Second Annual Inland Empire Education & Workforce Summit Hosts Sold-Out Event to Discuss Education’s Role in Post-Pandemic Job Recovery

In partnership with Think Together and the Inland Empire Regional Chamber of Commerce, the event gathered 200 education and business leaders to address the need to prepare students for college and career.

Rancho Cucamonga, Calif. (Mar. 14, 2022) Think Together, California’s leading nonprofit provider of afterschool, expanded learning and school improvement programs, in partnership with the Inland Empire Regional Chamber of Commerce, hosted the 2022 Inland Empire Education and Workforce Summit at the Historic Ioamosa on March 9, bringing together nearly 200 leaders in the public, education and nonprofit sectors.

The event aimed to create cross-collaboration and constructive solutions to ensure students impacted by COVID-19 are equipped with the necessary academic, technical, and soft skills needed to succeed in today’s economy.

The summit opened with Bansree Parikh, Bank of America president for the Inland Empire who shared a powerful testimonial with the audience about her own personal journey from student to workforce leader.

“Mastery of a trade or job skill can have as significant an impact on lifetime earnings as a college degree, with millions of underskilled workers having the potential to increase their income by as much as 70% if they receive skill or education accreditation,” said Parikh. “This is why Bank of America – not only as a major employer ourselves but as a community leader – heavily invests into workforce education programs and summits like this one that help create pathways to careers in the region.”

The event’s first keynote speaker was California State Treasurer Fiona Ma, who spoke on the current affairs of workforce readiness in California and what the state is doing to support college and career readiness from early learning to high school.

“From STEM careers created to address climate change, to education jobs leading the next generation of trailblazers, the state applauds the work of public and private leaders across the state collaborating to create 21st century jobs for our young people,” said Treasurer Ma.

Keynote speaker Dr. Angelo Farooq, Chairman of the California Workforce Development Board, followed providing his unique perspective on how solutions can be found when business and government work collaboratively. “Students today need the social emotional intelligence and intrinsic support from our business leaders to guide them on the road to success. The pandemic has contracted opportunities for young people to get the hands-on experience they need to enter the workforce and it’s up to us to give those back to them.”

Bank of America’s Inland Empire Market Executive Cathy Paredes led the panel to showcase regional perspectives on how the pandemic has changed the workforce landscape and what educators are doing to prepare students for today’s job market. Panelists included:

  • Dr. Angelo Farooq, Chairman at California Workforce Development Board
  • Ted Alejandre, San Bernardino County Superintendent of Schools
  • Dr. Ruth Perez, Deputy Superintendent of Schools at Riverside County Office of Education
  • Randy Barth, Founder and CEO of Think Together

“We are still learning the exact impact that the pandemic will have on this current generation of students and their futures,” said Randy Barth, founder and CEO of Think Together. “What we do know is we need to focus on supporting students academically, as well as supporting them emotionally and giving them the tools they will need in college, career and beyond in an ever-evolving job market.”

The 2022 Inland Empire Education and Workforce Summit was proudly sponsored by Bank of America with San Bernardino County, Small Business Majority, Clearworld and the Otis Academy as supporters of the event.

Those interested can watch the Inaugural Inland Empire Education and Workforce Readiness Summit on YouTube. Those looking to get involved with Think Together can visit: www.thinktogether.org/get-involved.

About Think Together

Think Together partners with schools and communities to pursue educational equity and excellence for all kids. As a nonprofit organization, Think Together innovates, implements and scales academic solutions that change the odds for hundreds of thousands of California students. Think Together’s program areas include early learning, afterschool, school support services and leadership development for teachers and school administrators. For more information, call (888) 485-THINK or visit www.thinktogether.org.

About the Inland Empire Regional Chamber of Commerce (IERCC)

The Inland Empire Regional Chamber of Commerce (IERCC) supports commerce and economic prosperity throughout Riverside & San Bernardino Counties. The IERCC provides a platform for business executives to engage, network, and conduct business with like-minded individuals from all over the Inland Empire region. Learn more about the IERCC visit www.iechamber.org.  

