Help the Class of 2025 Break Down Barriers

Hello everyone, my name is Tro Manankichian. I am a teacher at ArTES Magnet High School. We are a small art magnet and a Title 1 school located in San Fernando, CA. Many of our students qualify for some form of government assistance. As you can imagine educational opportunities come few and far between for many of our students. This year we found out that we are losing our major source of funding, which we use to help fund college trips for our seniors. Upon hearing this news I knew something had to be done. We needed to find a way to allow us to break down socio-economic barriers for next year's seniors and allow them to not only learn about all the schools to which they can apply but also allow them to visit these schools and see exactly what lies ahead for them.

It is no secret that students who come from low socio-economic areas are far less likely to pursue higher levels of education, let alone graduate from these institutions. But why? One of the biggest reasons is knowledge and access. Many students from these areas are what would be considered first-generation college students. Many of them do not have their parents' knowledge and expertise to fall back on. Our goal is to tear down that barrier for our students. We try to send our students on multiple college trips during their junior and senior years. Showing our students that they too have the same opportunities to attend schools like UCLA, USC, Stanford, Harvard, etc. is the first step in helping them not only overcome the obstacles brought on by their socio-economic status but also allows them to finally have the opportunity to break the cycle of poverty their families have been stuck in for generations. Once again, unfortunately, the funding that allowed us to do this will no longer be here next year. But with your generous donation, we can show these amazing students that their current status does not, and will not, dictate the opportunities available to them.

Now who exactly are you helping? Let me introduce you to the class of 2025, some of whom are pictured above. These juniors represent everything a school wants to see in their students. We have amazing artists, ranging from dance, theatre, music, and graphic design. We have dozens of students who have both the GPA and extracurriculars to get them into any school they want. These students not only are balancing maintaining their stellar grades and keeping up with their extracurriculars, but many also have additional responsibilities at home. Many are responsible for taking care of their siblings and cooking family meals when they get home while their parents are working their second and sometimes third jobs. As you can imagine with all these responsibilities, many of these amazing students have never left the San Fernando Valley. Which is again, why these college trips are so important to them. We want to open their eyes to just how much the world has to offer, but it is difficult to see that when you can't imagine anything outside of your neighborhood.

How you can help:

Donate: Helps us meet our fundraising goal.

Share: Please share our GoFundMe campaign with your own network.

Funds will be used to pay for bussing, tour guides, and summer programs at certain schools

Help us show our amazing students that they deserve to go to any school they want. Why shouldn't these kids from poor old San Fernando also have the same opportunities as every other kid their age? Help us show them that college is not for some. It is for all. Thank you.