Mayor's education plan goes to school

Fundraising for the partnership has lagged, however, as gangs and gridlock have risen on the mayor's agenda, even as he focused more time on raising money for his reelection campaign. Attracting donors suffered another blow when Deputy Mayor Ramon C. Cortines, who is respected nationally, left the mayor's team for the No. 2 job at L.A. Unified. By its own accounting, the mayor's nonprofit needs to raise about $6 million this year and $46.7 million over the next three years.

Lee recently attended a three-day, partnership-funded workshop that blames failing schools on a negative school culture. The "Capturing Kids' Hearts" strategy is to make every school employee part of a collaborative, hard-charging, consistent team that supports every child. The partnership wants all employees at each school to take the training.

The partnership also organized schoolwide cleanups at Roosevelt and Santee. The Department of Public Works pitched in by installing new lighting at Roosevelt -- an example of how the mayor can bring in city agencies.

The partnership asserts that smart-looking school uniforms -- subsidized as needed -- will be part of the culture change, as will extended school-day activities and annual goal-setting. Specific goals remain in development, but schools could be expected to double the pace of the state's academic improvement targets.

"We will transform our schools, and we will have high-performing teachers with high-performing students," said partnership Supt. of Instruction Angela Bass to the three dozen school staff members who stood in a circle at the close of last week's training session. "And we will show the world that our children are brilliant."

As a San Diego Unified administrator, Bass had spearheaded academic gains but sometimes clashed with teachers and union officials. In Los Angeles, Bass has taken pains to hear teachers' concerns: She personally called a principal to relay at least one complaint. But it's unclear exactly how much control teachers will wield, or, conversely, whether the partnership can speed up the dismissal of habitually ineffective teachers.

So far, teacher-led transition groups have established discipline policies, hiring committees and staff-training opportunities. Teachers at several schools said they viewed the partnership as freedom from authoritarian leadership. In turn, seven of 10 principals, uncertain about their roles, have decided to leave.