Media Inquiries
Elena Bosch
(714) 824-8136
[email protected]

The prestigious grant enables the organization to scale its highly effective, data-driven education equity model, Teach Lead Counsel (TLC), by transforming it into an accessible digital platform

Santa Ana, Calif. (Mar. 8, 2022) Orenda Education, the school improvement division of Think Together, California’s leading nonprofit provider of afterschool, expanded learning and school improvement programs, announced it has been selected as an Education Innovation and Research (EIR) Grant recipient from the U.S Department of Education.

The prestigious grant awards Orenda with $4 million over five years to innovate their highly effective, data-driven school improvement model, Teach Lead Counsel (TLC), by developing an online platform that can transform their approach into a digital format that is equally impactful and highly scaleable.

TLC provides equity-based systemic changes to schools, so improvement is continuous and sustainable.

  • TEACH builds a powerful teaching and learning system by designing grade-level curriculum, common assessments and instructional strategies while enabling educators to reflect and reassess their methods.
  • LEAD builds the capacity of site and district leaders through a scholarly and technical approach to support the school conditions for staff and students to reach achievement targets.
  • COUNSEL builds the student support services division of the school community where staff use actionable data via an early warning and monitoring software to measure student progress. 

“We are thrilled to be awarded this EIR grant, which allows us to accelerate our work to ensure every student, regardless of circumstance, experiences the premium education that only some have historically received,” said

Dr. Robin Avelar La Salle, Orenda CEO & Founder. “School systems want to provide a true, right and just education for all kids and this new platform will help do just that.”

The TLC model currently serves schools with a high-impact, in-person, systems-driven approach to improve academic achievement for underserved students. The methodologies use data to guide teachers, administrators, and school counselors to ensure that students are mastering grade-level curriculum and are on-track to graduating high school, prepared for college and career ready.

The TLC approach uniquely targets interventions to all levels and professions within a school, district, or charter, not only to teachers, which is more common in the field. This “nested” approach is one of the keys to success towards sustainable, systemic improvement for the entire district.

“The pandemic cast a spotlight on the need to improve student outcomes, especially for our most vulnerable communities who have been hit hardest over the last two years,” said Think Together Founder and CEO Randy Barth. “Teachers, administrators and counselors have the best shot at ensuring these kids have a bright future and I am so proud that Orenda’s refined approach has been vetted through this grant to help all educators serve students in a way that gives youth an equitable education.”

With the number of districts performing below standards, especially in light of the learning loss following COVID-19’s impact to schools, the time is right for a school improvement platform that can reach schools that need less-intensive interactions or those that require geographic flexibility. Orenda will roll-out the new TLC platform to a select group of five “treatment school” cohorts each year, reaching over 5,000 students in year one of the grant and more than 16,000 students by end of year five. To support these cohorts, Orenda plans to digitize the TLC model into a multilayered learning management system, to alleviate the need for intensive staff support.

In partnership with Orenda, the San Diego, Ventura, and Monterey County Offices of Education have committed to help identify and recruit schools compatible to test the platform for this newly funded initiative. Dr. Paul Gothold, Superintendent of San Diego County Office of Education, was an early adopter of Orenda’s work as the former superintendent of Lynwood Unified School District.

Under Gothold’s leadership, Lynwood Unified worked with Orenda to improve students’ math and English test scores, increase graduation rates to 90.8%, and decrease student drop-out rates to 2.5%. Lynwood Unified was named the 2017 National AP District of the Year and Lynwood High School was ranked a 2020 Best High School by U.S. News and World Report.  

“Orenda provides the technical expertise for true district turn-around. The systems approach and professional development modules to build staff capacity ensures all leaders have the tools and resources to be equity leaders for all students,” said Gothold. “Through our work together, we were able to achieve incredible outcomes for students and we’re thrilled to continue working with them on this pivotal program.”

