Los Angeles, CA –Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Los Angeles (spcaLA) is expanding its renowned youth violence-prevention program, Teaching Love & Compassion (TLC)™ to Perry Lindsey Middle School in Long Beach. This week, students begin the four-week course learning empathy towards animals, others, and self through social-emotional learning, animal welfare lessons, and hands-on positive reinforcement dog training. By addressing the connection between animal cruelty, bullying, and interpersonal violence, TLC works to break cycles of violence before they escalate. Since the program’s inception in 1994, more than 1,700 Southern California students have participated and graduated from the TLC program.

Students demonstrate training skills; TLC dog, Rupert with student; students create adoption posters for their TLC dogs.

With the help of spcaLA shelter dogs, students practice patience and compassion as they work in groups training shelter animals. Anger identification, empathetic choices, anti-bullying, and other violence-prevention topics are the focus of TLC discussions and classroom activities. TLC culminates with a graduation where students give speeches on their experience and demonstrate what they’ve taught their “TLC dogs” (TLC has an added benefit of socializing and training spcaLA’s shelter dogs, equipping them to be ideal companions).

“We are excited to expand TLC to a new school within the Long Beach Unified School District,” said Amber Vera Mendoza, Director of Violence Prevention Humane Education at spcaLA. “This partnership supports students, schools, and the broader community by addressing and breaking the cycle of violence.” Perry Lindsey Middle School is the fourth LBUSD school to benefit from the TLC program.

The session will conclude with a graduation ceremony on Thursday, May 28th, recognizing participating students for their commitment and progress. Graduation time details will be shared closer to the event.