Pesa

Parents, Educators/Teachers & Students in Action

We have moved to: https://www.pesaforbetterschool.org/

About PESA

PESA is a 501(c)(3) non profit organization. Our mission is to help our community through advocacy, mentorship and education. Our organization enhances student achievement by partnering with middle schools, high schools, community colleges and law schools. Our organization through these partnerships is able to promote neighborhood safety, intercultural tolerance, and career education and exploration.

PESA was founded by Seymour I. Amster, a practicing lawyer for over thirty years. Seymour Amster sees the educational system as the primary means to cause the youth in our community to become responsible members of our community. Seymour Amster believes that our community will only benefit by the private institutions enhancing the public programs. He believes in working together with the public entities to take what the public is provided and make it better. Thus he feels that the best way of improving our educational system is to support the public institutions and provide programs that are needed at the public schools, but that resources are not available for the public sector to institute. Thus he believes by the public and the private working together the members in our community benefit.

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As President of the San Fernando Valley Bar Association (“SFVBA”) he caused the SFVBA to become more involved with the schools in the community then they had been. When he saw more needed to be done then what the SFVBA was capable of doing he caused the formation of PESA to address this issue. Many of the programs that the SFVBA were involved with at the schools were spun off to PESA, because PESA was in a better position to properly monitor them. Furthermore through PESA, Seymour Amster has been able to get more bar organizations involved with the schools in their community.

PESA has had a tremendous impact in the schools that it is involved with. PESA has received favorable testimonials from principals at the schools where PESA has had involvement as well as from government officials involved with the programs of PESA.

An important consultant to PESA is Jesse Avila. Jesse Avila is a retired Los Angeles County Probation Officer. He is actively involved in all aspects of the program. He is actively involved in the design of the juvenile offender intervention aspect of the program.

Pesa

PESA has an extensive number of volunteers and interns who have been assigned specific roles. Not only have these volunteers and interns gone through a training program but there are training sessions that occur monthly. Thus constant contact is maintained with all those involved in DSCN0893 the program, with constant training as well as access to materials to ensure that student achievement is being fostered through the programs at PESA.

Pesa

PESA is proud of its partnerships with the Master of Social Work Program at USC, with University of West Los Angeles Law School, The Anti-Defamation League, the Superior Court of the County of Los Angeles, and Office of the Los Angeles City Attorney. Through these partnerships, PESA has been able to bring the public and the private sector together to enhance our community.