To implement this program, Orenda is looking to immediately hire a Head of Product, Orenda Software, to develop and lead a plan for taking Orenda’s existing software tools to a single solution that any school, district or charter can access. The organization will also be recruiting for data/technology leads, education software developers, data collection analyst and achievement specialist as the work continues to scale.

As the pandemic forced school closures, Orenda seized the unique opportunity to work with schools in a virtual environment, laying the foundation for digitizing the TLC model. Orenda has since increased its impact from 49,000 students reached in 2019-2020 school year to more 90,000 students reached in 2020-2021. In addition, Orenda has steadily grown across California and now partners with districts and schools in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, Kern, Sonoma, Imperial, and Santa Barbara counties.

About Orenda Education

A Think Together affiliate since 2014, Orenda Education’s primary focus is to support school and district leaders to provide the right conditions for all students to experience a world-class education, so they are prepared for college and career. This group of highly experienced educational equity warriors partner with school districts to identify research-based equity-grounded solutions for closing the Achievement Gap. Orenda’s proven approach dramatically improves student outcomes and creates paths for college and career opportunities. For more information, please go to orendaed.org.

About Think Together

Think Together partners with schools and communities to pursue educational equity and excellence for all kids. As a nonprofit organization, Think Together innovates, implements, and scales academic solutions that change the odds for hundreds of thousands of California students. Think Together’s program areas include early learning, afterschool, school support services and leadership development for teachers and school administrators. For more information, call (888) 485-THINK or visit www.thinktogether.org.

Media Inquiries
Elena Bosch
(714) 824-8136
[email protected]

Think Together, California’s leading nonprofit provider of afterschool, expanded learning and school improvement programs is the proud recipient of a $317,128 grant from the LA84 Foundation, a nationally recognized leader of youth sport programs focused on positive youth development. This grant will allow more students from under-resourced communities to participate in free team sports opportunities. This news has been covered by Redlands Daily Facts, Riverside County News Source, California News, El Excélsior, and Coachella Valley Independent.

Think Together’s funding from the LA84 Foundation previously covered sports for 3,240 students at 81 public schools across Los Angeles, Riverside and San Bernardino counties. This year, the funding is much more extensive, allowing 7,040 students at 88 schools across Los Angeles, Riverside and San Bernardino counties to gain access to sports programs. The expansion includes schools in Think Together’s newest region, Palm Springs.

“Think Together and the LA84 Foundation are aligned in wanting to promote equity for kids. For Think Together that’s in the classroom, and for the LA84 Foundation it’s supporting positive youth development through sport and play,” said Randy Barth, founder and CEO of Think Together. “The communities we serve are often under-resourced, and we have seen the value of making sure students are exposed to sports and activity for their physical and mental health.”

Depending on state and county health guidelines, Think Together will provide in-person sports programs with three 10-week rotations: basketball program for boys and girls in the winter; boys and girls soccer program in the spring; and flag football and volleyball programs in the fall, each with culminating tournaments.

Sports programming is a crucial element of students’ education and will help them develop socio-emotional skills and identity development. In addition to competitive sports, Think Together will provide Skillastics, an evidence-based curriculum, with in-person modules in martial arts, STEM and sports, yoga, mindfulness and more. If needed, Think Together can also provide the Skillastics curriculum in a virtual environment to engage students in physical activity while teaching them sports skills.

Research from the USC Keck School of Medicine found that children were less physically active and much more sedentary in the early phases of the pandemic. Based on the study, the highest risk group includes low-income and minority students. Regular exercise and sports programs help student social and emotional development as they learn to work as a team and practice strategy and collaborative thinking skills. In addition, regular exercise helps students focus better while in the classroom.

In support of Think Together sports programs, US Soccer Foundation, Adidas and New England Revolution Midfielder Sebastian Lletget recently gave Compton students the experience of a lifetime. Lletget kicked activities off with soccer drills, dribbling and passing the ball to students up and down the field. The former LA Galaxy player still calls LA home and felt proud to give back to the students Think Together serves.

