Elementary Schools Los Angeles County

The Long Beach, Arcadia and Irvine public school systems scored big, with two winners each, in the U.S. Department of Education's Blue Ribbon Schools program announced Wednesday. One of education's most competitive awards, the Blue Ribbon recognizes schools that foster high academic achievement, involve parents, promote technology and the arts and help struggling students. The awards alternate each year between elementary and secondary schools; this was the year for elementaries.

Los Angeles Unified elementary schools made strong gains on the Stanford 9 test for the third consecutive year, but the district's high schools once again failed to improve, according to data released Tuesday. Students in grades 2 to 5 showed consistent improvement on the state's basic skills exam. That progress appeared to reach middle schools for the first time, where sixth-grade gains resembled those in the elementary schools.

Los Angeles County officials first said they were sorry that school crossing guards had been left out of their budget. It was, they said, a mere slip of an accounting pencil, a mistake that they would try to correct. But on Thursday county officials said they would not provide any of the $1.8 million needed to pay for 180 crossing guards working intersections at 132 elementary schools.

After a year of testing and tutoring at nine of the northeast San Fernando Valley's poorest elementary schools, the percentage of students reading at or above grade level tripled to 33% last year, officials of a public-private endeavor to send more children to college announced Wednesday. The percentage of sixth-graders reading at or above grade level quadrupled at four middle schools in the same area--although it still remains at a dismally low 16%.

Many of the kids had never held a golf club in their lives, but Friday they happily putted balls back and forth at El Cariso Golf Course. Nine fifth-graders from Haddon Avenue Elementary school in Pacoima came to learn to play golf as part of an innovative partnership with their school, the golf course and the office of Assemblyman Tony Cardenas (D-Sylmar). About 35 kids from the school will take free weekly lessons in small groups for about a month.

After a year of testing and tutoring at nine of the northeast San Fernando Valley's poorest elementary schools, the percentage of students reading at or above grade level tripled to 33% last year, officials of a public-private endeavor to send more children to college announced Wednesday. The percentage of sixth-graders reading at or above grade level quadrupled at four middle schools in the same area--although it still remains at a dismally low 16%.

A Pacoima man who last month pleaded no contest to sexually molesting female students at Burton Elementary School was sentenced Monday to 120 days in jail and ordered to undergo psychological counseling, the prosecutor said. Jesus Fabian Hernandez, 27, was arrested in September after Burton officials notified police that seven girls, ages 8 to 11, had accused the former teacher's aide of improperly touching them on their legs, thighs and breasts while he assisted them at computer terminals.

Los Angeles Unified elementary schools made strong gains on the Stanford 9 test for the third consecutive year, but the district's high schools once again failed to improve, according to data released Tuesday. Students in grades 2 to 5 showed consistent improvement on the state's basic skills exam. That progress appeared to reach middle schools for the first time, where sixth-grade gains resembled those in the elementary schools.

From preschoolers, who dressed up as little birds in yellow paper hats and danced the los pajaritos , all the way up to sixth-graders who belted out a history of Mexican independence, students at O'Melveny Elementary School in San Fernando marked Mexican Independence Day on Wednesday with exuberance and pride. Dressed in the red, white and green of the Mexican flag, students shook maracas made of milk cartons filled with beans and waved colored streamers tied to their wrists.

In a flurry of festive costumes and colorful, handmade decorations, the staff and students of O'Melveny Elementary School in San Fernando celebrated Mexican Independence Day on Friday. The children showcased a Mexican dance that represented various stages of the country's history, from an Aztec ceremonial to a currently popular square dance. O'Melveny, whose student body is 99% Latino, places a strong emphasis on multicultural studies.

Many of the kids had never held a golf club in their lives, but Friday they happily putted balls back and forth at El Cariso Golf Course. Nine fifth-graders from Haddon Avenue Elementary school in Pacoima came to learn to play golf as part of an innovative partnership with their school, the golf course and the office of Assemblyman Tony Cardenas (D-Sylmar). About 35 kids from the school will take free weekly lessons in small groups for about a month.

The Long Beach, Arcadia and Irvine public school systems scored big, with two winners each, in the U.S. Department of Education's Blue Ribbon Schools program announced Wednesday. One of education's most competitive awards, the Blue Ribbon recognizes schools that foster high academic achievement, involve parents, promote technology and the arts and help struggling students. The awards alternate each year between elementary and secondary schools; this was the year for elementaries.

The California Department of Education recently announced public elementary school nominations for National Blue Ribbon awards. Seven of the 49 schools nominated are in Los Angeles County, including Welby Way Elementary in West Hills, said state Department of Education spokeswoman Mary Lou Schmidt. The nominees were selected from among 91 California Distinguished Schools. Welby Way was named a distinguished school in May.

El Rincon Elementary School will become the third of four elementary schools in the Culver City Unified School District to get additional classrooms this year when it inaugurates a new wing today. The two-story, 12-room structure was built to meet a state goal of reducing class sizes in kindergarten through third grade to one teacher for every 20 students, said Jim Crawford, the superintendent for business with the school district.

Cubberley Elementary School is one of only 226 of the nation's 87,125 public schools to be selected as a 1997 National Blue Ribbon School. The principal and two teachers traveled to Washington recently to accept the honor. Principal Bill Vogel, fourth-grade teacher Lucy Underwood and technology teacher Lisa Stephenson represented Cubberley at a ceremony at which Hillary Rodham Clinton spoke. "The staff and parents here are just dynamic," Vogel said. "They go over and beyond all the time."

A Pacoima man who last month pleaded no contest to sexually molesting female students at Burton Elementary School was sentenced Monday to 120 days in jail and ordered to undergo psychological counseling, the prosecutor said. Jesus Fabian Hernandez, 27, was arrested in September after Burton officials notified police that seven girls, ages 8 to 11, had accused the former teacher's aide of improperly touching them on their legs, thighs and breasts while he assisted them at computer terminals.

Cubberley Elementary School is one of only 226 of the nation's 87,125 public schools to be selected as a 1997 National Blue Ribbon School. The principal and two teachers traveled to Washington recently to accept the honor. Principal Bill Vogel, fourth-grade teacher Lucy Underwood and technology teacher Lisa Stephenson represented Cubberley at a ceremony at which Hillary Rodham Clinton spoke. "The staff and parents here are just dynamic," Vogel said. "They go over and beyond all the time."

El Rincon Elementary School will become the third of four elementary schools in the Culver City Unified School District to get additional classrooms this year when it inaugurates a new wing today. The two-story, 12-room structure was built to meet a state goal of reducing class sizes in kindergarten through third grade to one teacher for every 20 students, said Jim Crawford, the superintendent for business with the school district.

In a flurry of festive costumes and colorful, handmade decorations, the staff and students of O'Melveny Elementary School in San Fernando celebrated Mexican Independence Day on Friday. The children showcased a Mexican dance that represented various stages of the country's history, from an Aztec ceremonial to a currently popular square dance. O'Melveny, whose student body is 99% Latino, places a strong emphasis on multicultural studies.

From preschoolers, who dressed up as little birds in yellow paper hats and danced the los pajaritos , all the way up to sixth-graders who belted out a history of Mexican independence, students at O'Melveny Elementary School in San Fernando marked Mexican Independence Day on Wednesday with exuberance and pride. Dressed in the red, white and green of the Mexican flag, students shook maracas made of milk cartons filled with beans and waved colored streamers tied to their wrists.