By Daily Press staff
Long time educator Sylvia Rousseau will be the keynote speaker for the Martin Luther King Jr. celebration in Santa Monica, which has become one of the largest events in Southern California.
The celebration of King’s birthday is scheduled for Jan. 20 at the First United Methodist Church, located at 1008 11th St. at 9 a.m.
The event, which is free, is sponsored by the Martin Luther King, Jr. Westside Coalition, a nonprofit coalition whose missions are consistent with King’s legacy. It is co-sponsored by Santa Monica College, the City of Santa Monica, and the SMC Associates.
The multi-ethnic, interfaith program will include inspirational readings, music, and presentations of scholarships and “Community Lights” awards. Immediately following the program will be a community involvement fair with informational booths of various community organizations.
The theme of this year’s program is “Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.: Soul and Spirit of the Man.”
Rousseau, who has worked to raise expectations and academic achievement for all students, is the former principal of Santa Monica High School. She is currently District I superintendent of the Los Angeles Unified School District. Rousseau worked at Santa Monica High School from 1993 to 2000.
Under her leadership, the school boasted some of the highest SAT scores in its history, the Advanced Placement program was expanded with impressive results, and the dropout rate plummeted from 9 percent to less than 1 percent.
Rousseau has received many awards for her work, including the YWCA’s Woman of the Year Award, Santa Monica Chamber of Commerce Woman’s Business Council Award, and Peacemaker Award from a peace coalition cospon-sored by the cities of Santa Monica and Malibu.
For more information about the event, call (310) 434-4308.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on January 7, 2003. Read the original PDF.