Like all LAUSD public schools, Short Avenue receives funding through the district, with the majority of public education funding ultimately coming from state and federal sources. These funds provide the foundation for our school and cover the basic necessities required to operate.

But providing our children with the educational experience our community values requires more than the basics. That is where FoSA comes in.

Our Community Prioritizes Smaller Class Sizes & More Classroom Support

For the 2026–2027 school year, approximately 75% of FoSA's budget will go directly toward creating smaller student-to-adult ratios at Short Avenue—primarily by helping fund classroom aides and an additional upper-grade teacher.

LAUSD provides funding for a portion of our teacher aide hours, and FoSA funds the additional hours that allow our aides to spend more time in classrooms supporting our students and teachers. This means more adults available to work with small groups, provide individualized attention, support classroom instruction, and help teachers meet the needs of every learner.

Last year, our community took that commitment one step further.

Short Avenue's upper-grade enrollment did not meet LAUSD's threshold for funding an additional fourth-grade teacher. Without another teacher, those students would have been placed into significantly larger classes.

FoSA stepped in and wrote a substantial check directly to LAUSD to fund an additional fourth-grade teacher—allowing the school to create smaller classes and give students more individualized attention.

We will likely need to fund that teacher again for the 2027-2028 school year. Our hope is that after two years of supporting the position, continued enrollment growth in the upper grades will allow Short Avenue to meet LAUSD's staffing threshold and qualify for district funding for the additional teacher in the following year.

More Than the Basics

The remaining FoSA budget supports programs, resources, and experiences that enrich our children's education and help make Short Avenue such a special public school community.

FoSA funding helps support reading intervention for students who need additional help reaching grade-level benchmarks, Spanish language music and instruction enrichment, the edible garden, teacher professional development, classroom supplies and materials, campus improvements, and much more.

Every one of these investments reflects choices our community has made about what we value for our children.

Public funding provides Short Avenue's foundation. FoSA helps us build upon that foundation—providing more adults in classrooms, more individualized attention, meaningful enrichment, and educational opportunities that would simply not be possible through LAUSD funding alone.

None of this happens automatically. It is made possible because Short Avenue families come together each year to fund the school experience we want for all of our students.