AT&T Launches $100 Million Philanthropic Education Program, Job Shadowing for 100,000 Students, Research and Community Engagement Support to Address High School Dropout Crisis

by Ann Simms

Mac Barnett is turning a shampoo bottle over in his hands. The liquid inside is viscous, the color of blood. “We haven’t gotten all the kinks out yet. But we’re close,” he says, grinning mischievously.

“Rasputin Baby Shampoo” is one ofthe 300 products that Barnett and his colleagues are developing for the Echo Park Time Travel Mart. (“El Dorado Solid Gold Scrubber Pads” and “Mammoth Chunks” soup are two more of the works-in-progress.) This store, once opened, will be the retail counterpoint to 826 LA, an educational wonderland for kids that’s been up and buzzing since March of 2005.

by Ann Simms

In the summer of 1969, Alice Waters and a friend were traveling across the plains of central Anatolia in a tiny, beat-up Morris Minor. Waters had just completed her coursework at the Montessori Institute in London, where she was preparing to become a high school teacher. This trip to Turkey, along with the next year she would spend restaurant hopping in France, was to be her last hurrah before launching a lifelong career in education.

We're dedicated to finding ways to smooth the path for motivated and bright students so that they will be able to participate fully in an increasingly competitive global economy, one where a college degree and critical thinking skills are essential for success.

Cedric Brown
Former LPFI Director of Higher Education Programs