But not second-year Santee Principal Richard J. Chavez, who said he prefers an inclusive style. The main difference he's seen so far is a thinner -- and potentially more responsive -- bureaucracy above him.
Principals will be judged first on student achievement, but staff and parent satisfaction also will count, said Marshall Tuck, chief executive of the partnership. Tuck had served as president and chief operating officer of Green Dot Public Schools, a charter school operator.
The mayor's schools will incorporate some Green Dot methods, such as focusing particular attention on incoming ninth-graders -- building their reading skills and instilling high expectations, Tuck said.
Principals will be expected to spend three hours a day observing teachers, he said. And they must model effective teaching while building consensus for major decisions. The Green Dot method invests budget authority, control of staff and accountability in principals -- but that stratagem could be difficult to replicate under district collective-bargaining agreements.
Under the old regime, Lee eventually got the termites handled by threatening to alert parents. That sort of move, she said, marked a teacher as a troublemaker. In fact, Lee added, she wouldn't risk telling the story at all if the same administration were still in place.
Tuck said such dynamics have to change.
"The level of animosity that exists between administrators and teachers at these school sites is so unhealthy for young people," Tuck said. "You have to increase the level of trust."
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howard.blume@latimes.com
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(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)
The mayor's schools by the numbers
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A school-reform effort shepherded by Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa takes charge today at Roosevelt High, Hollenbeck Middle, Stevenson Middle and Sunrise Elementary on the Eastside; the Santee Education Complex south of downtown, and Gompers Middle, Markham Middle, Figueroa Elementary, 99th Street Elementary and Ritter Elementary in South Los Angeles.
Total number of students: 18,269
High school graduation rate: Less than 50%*
Ethnicity: 90.3% Latino, 8.5% African American
Trend on Academic Performance Index**: 5 schools improved, 4 declined, 1 flat
Lowest API: Santee Education Complex at 486
Best API: Sunrise Elementary at 677
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*Estimate based on recent research
**The Academic Performance Index (API) rates schools on a scale of 200 to 1,000 based on test scores. The state's target score is 800.
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Sources: Partnership for Los Angeles Schools; state data; California Dropout Research Project
