California Charter Schools Association (CCSA) highlighted PUENTE Charter Elementary School in its CharterNation publication, a premier source for charter schools news and stories from California. CCSA released a research brief earlier this month that offers new insight into English learners who attend California Charter public schools.

An English learner (EL) is an individual who has limited proficiency in the English language. Within California’s K-12 system, EL students speak English as a second language. Most come from immigrant families or families with strong ties to a country other than the United States.

“When analyzing academic performance, our data shows that all public schools — both charter and district-run public schools — have more work to do to ensure ELs become proficient in English and progress academically,” according to CCSA. However, its research brief also reports two CCSA member schools that are innovating and overcoming systemic obstacles to support the needs of their EL population, including PUENTE Charter Elementary School.

For 38 years, PUENTE Learning Center has been building bridges to learning and opportunity in L.A.’s Boyle Heights community. Launched as a tutoring program for struggling first and second graders in a former Masonic Temple on East First Street, PUENTE is now a vital community resource, valued for its intergenerational approach to education and sustained by strategic public-private partnerships.

For 35 years, Dick Riordan supported PUENTE’s mission with his heart and his philanthropy. In the early 1990’s, he purchased the land on which its beautiful Boyle Avenue campus sits and continued helping PUENTE with grants from The Riordan Foundation. PUENTE Learning Center is one of Dick’s lasting legacies to the city he loved. He would be thrilled by the creation of PUENTE’s Riordan Community Impact Award, which The Riordan Foundation will be honored to accept at PUENTE’s upcoming ¡Servicio e Impacto! annual fundraising event on October 12th.

With gratitude for your consideration of the attached sponsorship opportunities, we invite you to join The Riordan Foundation in supporting PUENTE by purchasing a sponsorship and attending the event or making a donation in Dick’s honor. We hope to see you on October 12th and thank you in advance for your generosity to PUENTE, an organization Dick championed and loved with all his heart.

Warmest Regards,
Elizabeth Riordan, Mary Odell, and Carl McKinzie
The Riordan Foundation

It was an honor to welcome Senator Maria Elena Durazo, representative of California Senate District 26, to PUENTE Learning Center earlier this month. 

The 26th District that Senator Durazo represents includes diverse neighborhoods of Los Angeles such as Boyle Heights, East Los Angeles, El Sereno, Highland Park, and more.

During her visit, PUENTE CEO Jerome Greening engaged in meaningful conversation with Senator Durazo, underlining the profound impact our organization continues to make within her district. The Senator’s visit concluded with a tour of our campus, where she received a warm embrace from the youngest learners in our school.

PUENTE’s Lideres Inc. STEM entrepreneur students achieved a remarkable feat at the UnidosUS: The Power of Us Conference in Chicago, Illinois during the weekend of July 22-24, 2023. Their innovative ‘Ping’ product and business pitch secured them 1st place in the entrepreneur competition, with each of the four participants taking home HP Chromebooks.

The panel of judges, comprised of executives from FedEx, not only evaluated the seven groups of high school student participants but also co-sponsored the Lideres Inc. STEM Entrepreneur Summer Program in partnersip with Shell and UnidosUS.

Many thanks to UnidosUS for their invitation and unwavering support, making it possible for 15 members of our College and Career program, which included youth, parents, and staff, to attend the annual conference with all expenses covered.

It is with a heavy heart that we share that PUENTE Learning Center supporter and former LA Mayor Richard Riordan passed away on April 19, 2023 surrounded by his closest loved ones. He will be deeply missed, especially for his unwavering passion for serving others.

Richard Riordan’s legacy at PUENTE Learning Center will live on for many years to come. Richard gave PUENTE Learning Center the land where our Boyle Heights campus is located. Bringing people in from every corner of his universe, Richard provided essential leadership during the capital campaign to construct our 48,000 square foot educational facility, which is named in his honor. For over thirty years, Richard continued his philanthropic support of PUENTE Learning Center, in part through the Riordan Foundation.

Richard’s legacy is tremendous. Hundreds of thousands of students have had more opportunities to succeed because of his leadership and generosity in making sure that PUENTE Learning Center could have an outstanding facility and a sustainable future.

To honor his incredible legacy, PUENTE Learning Center has created the Richard J. Riordan Memorial Fund, dedicated to helping students reach their fullest potential and achieve their educational and career goals.

For any questions and for larger donations, please email donate@puente.org so more of your gift benefits our students directly.

We will miss Richard Riordan dearly, but his vision of building bridges to education for those who need it most continues through the passionate work of PUENTE Learning Center.

PUENTE Learning Center’s Groundbreaking Ceremony on Tuesday, April 25, 2023 marked the beginning of construction on its $10 million+ facility renovation. Designed by Berliner Architects, the project includes a seismic upgrade and other enhancements to accommodate the expansion of PUENTE Charter Elementary School and to make the Richard J. Riordan Building safe, accessible, and welcoming for many years to come—with exterior bracing, additional staircases, and more.

Construction will take place over the next 18 months and is scheduled to conclude in late 2024. The damper construction approach will be utilized to maintain routine operations with minimum interference.

Thank you to the generous donors who provided major support for this project: the Walton Family Foundation, GPSN, the Ahmanson Foundation, and the Helen and Will Webster Foundation.

On Thursday, September 29, 2022, our PUENTE gente gathered at our campus in the heart of Boyle Heights. Together, we celebrated the over 2,000 students and families we serve, listened to inspiring speeches, gave away exciting raffle prizes, and honored Andy Lippman with the 2022 PUENTE Volunteer of the Year Award.

And best of all the generosity from our supporters raised over $45,000 in critical funds to build bridges to education and opportunity in Boyle Heights and beyond!

PUENTE is proud to have been an official Charity Partner of the 2022 LA Big 5K. On Saturday, March 19, 2022, PUENTE participated in a family-friendly run/walk as part of an exciting race weekend of the LA Marathon, passing through Elysian Park before a rewarding finish against the backdrop of the world-famous Dodger Stadium.

Every mile that Team PUENTE ran, walked, or jogged supported our mission to bring high-quality education to children, youth, and families in Boyle Heights, East LA, and beyond.

For more information on how you can join Team PUENTE in 2023, please click the button below.