For the past two years, Dr. Brenda Manuel of the Los Angeles Unified School District has joined PCG at a special session on community engagement during the iconic SXSWedu conference in Austin, TX.  As she did last year, Dr. Manuel spoke about the Village Movement Mentoring Program where students are connected with members of the community who can serve as guides and cheerleaders for them, and then are expected to take the lessons they learn and mentor their classmates.     

We have been inspired by both the villagers and the scholars in the program, and were very pleased to sponsor the inaugural PCG Focus Awards at the program’s “I Rise” Conference.  There, the students who rose up and took a leadership role within their villages were surprised with $25 gift cards to recognize their achievement. Congratulations are due to all of the villagers, scholars, and especially the I Rise winners.