East Los Angeles College
Southeast Campus
A New Gateway to Opportunity
Education • Workforce •
Economic Mobility
Presentation to the
Vernon City Council
by
East Los Angeles College
President
Dr. Monte E. Perez
Vernon Council Chambers
4319 East Slauson Avenue
Vernon, CA 90270
October 6, 2026
ELAC: A Partnership with Southeast Los Angeles That
Began Decades Ago
Education Has Been ELAC's Mission for 80 Years.
The Southeast Campus is not a new relationship.
It is the next chapter of a relationship that began decades ago. 1945
ELAC opened its
doors. It has provided
both transfer education
and
occupational/career
preparation. Today,
ELAC serves more than
30,000 students.
1994
ELAC extended
its educational
services to the
growing
Southeast Los
Angeles
population in
Huntington Park
1997
South Gate
Educational
Center was
established.
2024
South Gate
Educational
Center closed
to make way
for the new
permanent
facility.
Today
Students
continue to be
served through
temporary
Southeast
locations while
the permanent
campus is
being
completed.
Future
In Fall 2027, a
permanent,
state-of-the-art
Southeast
Campus will
open its doors
for Southeast
students.
Bringing College and Career Opportunities Closer to
Home
Today
• Career pathways are not
always located where
residents live.
• Students may have to travel
outside the immediate
community for programs and
services.
• Working adults face
transportation, scheduling,
and family barriers.
Tomorrow
• College is closer to home.
• Career training will be
connected to regional
employers.
• Students can move from
high school → college →
credential→ career.
• Adults can return to education
without leaving their
communities.
Our Vision: A Stronger, More Prosperous Southeast Los
Angeles
A campus that expands opportunity, strengthens the workforce, and drives economic mobility for generations to come.
10 Years From Now, We Envision:
• More Southeast LA residents
earning college credentials and
degrees
• More adults are returning to college
and advancing their careers
• More students transferring to fouryear universities
• More residents entering healthcare,
public safety, manufacturing,
logistics, and business careers
• Stronger city, employer, and education
partnerships
• Greater economic mobility for
Southeast LA families
One College, One District, One Vision
Southeast Campus: Bringing the District's commitment to student success directly to Southeast Los Angeles
A District
committed to
student success
through access,
retention, and
completion.
What This Means
for Southeast Los
Angeles:
Access: Bring high-quality higher education and career
opportunities closer to the communities we serve.
Retention: Provide students with the counseling,
academic support, basic needs resources and services they need to stay enrolled and succeed.
Completion: Help students earn certificates and degrees, transfer to four-year universities, and enter careers with the skills employers need.
Success: Create clear pathways from education →
credentials → careers → economic mobility.
The Southeast
Campus Serves a
Growing Regional
Community
The Southeast Cities
Service Area includes:
• South Gate
• Cudahy
• Commerce
• Bell
• Bell Gardens
• Huntington Park
• Maywood
• Vernon
• Florence-Firestone,
Walnut Park &
Surrounding
Southeast Los Angeles
communities
• ELAC's broader
service area includes
25 communities, and
the college has
historically extended
instruction beyond its
East Campus located
in Monterey Park.
Vernon Students and Families: The Community We Serve
ELAC Students From Vernon
Opportunity to expand
• 7 ELAC students are from Vernon
• Our ELAC students from Vernon are Hispanic/Latino (85.1%) • 42.9% identify Spanish as their primary language
• ELAC students from Vernon are skewed more female (57.1%) than male (42.9%)
• 42.9% of ELAC students from Vernon are ages 20 to 24 years • 28.6% of ELAC students from Vernon are 40 years and older 7 headcount
85.1%
Hispanic/Latino
students
42.9%
Spanish
primary language
Vernon Community Snapshot
Why local access matters
• Of those between 18 to 24 years of age, 15.8% do not have a high school diploma
• 66.9% ages 25 and over have completed a high school diploma or less, compared to 39% in LA County
• Only 21.6% ages 25 and over have a BA degree or higher • The unemployment rate is 6.6%
• The median household income is 37K and 60.8% of households earn less than $75k annually
21.6%
BA degree
or higher
$37K
Median household
income
ELAC's Southeast Campus brings college closer to where
Vernon residents live, work, and raise families.
