About Us » Our Story

Our Story

Beginning

Bert Corona Charter High School (BCCHS) opened in August 2015. BCCHS is part of the YPICS family of schools. Bert Corona Char­ter High School prepares stu­dents in grades 9-12 to be college and career ready, active citizens, and lifelong learners. Our school is located in Pacoima and serves students primarily from the Northeast San Fernando Valley. 

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 oth­ers, for found­ing the mod­ern Chi­cano movement.

Approach

Children are the focus of our families, and therefore are the primary focus of our schools. Families are the building block of a community. By lifting families, we can build strong communities. YPICS looks at the needs of students through a parent’s eyes in order to make the hopes and dreams for our students a reality. We provide a positive, just, equitable, diverse, and inclusive culture. Our schools are focused on supporting families to help their children succeed in life by ensuring access to a high quality rigorous education and by providing a positive culture in a public school setting.

School Initiatives

  1. Project Based Learning-  Students are engaged in interdisciplinary learning which is focused on student creation in an effort to make content more exciting and relevant to their own lives.
  2. Service Learning- Students are involved in helping to determine and meet real, defined community needs. It is reciprocal in nature, benefiting both the community and the student by combining a service experience with a learning experience.
  3. Enhanced Learning- Technology is integrated within the curriculum so that students learn computer skills while pursuing academic goals. Specifically, BCCHS offers a Career Technical Education Pathway in Media Arts.
  4. Parent and Community Involvement- Student and families are provided supports through a community schools model. YPICS embodies the belief that students thrive when they are part of a supportive community.
Bert Corona was able to "find a hero in Everyone!"
-Margo De Lay, Daughter of Bert Corona