Our school is named after Bert Corona, a Latino activist who dedicated his life to achieving social and economic justice for underserved immigrant communities in Los Angeles and across the nation. Born to immigrant parents in the border town of El Paso in 1918 and inspired by his father’s participation in the Mexican Revolution, Corona dedicated his life to fighting economic and social injustice. His untiring activism, based on coalition-building and community mobilization, spans much of the twentieth century.
Bert Corona worked alongside Cesar Chavez and the UFW organizing farm workers and in the political sphere, he served as co-chair for both Lyndon Johnson’s and Bobby Kennedy’s presidential campaigns in California. Bert Corona’s experiences are historical, inspirational, and political in nature. Bert Corona is credited, along with Cesar Chavez and others, for founding the modern Chicano movement.
Bert Corona Charter Middle School will equip low-income students in grades 6–8 for academic success and active community participation. The school is located in the Heart of the San Fernando Valley, Pacoima, an area fraught with poverty and academically struggling students. Bert Corona Charter Middle School seeks to close the achievement gap for these students by providing clear and high expectations for all students, a personalized and supportive learning environment that recognizes students’ accomplishments, family-school-community partnerships and service, and culturally enriched curriculum.