ENCRICHMENT COMMITTEES

by Amy Liu (MI ‘24, ‘27) 

Jan 27, 2026

braddockenrichment@gmail.com

The Braddock Enrichment Committee is a group of parent volunteer teams including field trips, visual arts, SLLA, and more. The committee is overseen by Amy Liu (MI ‘24, ‘27), Karen Lin (MI ’27), and Jeanne Kuo Riggins (MI ‘23, ‘25).

A Brief History of the Enrichment Committee

When I became part of the Braddock parent community in 2018-19, the year my son started Kindergarten, I joined the enrichment committee with the idea that I would help with the fun stuff at school. At the time, the committee was led by former Friends of Braddock president, Lili Tran (Magnet ‘20, ‘22), who I credit as the original architect of the thriving enrichment program we have today. She had a vision that we could develop a comprehensive program for the entire school community and worked tirelessly to lay the foundation for that to happen. Former SBDES president, Jeanne Kuo Riggins (MI ‘23, ‘25), was also instrumental in developing the program with her advocacy for funding enrichment programming at the SBDES board level. By the time Lili graduated and as funds became available (thank you families for your Annual Giving!), we had a burgeoning enrichment program that included LAUSD arts (orchestra, dance, theater), Conga Kids dance, Wallis theatre, visual arts, and music. All of the committee’s efforts were guided by our unwavering belief that we should have Enrichment for All, and we made sure that every program – Community, Magnet, and Mandarin Immersion – had access to high quality programming.

Before Lili left, she recruited Karen Lin (MI ‘27) to join the enrichment committee and tasked her with all things field trips. Along with Rita Nagami (MI ‘24), Karen and I stepped into Lili’s big shoes (it took three of us to try to fill them!), and the enrichment program grew organically with the different projects we shepherded. Rita took on the task of bringing music instruction to Braddock and cultivated a relationship with Sounds Like LA (SLLA, which at that time was known as SMYO, Santa Monica Youth Orchestra). She launched the music program in 2022-23. I applied for and was awarded multiple grants to start a visual arts program. We launched in January 2020 with a Meet the Masters art curriculum that, sadly, went kaput by March 2020 because, well, COVID. A little pandemic wouldn’t stop us, though, and we relaunched in January 2022 with our signature parent-led Art in Action program. Amy Tsugawa (MI ‘27, ‘30) has since grown this program tremendously. Karen was knee deep in field trips (along with longtime enrichment member Pam Chang, MI ‘23, ‘26), and she also brought the super popular Upstage Theatre program in 2022-23 to our afterschool enrichment. She and I then launched a scholarship program for Upstage for targeted outreach to community school students. Fast forward to 2025-26, and we have an abundance of enrichment including LAUSD arts (orchestra, dance, theater, vocal music), Wallis theatre, Art in Action for TK-5th, SLLA mariachi, ukulele, world music for 2nd-5th, and our newest program Theatre Kidz for 4th & 5th. It has always been a dream of mine for Braddock to have a musical production, and this year we are excited that the 5th graders will be putting on a full performance of Aladdin, Jr.! I’m so proud that Braddock has a robust arts education program that we can showcase as a strength of our school. And for you STEM fans, we are piloting a Rediscover maker program for 3rd-5th this year with a series of one-day tinker workshops in May.

While I mention by name some key parents who steward these programs, none of this would be possible without the incredible commitment of countless dedicated and engaged volunteers (i.e., YOU) who power these programs financially and laboriously, especially the visual arts and SLLA programs. Thank you, our incredible and beloved Braddock community!! I share this enrichment history to show that our programs are built through commitment and connection. The specific programs and priorities can change, especially when funding is tight, but if developing meaningful experiences for all our Braddock students motivates you, then please reach out to us at braddockenrichment@gmail.com.

You’ll have an opportunity to hear more about the various enrichment teams and other key parent volunteers in this series, and if you’d like to get involved, we’d love to have you! Karen and I only have one more year left in our tenure, so we’re happy to pass the torch to the next generation of parents who’d like to shape the program in ways that meet the current needs of our community. Much of the work happens over text chats as we figure out what LAUSD will provide, what funds SBDES can allocate, the logistics of scheduling, the onerous LAUSD procurement process, yada, yada, yada. The best way to help is just to dive in and make a program that you want to see at Braddock happen. We’re here to offer advice and guidance from our years of experience, but ultimately, the enrichment program can be what the next generation of parents want it to be. Of course, you should always confer with Principal Lopez to make sure it’s Braddock approved.

Thank you, SBDES contributors and parent volunteers, for your commitment and dedication to ensuring that Braddock continues to have a vibrant and dynamic enrichment program!