Robert Hurst, Magnet School Coordinator                    (213) 228-7504
Georgette Todd, Young Adult Services Coordinator      (213) 228-7493

About the School

Managers and professionals in the 21st Century will work with the information superhighway - the international network of electronic information. Knowledge of the technology, management, and uses of information for human communications will be essential for the college-educated men and women of the future.

And what better location for an Electronic Information Magnet than the spectacular new Central Library in Downtown Los Angeles. The program is a joint project of the Los Angeles Public Library and the Los Angeles Unified School District's Downtown Business Magnet High School. It is being developed in cooperation with the UCLA Graduate School of Education and Information Studies. Librarians and teachers have a shared mission to teach where and how to find information, and this program provides the opportunity for them to work collaboratively.

A Joint Project of the Los Angeles Unified School District, the Graduate School of Education and Information Studies of the University of California, Los Angeles, and the Los Angeles Public Library.

Mission and Goals

The Mission of the Electronic Information Magnet School is to provide educational experiences for its students which enable them to successfully develop lifelong research skills critical to their present educational development and to their future careers and professions. The program is a collaboration between the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) and the Los Angeles Public Library which uses the broad spectrum of information resources and current technologies offered by the Central Library to enhance LAUSD's capability to create an ideal classroom without walls. Students will have equitable access to the research tools and technologies required for participation in the Information Age. Through community partnerships we will build a seamless path for learning that will enable all students to contribute and benefit from our diverse society.

Through our participation in this program students will learn to access, synthesize, evaluate and disseminate all types of information, in a variety of formats, including electronic technology. As they learn about subject materials of the high school curriculum, students will gain knowledge of the technology, management, and uses of information essential for human communications for college-educated men and women of the future.

Objective

Students will develop lifelong research skills critical to their present educational development and invaluable to their future career, profession and lifestyle. Given the explosion in the amount of information available. Discerning and informed citizens are necessary in today's society. In the Electronic Information Magnet program, the instructional components of courses the State of California requires for graduation will be expanded to incorporate use of a variety of print resources and the most recent technologies available to access information. These include online databases, electronic information resources, and multimedia products and services. Informational resource instruction for students in the Electronic Information Magnet will be provided by teachers, librarians, and graduate library interns. Students will also have field-trip and internship opportunities in information-intensive organizations located in downtown such as professional firms (law, architecture, etc.), businesses, and government agencies.

Themes

Theme for 9th Grade: Questioning and Introduction to Technology

The ninth grade curriculum will serve as an introductory year for all EIM students, so that they learn the rudiments of technology, the information literacy theme, team concepts, etc. This will be accomplished in a consecutive semester "Team/Tools" class that all ninth graders attend. The class will cover: intro to the computer and technology, Big Six, intro to CARL and LUMMIS, team definition and ways to function, intro to database, intro to spreadsheet, intro to word processing, and intro to the Internet in the first semester. The second semester will include: the Internet cont'd., note taking, and presentation software tools and skills instruction.

Theme for 10th Grade: Questioning and Application Technology

The tenth grade students will apply the intro work learned in the 9th grade to their course work. Each EIM course offered will incorporate the use of ethe Big Six@ as well as the information research process and an intro to search strategies. Course designs will include the use of teams to foster EIM students development of the necessary workplace and interpersonal skills.

Theme for 11th Grade: In Depth Questioning and Problem Solving Solutions

The eleventh grade will emphasize search strategies, use of specialized reference sources, database searches, critical evaluation of sources, completeness of research, use of other libraries, and refinement of presentation skills, with an emphasis on electronic and multimedia tools.

Theme for 12th Grade: Synthesis and Evaluation

Twelfth grade students will write a thesis of their choosing. Each student will do advanced research, and develop the thesis for a final presentation before an audience of subject matter professionals. The research process will require the application of the research skills, information literacy processes, and presentation skills which have been learned in the EIM program.