Ross Stripling, Alex Verdugo to celebrate partnership Thursday with students at Compton Avenue Elementary School

On Tuesday, the Dodgers announced the donation of 25,000 tickets in support of Los Angeles Unified School District’s Attendance Incentive Program, where the tickets will serve as a reward for deserving students.

To kick off the partnership, Dodgers pitcher Ross Stripling and outfielder Alex Verdugo will join students at Compton Avenue Elementary School Thursday at 11:00 a.m. (1515 E. 104^th Street, Los Angeles, CA 90002) to celebrate the announcement and take part in playground fun and games, led by Playworks. Dodgers Vice President of External Affairs and Community Relations Naomi Rodriguez and LAUSD Superintendent Austin Beutner will make opening remarks at the assembly.

“We’re proud to support LAUSD’s Attendance Incentive Program and look forward to welcoming some of the area’s best and brightest students to Dodger Stadium,” said Rodriguez. “Our Dodger players know the dedication necessary to accomplish goals over a long season, and join us in recognizing the efforts of these great students who bring their ‘A-game’ each day at school.”

The Dodgers have long supported school attendance through their Step Up to the Plate attendance program, which provides game tickets, goody bags, on-field recognitions and a certificate of achievement for local students who showed perfect attendance during the course of a semester.

“We are grateful to have the Los Angeles Dodgers as a partner in our efforts to improve student attendance across Los Angeles Unified,” said Beutner. “We know that if students attend school today and every day, they can achieve great things tomorrow. The tickets provided by the Los Angeles Dodgers will incentivize more students to come to class, ready to learn.”

Compton Avenue Elementary School was selected to host Thursday’s program after the school saw the most improved attendance in the district. Under Principal Lashon Sanford, the school leadership recognized that students with chronic absenteeism rates needed more support and created their own school-led attendance campaign, which included the development of individualized student attendance plans and even knocking on students’ doors when they were absent to escort them to school. As a result, Compton Avenue Elementary saw an 11 percent increase in their student proficiency attendance rate, demonstrating the power of school leadership to implement creative solutions to support their students.

(Article courtesy of LA Dodgers)

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