“I know how important sports can be for building relationships and having fun. I want to share that with these kids and give them the proper gear to hopefully spark something in them to continue being active,” said Lletget. “I’m grateful to have the opportunity to do this and want to give a huge thanks to the team at Adidas and Think Together for bringing it all together. I want these kids to know that with hard work, they can be in my shoes one day or go even further than I have.“

Think Together is grateful to have the support of partners to give students access to athletic experiences to stay healthy and keep their minds sharp in the classroom.

Bay Area Quality Assurance Coach Trainer Krystal Gonzalez has been part of the Think Together team for the past six months. In that time, she has impressed us with her leadership skills as well as her care and connection to Think Together’s mission. Krystal graduated from California State University, Dominguez Hills with a Bachelor of Sciences degree in child development and a minor in Spanish. We are excited for you to get to know her more!

What’s your “why” for wanting to work at Think Together? 
I grew up attending afterschool programs from elementary to middle school and I always felt I was in a safe space around the program leaders and site coordinators. I want to continue providing that safe space to the students that attend program and be able to reach out to others so that they can have the opportunity of a quality program and be able to take something with them that they can carry on, as I have after all these years.

What is one of your proudest moments/success stories that connect to your “why?”
One of my proudest moments was graduating with my AA before graduating high school. That set me up for success as well as having a support system behind me. The “why?” behind this is that I attended a school district that was impacted by many students and sometimes I did not get the academic support that I needed. I want to change this and make sure that the students who attend afterschool programs not only have fun but learn at least one thing that can help them with their goals.

What is one thing you are hoping to accomplish in 2022?
I want to make sure my team feels happy working under my leadership, and I want to become a better leader myself to make sure we are always one step ahead of things.

What are you hoping to help Think Together accomplish in 2022?
I’m hoping to help Think Together accomplish our mission by making sure we change the odds for kids through their academic achievements and ensure a positive/fun work environment for staff.  

Krystal, thank you for being an excellent support system for staff and students!

It’s a special moment when someone discovers their passion and what they want to do for their career. For San Bernardino Program Leader Aaron Smyers, that calling happened when he was a Think Together student back in 2009. Aaron began working as a program leader three months ago after being a volunteer from 2016-to 2020.   Nothing is more humbling to us than when previous students want to come back to work with us to change the odds for kids for the next generation. These staff stories are special to us as well because we can see just how far Think Together has come over the last 25 years through the eyes of these staff members.  

We sat down with Aaron to ask him to share his Think Together journey, and we are excited to share his story with you.

Q. Aaron, could you tell us a bit about how your experience was as a Think Together student?

A. I came to Vista Grande as a brand-new student in 2009 straight from Montclair and started a new school with new people. I didn’t know anybody and Think Together was just a different way to not only meet new people but also be able to work on homework which I needed as a kid as well with an active IEP (Individualized Education Program). I struggled in various subjects and struggled just focusing on homework. I appreciated the collaboration and support of Think Together because I didn’t have to worry about being alone. There are always people there for you and our program leaders were always trying to push us to not only do better for ourselves but also find what we wanted to do as well.

Q. When was the first moment you realized you wanted to be in education?

A. I always loved helping other classes in my program. The staff encouraged us to finish our homework and extra problems so we could help the lower-grade students. I loved being able to help them.

Q. Now working as a program leader, do you find yourself mirroring what the site staff did when you were a student? 

A. Yes, one of my favorite program leaders of all is now a site coordinator and she was always so reliable and supportive. She encouraged us to talk about anything and I struggled a lot. As a 6th grader in her class, she saw that, but always gave me opportunities to do better. I see myself pushing forward to be like her and I find myself mirroring even my coworkers now. I want to do better and be better for my students.

Q. How have you seen Think Together evolve through your own experiences?

I want to say the biggest change comes in the budget. From 2009-to 2019, there were more limits to the budget and our site had to get creative with it. But now we have more supporters and partners who want to listen and be a part of our stories and it’s made Think Together that much better because we can afford to do so much more for our kids. The experience just gets better from here as we can give them [the students] better opportunities.

