CHALLENGE: 20 percent budget cut forces midyear staff reductions The Inner City Education Foundation (ICEF) has earned national recognition for providing students with excellent academic options in the South Los Angeles community. ICEF Vista Elementary Academy serves 300 mostly low-income students, nearly 80 percent of whom are English Language Learners (ELLs). In the fall of 2010, as part of significant state cuts to educational funding, ICEF learned it would need to reduce its overall budget by 20 percent. ICEF Vista Principal Ryan Gomez recalls that the school lost three teachers and two instructional assistants in quick succession. “Our transition happened over the course of two days. ” he says. “We quickly had to adjust our classrooms and teaching model to serve four classrooms at ea

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