Sources: LACCD Student Information System, 2025-26 / Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-Year Estimates, Table S1501 (Educational Attainment), retrieved from data.census.gov, August 2026.
Note: ELAC student data based on the City of Vernon.
6.6%
Unemployment
rate
A State-of-the-Art Campus
Built for Southeast Los
Angeles
• Approximately 105,000 square feet
• Three-story state-of-the-art facility
• Approximately $85 million investment
• Built to serve 10K+ students
• Expanded instructional capacity
• Classrooms and specialized laboratories
• Library/learning resources
• Spaces designed for career technical
education and transfer education
• Modern learning environments that
support both academic and workforce
preparation.
• Link to Drone Footage
From Education to Economic Mobility: The Campus as a Regional Economic Engine
The Southeast Campus turns local talent into credentials, career pathways, and family economic mobility.
EDUCATION
• College access close to home
• Dual enrollment and early
college
• Certificates, associate degrees
and transfer preparation
• Adult education and lifelong
learning
1 WORKFORCE
• Industry-aligned training
• Short-term credentials
• Career pathways designed with
employers
• Upskilling and reskilling for
working adults
2 ECONOMIC MOBILITY
• Living-wage careers and
advancement
• Entrepreneurship and small
business talent
• Family economic stability
• A stronger local workforce for
Southeast LA
3 Result: a connected local talent pipeline from
high school to college credential to career.
Connecting Southeast LA Students to Careers and Opportunity Several career pathways designed around Southeast Los Angeles students, employers, and regional workforce needs
HEALTHCARE
Allied Health • Health Sciences
Medical Assistant • Respiratory
Therapy • Emergency Med Tech
From college access → industry-aligned preparation → living-wage careers and economic mobility
ADDICTION &
COMMUNITY HEALTH
Addiction Studies focused on
substance-use prevention, and
recovery support
INFORMATION &
COMMUICATION TECH
Expand Data Analytics and IT
Support pathways • Credit for
Prior Learning (CPL)
ADMINISTRATION OF
JUSTICE
Align programs with local publicsafety workforce needs
CHILD DEVELOPMENT
AND EDUCATION
Early Childhood Education
Language Other Than English
(LOTE) cohorts
MANUFACTURING,
TRANSPORTATION &
LOGISTICS
Align with growing industry
demand
BUSINESS AND
ENTREPRENEURSHIP
Accounting • Small-Business
Management • CPL
PARALEGAL & LEGAL
SERVICES
Paralegal Studies
KINESIOLOGY AND
SPORTS MEDICINE
Exploring Physical Therapy Aide &
Sports Medicine new certificates •
PT clinic internship partnerships
SOCIAL SCIENCES
Popular social sciences
certificates • Pathway to Law
CAREER AND CONTINUING
AND EDUCATION
Free ESL • HS Equivalency testing •
short-term workforce training • CPL •
AI and financial literacy
Building the LA Talent Pipeline Together
The campus is strongest when cities, K–12 schools, employers, and community partners help shape programs and opportunities.
Cities & Government
Agencies
• Workforce development
• Public safety and civic leadership
• Community engagement and internships
K–12 Partners
• Dual enrollment
• Career exploration
• Early college and college-going pathways
Community Organizations
• Outreach and student recruitment
• Adult education connections
• Wraparound support services
Employers
• Internships and apprenticeships
• Hiring pipelines
• Curriculum input and equipment support
SELA Talent
Pipeline
Vernon can connect, champion, partner, invest, and celebrate.
Vernon’s Opportunity to Help Shape the Future
How Vernon Can Help
• Connect — Link ELAC with
employers, schools and
community organizations
• Champion — Help residents
discover and access
opportunities
• Partner— Build workforce,
economic development and
civic partnerships
• Invest — Support programs,
scholarships, equipment
and internships
• Celebrate — Join us in launching
a transformational new campus
• Together, we can create a
campus that expands opportunity,
strengthens our communities, and
builds a more prosperous future
for Southeast LA.
Together, We Can Build the
Future of Southeast Los
Angeles
Thank You
Questions
and Answers