school funding gets cut, after school and fine arts programs are being cut as well, but it's important for the kids to have something to do after school," Garcia said. "If they don't they're going to end up outside on the streets doing those things they're not supposed to be doing."
While the club coordinator and club leaders of the Woodcraft Rangers' organizations at Manual Arts worry about their students getting into trouble, the students are more worried about trouble catching up with them.
"You know there's weirdos around here in a way… [but] if someone was to come with a gun after school, they'd have to look for one gate that will be open because all the other gates will be closed," said Manual Arts sophomore and student leader of the Skate club Andre Blanton. "So there's not that much crime unless you're outside the campus… so it doesn't really concern us."
Regardless of neighborhood concerns, the students who participate in the Nvision after-school clubs at Manual Arts seem to be having fun, learning and making friends. For the club coordinators and leaders, that's the best success.
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