Q. What are your career goals? Do you see yourself staying at Think Together?

A. I love management and organization, and I would love to move up within Think Together. I would love to one day become a quality assurance coach. I would love to stay here my entire career until retirement, I love what I do here, and I love making a difference.

Site staff like Aaron are the backbone of the organization, and we are so grateful to have such passionate and devoted employees who are actively changing the odds for kids within their communities and being positive role models.

If you want to be like Aaron and make a difference in your community, visit thinktogether.org/jobs and see what opportunities are available near you.

February is Black History Month, however, at Think Together, we think it is vital to celebrate the voices who have helped pave the way and bring more attention to providing kids with quality and equitable education no matter what month it is. Race, ethnicity, gender identity, or socio-economic status should not be a determining factor in how successful a child will be along their educational journey. 

The work towards equity in education is ongoing to this day, however, we want to take the time to share a few of the many odds-changers in history that have made an impact. We hope that you feel inspired to dig deeper and learn even more about these passionate educators and activists making change happen. 

Alexander Twilight is the first Black man known to have earned a bachelor’s degree from an American college or university, graduating from Middlebury College in 1823. Alexander then became the first Black man to serve in a state legislature in the United States, a monumental stride towards introducing more inclusive legislature.

Read more about Alexander Twilight. 

In 1869, Fanny Jackson Coppin became the principal at the school she had been teaching for the last four years. She expanded the curriculum to include an Industrial Department and established a Women’s Industrial Exchange to display the mechanical and artistic works of young women. She also persuaded employers to hire her pupils in capacities that would utilize their education.

Read more about Fanny Jackson Coppin. 

The first Black woman to earn a Ph.D. in Psychology in 1933, Inez Beverly Prosser did extensive research on the effect of segregated schools versus non-segregated schools on Black students. She was passionate about finding the best way to foster and educate young Black students. She was also one of the first to take a vested interest in the mental health of Black children subjected to racism.

Read more about Inez Beverly Prosser.

As the first Black graduate student in Mathematics in 1887, Kelly Miller came to understand the importance of education to help foster strong Black leaders. He then became a dean at Howard University and an active civil rights activist where he continued to push for access to higher education for all Black Americans. 

Read more about Kelly Miller. 

Esau Jenkins purchased a bus in 1945 to bus children to school and adults to their jobs. During these bus rides, Jenkins stressed the importance of voting and taught them to recite passages from the state constitution (something that was required to vote in South Carolina at the time). Before his passing, he was appointed to the U.S Commission of Civil Rights.

Read more about Esau Jenkins. 

Rita F. Pierson, a professional educator since 1972, taught elementary school, junior high, and special education. She was a counselor, a testing coordinator, and an assistant principal. In each of these roles, she brought a special energy to the role; a desire to get to know her students, show them how much they matter, and support them in their growth, even if it was modest.

For the past decade, Pierson conducted professional development workshops and seminars for thousands of educators. Focusing on the students who are too often under-served, she lectured on topics like “Helping Under-Resourced Learners,” “Meeting the Educational Needs of African American Boys” and “Engage and Graduate your Secondary Students: Preventing Dropouts.”

Watch her Ted Talk titled “Every Kid Needs a Champion” https://www.ted.com/talks/rita_pierson_every_kid_needs_a_champion

Dr. Edmund Gordon was one of the first educators to focus on closing the academic achievement gap. His long career as a psychologist weaves in and out of that history, with appointments at numerous universities, groundbreaking research into how education shapes minds, and his role in 1965 as a founder of the federal Head Start Program, which provides education, nutrition, and health-care assistance to children living in poverty. He also founded the Institute for Urban Education at Columbia University’s Teachers College in 1973.

Read more about Dr. Edmund Gordon.

Currently making Black history in the present day and at only 17 years old, activist Marley Dias is making waves. From launching her #1000BlackGirlBooks campaign to becoming an author, there’s still plenty of greatness we’ll see from this influential young Black woman in years to come. “Innovation comes from, one, acknowledging yourself; two, studying and understanding the problem and three, finding a solution.” – Marley Dias

Read more about Marley Dias. 

