Pushing the Barriers, Struggle and the Children of Immigrants in LA’s Public Schools

Yesenia Zamarripas is a 15-year-old student at Crenshaw High School

LOS ANGELES — Yesenia Zamarripas is about to enter her sophomore year at Crenshaw High School. Her Mexican parents speak very little English, and so it’s been hard for Yesenia to keep up with her peers. Now, the pressure is mounting, and there’s no time to fall behind. But resources are slim in the Los Angeles Unified School District, and there are very few options for getting extra help. Getting through high school is going to be tough.

This story is part of a series produced for the Carnegie-Knight Foundation’s News21 project. Visit “Breaking Through, the Children of Immigrants in California” for more information.

This story also appears on Intersections: the South Los Angeles Reporting Project

Tags: children, Education, English, high school, Immigrant, immigrants, Language, Los Angeles, School, Spanish