High Schools Enrollment

The Anaheim Union High School District, which has been plagued by financial problems because of more than a decade of declining student enrollment, has reversed that trend this school year. Supt. Cynthia Grennan said attendance a few weeks after the new school year began has climbed to 19,555, 309 more than had been projected. "That's the first time we've seen any growth in more than 15 years," she said.

Here's the continuing dilemma facing coaches, parents and fans across the state: Who do you root for in the soap opera known as open enrollment? Since the state law took effect in 1994, high school students have been able to transfer without changing residence and gain immediate athletic eligibility. It has created bitter feelings, led to repeated accusations of recruiting, caused coaches to retire rather than try to prevent top athletes from leaving and challenged loyalties.

Jennie Carreon, 15, should have gone to Roosevelt High School like the rest of her family. But in memory of her step-uncle Frank Villegas, Carreon switched her allegiance to Garfield. "I want to graduate from Garfield because he never got a chance to," Carreon said. Villegas died from gunshot wounds he received in a drive-by shooting last December. The 19-year-old senior was a saxophonist for Garfield's band.

The luckiest person in Los Angeles on Wednesday may very well have been Genevieve Winter of Winnetka, numero uno on the open-enrollment list at El Camino Real High School. Her name plucked from a fish-shaped punch bowl, where it was swimming with 713 other hopefuls, Winter beat some big odds. She was one of only 15 students to get into the much sought-after Woodland Hills school.

The luckiest person in Los Angeles on Wednesday may very well have been Genevieve Winter of Winnetka, numero uno on the open-enrollment list at El Camino Real High School. Her name plucked from a fish-shaped punch bowl, where it was swimming with 713 other hopefuls, Winter beat some big odds. She was one of only 15 students to get into the much sought-after Woodland Hills school.

Here's the continuing dilemma facing coaches, parents and fans across the state: Who do you root for in the soap opera known as open enrollment? Since the state law took effect in 1994, high school students have been able to transfer without changing residence and gain immediate athletic eligibility. It has created bitter feelings, led to repeated accusations of recruiting, caused coaches to retire rather than try to prevent top athletes from leaving and challenged loyalties.

The blue-ribbon committee overseeing the Los Angeles school repair and construction bond voted Wednesday to endorse the use of more than $40 million for a new high school in South Gate to relieve one of the district's most overcrowded campuses. Funds from Proposition BB, the $2.4-billion bond approved by voters in April, would cover half the anticipated $78.3-million cost for land and construction. The other half would come from a future state bond. The committee also agreed to allow up to $2.

Students aiming for college do much better if they attend high schools with big enrollments apparently because these schools offer more advanced courses, according to a study released Monday. Despite the popular belief that smaller schools offer a better education, Prof. George A. Chambers of the University of Iowa said that his nationwide study of Latino and Anglo students shows that American College Testing (ACT) scores are higher for both ethnic groups at big-enrollment high schools, he said.

The district that governs public high schools in Huntington Beach, Westminster and Fountain Valley announced Tuesday night that it is considering cutting $1.1 million in health benefits for teachers and other employees next fall. David Hagen, superintendent of the Huntington Beach Union High School District, told a school board meeting that the proposed benefit cut would have to be negotiated with employee unions. He said the cuts are necessary because the district faces a $2.

The Santa Ana Valley High School football team nearly made the playoffs for the first time in 10 years last fall. But instead, Santa Ana beat Valley in the league final to win its fourth consecutive Century League title. What hurt most for Santa Ana Valley football Coach Dan Castanon is that Santa Ana lineman Oscar Wilson recovered a fumble and ran 35 yards for the winning touchdown in the 14-7 game. "Oscar made every big play in the game," Castanon said.

Capistrano Unified School District's high school enrollment is growing so fast that even a newly planned high school will not be able to absorb all the expected students. This year, 2,787 students are crammed into Capistrano Valley High School, a campus designed for 2,075 students. Within two years, district officials expect 3,736 students at the school.

The blue-ribbon committee overseeing the Los Angeles school repair and construction bond voted Wednesday to endorse the use of more than $40 million for a new high school in South Gate to relieve one of the district's most overcrowded campuses. Funds from Proposition BB, the $2.4-billion bond approved by voters in April, would cover half the anticipated $78.3-million cost for land and construction. The other half would come from a future state bond. The committee also agreed to allow up to $2.

If Taft High wins its first City Section 4-A Division football championship on Friday night at the Coliseum, give partial credit to the State Legislature for passing Assembly Bill 1114 four years ago. The bill is known as the open-enrollment law, and it allows students to attend any public school in their district when space is available. No school in the L.A. Unified School District has been affected more by the state law than Taft.

South Gate High School is bursting at the seams. Many classes are packed with up to 40 students at this campus in southeast Los Angeles County. Teenagers push through the jammed hallways to make it to class on time. Students can barely get through the lunch line before the bell rings to go back to class--let alone find time to get to the bathroom.

For many of its 139 years, Lowell High School--alma mater of Nobel laureates, a California governor and a Supreme Court justice--has been a magnet for this city's smartest public school students. Today, the fiercely scholastic campus is a battleground in the war over racial preferences. But the furor surrounding it takes a unique twist.

The district that governs public high schools in Huntington Beach, Westminster and Fountain Valley announced Tuesday night that it is considering cutting $1.1 million in health benefits for teachers and other employees next fall. David Hagen, superintendent of the Huntington Beach Union High School District, told a school board meeting that the proposed benefit cut would have to be negotiated with employee unions. He said the cuts are necessary because the district faces a $2.

Overcrowding at Los Angeles secondary schools has become so acute that the district is considering converting up to 25 campuses to multitrack schedules to alleviate a projected shortage of 8,600 seats for the coming school year. Setting up portable classrooms at crowded junior and senior high schools was another option included in a report presented Monday to the Los Angeles Board of Education. Schools were also urged to submit creative proposals to solve the space crunch.

Dwindling enrollment has forced the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles to begin allowing girls to enroll next September at Cantwell High School, a 44-year-old all-boys school in Montebello. Cantwell will consolidate with nearby Sacred Heart of Mary, a privately owned all-girls Catholic school across the street that will close, said Bill Rivera, a spokesman for the archdiocese. The new school will be called Cantwell-Sacred Heart of Mary High School.

Jennie Carreon, 15, should have gone to Roosevelt High School like the rest of her family. But in memory of her step-uncle Frank Villegas, Carreon switched her allegiance to Garfield. "I want to graduate from Garfield because he never got a chance to," Carreon said. Villegas died from gunshot wounds he received in a drive-by shooting last December. The 19-year-old senior was a saxophonist for Garfield's band.

Gretchen Whitney High School might well be the best public school in Los Angeles County. Bolstered by a string of state and national awards, its record is stunning: The Cerritos school scored a virtual clean sweep of No. 1 rankings in the region and was among the best in the state in the recent public school achievement tests. Last year, its seniors scored more than 180 points above the national average on the SAT and 100% of its students attend college.