Education Reform

Parents and school officials could not agree this week on the definition of the district's fundamental schools, but the district has agreed to draw up surveys asking parents if they want more of them anyway. The issue came before the Santa Ana Unified School District trustees Tuesday, at the request of President Sal Mendoza, who indicated that he favored expanding the number of fundamental schools.

When Simi Valley parent Coleen Ary saw the new report card two of her children would receive last fall, she was mortified. Gone were the familiar squares that first- and second-grade teachers filled in with A's, Bs, Cs, Ds or Fs. Gone entirely, in fact, were letter grades, those universal symbols of achievement that made students burst with pride or wallow in shame.

In its first public step toward joining the Los Angeles Unified School District's reform movement, Chatsworth High School will hold a community meeting Thursday night to discuss the LEARN program. Active at nearly 200 LAUSD campuses, the 4-year-old reform program allows teachers, parents and principals greater autonomy to make budgetary and policy decisions in return for increased student performance. At Thursday's meeting, Assistant Supt.

The State Board of Education on Friday waived the 100-school ceiling on charter schools, allowing four more campuses to join the experimental program, and made it clear that it would probably approve any future applications brought forward by local districts. The unanimous vote was heralded as historic by school reform advocates, who said it was further evidence that the charter movement is gaining credibility in California, a pioneer among the 20 states that have passed similar laws.

In response to strong objections from parents, the Los Angeles Unified School District has made several key changes to an impending legal settlement aimed at overhauling special education for the system's 65,000 disabled students A new version of the agreement released Friday softens language that implied that 18 of the district's special education schools could close, a possibility that prompted protests from scores of parents during public hearings last month.

In a bungalow at a Southeast Los Angeles school last week, Principal Carol Heard searched for ways to spend more money--usually an enviable task for a public school administrator--and came up short. "I think we've done as much as we can do," the Nueva Vista School principal said, sighing. "This is very difficult for us."

Gov. Pete Wilson has decided to accept $42 million for California schools from Washington's controversial Goals 2000 program, ending months of political hand-wringing about whether the move represents unwelcome federal intervention. The governor's action Friday appears to validate the program's proponents, who long have argued that it does not compromise local or state authority.

Nineteen schools from the South Bay were added to the list of campuses participating in the nation's largest school reform program Monday when the Los Angeles Unified School District approved 103 more schools for the LEARN program. The school system added the campuses to the list of 299 schools participating in the program, which gives individual schools authority over instructional matters, personnel and budgets.

Helen Bernstein, the departing president of United Teachers-Los Angeles, has announced that she will head a nationwide network of teachers unions dedicated to nurturing school reform. With research assistance from UCLA and a $250,000 grant from a private foundation--the Pew Charitable Trust--Bernstein is to spend two years helping 21 union leaders increase their roles in restructuring their school districts.

Helen Bernstein, the departing president of United Teachers-Los Angeles, has announced that she will head a nationwide network of teachers unions dedicated to nurturing school reform. With research assistance from UCLA and a $250,000 grant from a private foundation--the Pew Charitable Trust--Bernstein is to spend two years helping 21 union leaders increase their roles in restructuring their school districts.