Amanda Gorman is the youngest inaugural poet in U.S. history, as well as an award-winning writer and cum laude graduate of Harvard University, where she studied Sociology. She has written for the New York Times and has three books being published with Penguin Random House.

One of the books Change Sings, is an illustrated children’s book that reminds the newest generation that anything is possible when our voices join together. As a young girl leads a cast of characters on a musical journey, they learn that they have the power to make changes—big or small—in the world, in their communities, and in most importantly, in themselves. 

Read more about Amanda Gorman.

Think Together’s mission is to change the odds for all kids. Demographics shouldn’t be a determining factor in a child’s destiny and we are proud of the work that we are accomplishing with our school partners to continue to give all students the tools they need to achieve their goals.

The Boeing Company has awarded $100,000 in grant funding to Think Together’s Southeast Los Angeles County region. This grant marks their third year of funding at $100,000 and has created a K-12 STEM continuum, serving more than 16,000 students across the cities of Bellflower, Lynwood and Compton. Boeing’s support of Think Together’s STEM programs was covered by the Orange County Register over the weekend on January 22. 

At Think Together, students are provided instruction in introductory coding, robotics, and logic through our Coding For All initiative and other expanded learning and enrichment curriculums. Programming supported by Coding For All includes visual and text-based code editing, e-sports competitions, rapid-prototyping, STEM career explorations, Invention Adventures activities, and Hack Clubs in Los Angeles county as well as in Riverside, San Bernardino, Orange, Alameda and Santa Clara counties.

Boeing employees have contributed to the program serving as judges for competitions, conventions, and career panels. Through the funding and support provided by Boeing, Think Together has been able to offer a robust STEM curriculum and support to these traditionally under-resourced students. Many of Boeing’s employees have similar backgrounds as the students Think Together serves, and this partnership makes visible the future successes our students can achieve.

​​​​​“Boeing is proud to support an organization like Think Together that inspires our youth to engage in opportunities involving math, science and technology,” said Kristie Hernández, Senior Government & Community Relations Specialist at Boeing. “By partnering with Think Together, we are helping local students receive equitable education resources that can propel them for success now and in the future.”

Knowledge from STEM courses is becoming increasingly more vital for careers out of college. Science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) concepts are critical, but so are the traits developed like ingenuity, creativity, problem-solving, resilience, teamwork, and the willingness to take risks.  

“We are grateful for partners like The Boeing Company who believe education is the key to changing the odds for kids,” says Randy Barth, founder and CEO of Think Together. “STEM knowledge is integral to future success and Think Together is proud to offer that knowledge to students through our partnership.” 

Think Together prides itself in cultivating an environment where students feel safe to make mistakes and learn the concepts through STEM projects. There has been an assortment of STEM lessons and challenges throughout the 2021-22 school year that are based on the undergirding of rapid prototyping and coming up with creative solutions in a timed setting. One STEM challenge was to build a skyscraper using Lego kits.

Students worked together to see who could construct the tallest skyscraper without it toppling over and tested to see how strong their skyscrapers were. This challenge allowed students to think quickly and collaboratively to make the best skyscraper possible. Students describe the challenges as hard but fun and are always looking forward to the next opportunity to participate in an activity. 

“I love the way our students have become so creative through their STEM activities. They look forward to these hands on-minds on experiences,” said Virginia Servin, Think Together Quality Assurance Coach. 

These lessons get students excited about STEM, and students become the teachers when they bring these activities home to challenge family members. “My daughter asked me to purchase her own Lego kit to play with at home. She loves the activities she does at Think Together,” said one Think Together parent. 

Think Together is grateful for all of our partners who help contribute to our afterschool programs. Together we are giving students an extra level of support that they will carry with them the rest of their academic career.

Think Together receives $317,128 in grant funding from The LA84 Foundation to provide afterschool sports programs to 88 schools throughout Southern California

Santa Ana, Calif. (January 27, 2021) Think Together, California’s leading nonprofit provider of afterschool, expanded learning and school improvement programs, today announced the award of a $317,128 grant from the LA84 Foundation, a nationally recognized leader of youth sport programs focused on positive youth development. This grant will allow more students from under-resourced communities to participate in free team sports opportunities.

