Principal's Legacy Is the Imprint of Success

Don't tell principal Howard Lappin that poor, urban minority kids can't learn.

He's been known to lose his temper.

Once, a counselor told a student that Latino girls should be housewives, not go to college. Enraged, Lappin confronted the counselor, declaring such talk nonsense.

"He's no angel, but we know where his heart is," said Regina Boutte, assistant principal at Foshay Learning Center in South-Central Los Angeles. "We were blessed that he had a wonderful vision."

The intense, no-nonsense 61-year-old who transformed Foshay--once considered the worst middle school in the Los Angeles Unified School District--into one of its most improved gave his final commencement speech last week. He will retire this summer.

But teachers say his educational strategies will live on.

"We want to make his vision continue," Boutte said. "We might surprise him and make it even [better]."

The evidence of his imprint is everywhere. On a wall inside the school is a giant construction-paper map of the United States, punctured by hundreds of pushpins tracking college choices of the school's recent graduates: Cornell College in Iowa, Ana Montanez; American University in Washington, D.C., Jorge Jimenez; Brown University in Rhode Island, Dawit Meles.

Look down. The words on two blue floor mats proudly announce: "California Distinguished School."

Ceilings, doors and stairways are splashed with vivid murals that showcase the artistic talent of students.

"Nothing in my school should be ugly," says Lappin, who refers to Foshay as his "child."

A painting on Lappin's office door depicts four students dancing on learning blocks. It reads: "Foshay, where success isn't a choice. It's required." Only a dozen years ago, graffiti marred the walls here. Students carried guns and knives to school and class bells were ignored. Test scores were the lowest of any district middle school. One in five students dropped out and 400 were suspended each year.

It was so bad that the California Department of Education warned that if Foshay didn't improve its performance, the state would cut off funding and send a trustee to take over the school.

In walked Lappin, the first white principal of the 100% minority school in 30 years. Many parents and teachers doubted that Lappin--whose resume included only well-regarded Los Angeles Unified schools--could boost student performance.