Long Beach Unified School District superintendent Chris Steinhauser (far left) and Mayor Bob Foster (far right) join a group of City and School officials today at the launch of the Long Beach Initiative.

3:12pm | City and school district officials today unveiled a six-month plan that will use a $105 million investment to hopefully revitalize education and social needs surrounding Jordan High School in North Long Beach. The plan is called the North Long Beach Initiative, and organizers will hold a series of upcoming community meetings to gauge residents’ ideas.

The meat of the project is a major renovation of Jordan High School, which was built in 1935 and now serves more than 2,800 students just in grades 10-12. The money needed for the project was approved by voters when they passed the $1.2 billion Measure K bond in 2008. The funds may only be used for local school construction and modernization by law.

“The new Jordan High School could become a centerpiece for revitalization of the larger North Long Beach area,” said Christopher J. Steinhauser, superintendent of the Long Beach Unified School District. “Because students spend, on average, only 20 percent of their waking hours in the classroom, it’s imperative that their academic and social success is supported beyond school walls.”

But it isn’t just the high school that has a facelift in its future. The LBUSD and Claremont Graduate University School of Educational Studies will hold several community meetings and surveys to determine the best course of action for the surrounding community as well. To help in this effort, the North Long Beach Initiative Community Advisory Committee has been formed to guide planning and outreach.

“This is a great collaboration,” Mayor Foster said at the event, where he pledged to support the effort.  “We all know we have a great school district, but there is always room for improvement.  I think this investment will pay dividends for years to come.”

The upcoming community forums are listed below:

Monday, Jan. 31
Powell K -8 School Cafeteria
150 Victoria Street
Long Beach, CA 90805
 
Tuesday, Feb. 1
Grant Elementary School Auditorium
1225 E. 64th Street
Long Beach, CA 90805
 
Wednesday, Feb. 2
Lindbergh Middle School Auditorium
1022 E. Market Street
Long Beach, CA 90805
 
Thursday, Feb. 3
Dooley Elementary School Auditorium
5075 Long Beach Blvd.
Long Beach, CA 90805