Communities In Schools of Los Angeles Names Elmer Roldan Executive Director
Roldan Joins Communities In Schools of Los Angeles on November 18.
New Leader of CISLA Brings Deep Experience in Education, Community Engagement and Advocacy
Media Contact: Mary-Jane Wagle, CISLA Board Chair: 424-288-2809
LOS ANGELES, Ca. – Oct. 31, 2019 - The Board of Communities In Schools of Los Angeles (CISLA) today announced that Elmer Roldan has been named executive director following an extensive search for the new leader of Los Angeles’ leading student support organization. Roldan joins CISLA from the office of the Superintendent of LAUSD, where he most recently served as director of civic engagement.
“Elmer Roldan is a committed education and community leader who has devoted his career to empowering young people, families and communities and I’m thrilled to welcome him as the next leader of Communities In Schools of Los Angeles,” said CISLA Board Chair Mary-Jane Wagle. “Elmer’s story is the story of the young people and families we work with and he understands deeply their experiences, their strengths, their challenges and the power of connection and relationships to help them succeed. He is the right leader to help CISLA expand and deepen the impact of its proven student support programs in the Los Angeles community, building on the organization’s success in its first decade.”
Roldan will assume the role of executive director of Communities In Schools of Los Angeles on Nov. 18 and will lead our highly passionate and effective team who work to keep at-risk Los Angeles students in school and on a path to graduation. CISLA is the local affiliate of Communities In Schools, a national network of affiliates across 26 states and the District of Columbia. Communities In Schools places trained professionals inside public schools to implement its unique model of services – integrated student supports – to help students stay in school and graduate, ready for college or career. CISLA’s work focuses on connecting students to needed services and supports and promoting social-emotional wellness and strength to help students succeed in life.
CISLA currently serves more than 11,000 students in 11 traditional LAUSD elementary, middle and high schools, surrounding students with a community of support and caring relationships to help them stay in school and graduate, ready for college or career and a productive life.
Prior to his work in the Superintendent’s Office at LAUSD, Roldan led the Brothers, Sons, Selves Coalition – a collaboration of 10 community-based organizations with the mission of ending the criminalization of young boys and men of color; served as education officer and then director of education programs and policy at United Way of Los Angeles; worked as community affairs deputy in LAUSD Board President Monica Garcia’s office; and rose from youth organizer, to fundraising director, to director of youth programs at Community Coalition of South Los Angeles, where he began his working life as a teenager. Roldan brings a wealth of experience in bringing people together to uplift the voices and accomplishments of young people, their families and their communities. Roldan holds a Bachelor of Science degree in public administration and administrative management from California State University Dominguez Hills.
“I am grateful to join Communities In Schools at a time when it has demonstrated the power of its work for students and families in Los Angeles, especially in this era when the Los Angeles community is facing tremendous socioeconomic disparity,” said Roldan. “I know firsthand the power of caring and thoughtful relationships to young people in high needs communities; I am the students that CISLA serves. I would not have survived my childhood nor had the opportunity for a successful professional career without the support of people like the staff, board and donors of CISLA. I am excited to join the team to help CISLA widen and deepen its impact in our communities.”
Roldan joins Communities In Schools of Los Angeles at a pivotal time in the evolution of the organization:
LOS ANGELES, Ca. – Oct. 31, 2019 - The Board of Communities In Schools of Los Angeles (CISLA) today announced that Elmer Roldan has been named executive director following an extensive search for the new leader of Los Angeles’ leading student support organization. Roldan joins CISLA from the office of the Superintendent of LAUSD, where he most recently served as director of civic engagement.
“Elmer Roldan is a committed education and community leader who has devoted his career to empowering young people, families and communities and I’m thrilled to welcome him as the next leader of Communities In Schools of Los Angeles,” said CISLA Board Chair Mary-Jane Wagle. “Elmer’s story is the story of the young people and families we work with and he understands deeply their experiences, their strengths, their challenges and the power of connection and relationships to help them succeed. He is the right leader to help CISLA expand and deepen the impact of its proven student support programs in the Los Angeles community, building on the organization’s success in its first decade.”
Roldan will assume the role of executive director of Communities In Schools of Los Angeles on Nov. 18 and will lead our highly passionate and effective team who work to keep at-risk Los Angeles students in school and on a path to graduation. CISLA is the local affiliate of Communities In Schools, a national network of affiliates across 26 states and the District of Columbia. Communities In Schools places trained professionals inside public schools to implement its unique model of services – integrated student supports – to help students stay in school and graduate, ready for college or career. CISLA’s work focuses on connecting students to needed services and supports and promoting social-emotional wellness and strength to help students succeed in life.
CISLA currently serves more than 11,000 students in 11 traditional LAUSD elementary, middle and high schools, surrounding students with a community of support and caring relationships to help them stay in school and graduate, ready for college or career and a productive life.
Prior to his work in the Superintendent’s Office at LAUSD, Roldan led the Brothers, Sons, Selves Coalition – a collaboration of 10 community-based organizations with the mission of ending the criminalization of young boys and men of color; served as education officer and then director of education programs and policy at United Way of Los Angeles; worked as community affairs deputy in LAUSD Board President Monica Garcia’s office; and rose from youth organizer, to fundraising director, to director of youth programs at Community Coalition of South Los Angeles, where he began his working life as a teenager. Roldan brings a wealth of experience in bringing people together to uplift the voices and accomplishments of young people, their families and their communities. Roldan holds a Bachelor of Science degree in public administration and administrative management from California State University Dominguez Hills.
“I am grateful to join Communities In Schools at a time when it has demonstrated the power of its work for students and families in Los Angeles, especially in this era when the Los Angeles community is facing tremendous socioeconomic disparity,” said Roldan. “I know firsthand the power of caring and thoughtful relationships to young people in high needs communities; I am the students that CISLA serves. I would not have survived my childhood nor had the opportunity for a successful professional career without the support of people like the staff, board and donors of CISLA. I am excited to join the team to help CISLA widen and deepen its impact in our communities.”
Roldan joins Communities In Schools of Los Angeles at a pivotal time in the evolution of the organization:
- In the 2018-2019 school year, CISLA served 9,000 students in 8 traditional middle and high schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District; its case-managed high school seniors, originally identified as at risk of dropping out, achieved a 100% graduation rate last June. For the first year in its history, the students in its four-year cohort who had started in the 9th grade, achieved a 100% graduation rate.
- In this 2019-2020 school year, CISLA launched new programs in three schools in Watts, through the generosity of individual and foundation funders and through its collaboration with the Partnership for Los Angeles Schools: Grape Street Elementary School, Markham Middle School and Jordan High School. These are the first three schools in a planned expansion into the Watts community, with future planned expansion into other high needs Title I schools in Boyle Heights, South Los Angeles, Pico-Union/Westlake and other communities in Los Angeles, with the intention of helping to transform education trajectories in high needs communities by impacting feeder patterns of schools.
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Communities In Schools (CIS) is the nation’s largest organization dedicated to empowering at-risk students to stay in school and on a path to a brighter future. In Los Angeles working directly inside 11 schools across the city, CIS connects kids to caring adults and community resources designed to help them succeed. And, in partnership with local communities, CIS does whatever it takes to ensure that all kids—regardless of the challenges they may face— have what they need to realize their potential.