Think Together’s funding from the LA84 Foundation previously covered sports for 3,240 students at 81 public schools across Los Angeles, Riverside and San Bernardino counties. This year, the funding is much more extensive, allowing 7,040 students at 88 schools across Los Angeles, Riverside and San Bernardino counties to gain access to sports programs. The expansion includes schools in Think Together’s newest region, Palm Springs.

“Think Together and the LA84 Foundation are aligned in wanting to promote equity for kids. For Think Together that’s in the classroom, and for the LA84 Foundation it’s supporting positive youth development through sport and play,” said Randy Barth, founder and CEO of Think Together. “The communities we serve are often under-resourced, and we have seen the value of making sure students are exposed to sports and activity for their physical and mental health.”

Depending on state and county health guidelines, Think Together will provide in-person sports programs with three 10-week rotations: basketball program for boys and girls in the winter; boys and girls soccer program in the spring; and flag football and volleyball programs in the fall, each with culminating tournaments.

Sports programming is a crucial element of students’ education and will help them develop socio-emotional skills and identity development. In addition to competitive sports, Think Together will provide Skillastics, an evidence-based curriculum, with in-person modules in martial arts, STEM and sports, yoga, mindfulness and more. If needed, Think Together can also provide the Skillastics curriculum in a virtual environment to engage students in physical activity while teaching them sports skills.

“Sports and play programs have never been more important to help kids learn, connect with each other and add joy to their lives in a healthy environment,” said Nolan Ortiz, Director, Grants & Programs of the LA84 Foundation. “Think Together continues to expand their sports programming to reach more youth. We thank Think Together for their partnership and commitment to closing the Play Equity gap across the region.”

Research from the USC Keck School of Medicine found that children were less physically active and much more sedentary in the early phases of the pandemic. Based on the study, the highest risk group includes low-income and minority students. Regular exercise and sports programs helps student social and emotional development as they learn to work as a team and practice strategy and collaborative thinking skills. In addition, regular exercise helps students focus better while in the classroom.

Think Together and the LA84 Foundation have partnered since 2008, and have since served approximately 50,000 students with sports programming, alongside sports and healthy living partners like the LA Dodgers Foundation, US Soccer Foundation and Kaiser Permanente.

Private philanthropic grants are pivotal to Think Together’s expanded learning programs and provide students with equitable access to academic and enrichment programs many youth may not otherwise receive.

Think Together’s afterschool expanded learning programs are funded in part by After School Education and Safety (ASES) grants awarded by the California Department of Education and 21st Century Community Learning Centers grants secured from the U.S. Department of Education. In 2020, California Gov. Gavin Newsom, committed a record $5 billion investment by 2025 for afterschool programs as part of his historic $123 billion funding bill to support K-12 schools.

About Think Together

Think Together partners with schools and communities to pursue educational equity and excellence for all kids. As a nonprofit organization, Think Together innovates, implements, and scales academic solutions that change the odds for hundreds of thousands of California students. Think Together’s program areas include early learning, afterschool, school support services and leadership development for teachers and school administrators. For more information, call (888) 485-THINK or visit www.thinktogether.org.

About the LA84 FoundationThe LA84 Foundation is a nationally recognized leader in support of youth sport programs and public education about the role of sports in positive youth development. The foundation has supported thousands of Southern California youth sports organizations through grant making and funding facilities and fields of play, while also training coaches, commissioning research, convening conferences and acting as a national thought leader on important issues in the youth sports industry. LA84 levels the playing field to ensure all youth have access and opportunity despite economics, gender or ability, while elevating the field of youth sports as an integral pathway to lifelong well-being. To learn more, visit www.la84.org and @LA84Foundation on Twitter and Instagram. For more information, visit www.la84.org.

Media Inquiries
Elena Bosch
(714) 824-8136
[email protected]

Stone Avenue Elementary Site Coordinator Darlene Castruita has been an instrumental part of Think Together’s Jurupa Valley team, Riverside Region and the entire organization. No matter what challenge is in front of her, Darlene keeps a positive mindset and understanding that what she does is essential to the development of our students. Her resourcefulness, creative thinking, kindness, guidance and encouraging nature makes her a strong leader who cultivates an amazing team connected to Think Together’s mission. We are excited to share a little more about her with you.

What’s your “why” for working at Think Together?  
My “why” is to be able to provide a quality program to my community. I know that my staff and I are making an impact in our student’s lives when past students who are now in high school want to come back and be part of the program as mentors to our younger students. That is what pushes me to continue with my work at Think Together.​​​​​

What has been one of your team’s greatest successes so far this school year? 
One of the best successes this school year has been how much our students in program have grown. Whether academically or emotionally they have made great strides to better themselves. One of our students expressed how he felt so welcomed in the program and said, “I am so happy to have someone to talk to about my day and have someone to share my bad days with as well.” Our little humans have the potential to be anything they want to be, and we are happy to be part of their lives.

What is your favorite Think Together memory since you started working here? 
One of my favorite memories is to this day receiving updates from my parents about their students, how they are doing in school and life. One of my first parents shared with me the following “Ms. Darlene I just wanted to send you a quick thank you for always pushing my son to his best in school and going after his dreams. You make him feel like he can do it.” It’s a reminder that we as a program continue to make an impact on them even after they leave us. 

Especially over the last two years, we’ve had to experience a lot of adaptability and flexibility. What is one way you’ve helped support your team and students through this time? 
I had the opportunity to be able to be part of the lesson curation team to create lessons for our students that would help with social and emotional learning. Watching these lessons come to life during virtual learning and seeing the impact these lessons had on our students was an amazing experience. Since then, my team and I have been able to adapt at a moment’s notice to better support our students and district during this time of need. 

What are you looking to accomplish during 2022? 
I’m looking forward most to being able to watch and contribute to our student’s improvement in every aspect of their lives. 

Thank you, Darlene, to you and your team for changing the odds for kids!

Meet Ethan, future structural engineer (or architect).


A brand-new year is full of possibility and Think Together is excited to share with you the bright future generation of leaders currently enrolled in our programs. Each year, we grow more impressed hearing about our students’ passions and wishes for the world. These students inspire our work and fuel our mission to continue to change the odds for kids. To kick off the new year, we want to introduce you to Ethan, a particularly inspiring student from our Riverside County region.

Ethan, who is currently a fifth grader in our afterschool program, wants to be a structural engineer or an architect. He is especially interested in designing houses from the outside in.

Ethan has been enrolled in Think Together for two years, and currently his favorite subject is math. “I like math because I just like to add up all the numbers, and sometimes it can be really easy and sometimes can be really challenging.”

Fortunately for Ethan, a path to becoming a structural engineer or architect is filled with math.

STEM is one of the core curriculum pillars Think Together adds to the expanded school day. Students like Ethan get an additional 540 hours of academic lessons and support through their attendance in our program. In addition to STEM, students participate in arts, enrichment, and physical activity.

“I think that Think Together helps me because whenever we’re finished with our homework, they always give us the daily four, which is extra problems that you can do. You can practice spelling new words, and you can also do math problems.”

When we asked Ethan what his new year’s resolution for 2022 is, he said his goal is to finish the school year with straight A’s. (And he feels confident he can achieve that goal.)

As Ethan moves on to middle school in the 2022-23 school year, he will be equipped with a firm foundation to build on for the next stages of his academic career. And Ethan is ambitious with his future, he’s hoping to be part of Stanford’s freshman class of 2029.

You are helping students like Ethan reach for their dreams through your support of Think Together. We are thrilled to announce that in our Together We Light the Way end-of-year campaign we raised $410,000! Thank you for believing in Think Together’s mission as much as we do. 2022 is going to be an exciting year, and we are so happy to have you be a part of this journey.

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