Private Schools

After a Lutheran school expelled two 16-year-old girls for having "a bond of intimacy" that was "characteristic of a lesbian relationship," the girls sued, contending the school had violated a state anti-discrimination law. In response to that suit, an appeals court decided this week that the private religious school was not a business and therefore did not have to comply with a state law that prohibits businesses from discriminating.

Most solicitations don't begin with the words "don't give," but that's the approach being used this year by the private Oakwood School in a clever, celebrity-packed appeal timed to its annual fundraising drive.

Congress is poised to do away with one of former President George W. Bush's signature initiatives in education: the taxpayer-funded vouchers that enable students from low-income families in the District of Columbia to attend private schools. About 1,700 children in kindergarten through 12th grade receive the $7,500 annual scholarships. Four times as many apply.

When David and Jacki Horwitz read an article in The Times about Lorelei Oliver's struggle to find a good school for her son Kamal Key, their response was immediate: Perhaps, they inquired, there was a fund to which they could contribute to help the 12-year-old, who had been admitted to a prestigious but costly private campus?

Declaring that inequity issues between public and private school athletic programs have become too wide, the Orange County-based Century League has submitted a proposal to require separate playoff divisions for private and public schools for all team sports in the Southern Section. "It's going to be very controversial and generate a lot of talk, but I think it's long overdue," said Carl Sweet, athletic director at Placentia El Dorado High, which is a member of the Century League.

IT was a nail-biter of a month. But at last the news is in: The idle chitchat, the intense speculation and competitive jockeying are over, and families throughout the Los Angeles area are either exulting in victory or wallowing in defeat. It's kindergarten acceptance time, the make-it or break-it moment when L.A.'s top private schools mail their acceptance and rejection letters, then conveniently take off on spring break to dodge the hysteria.

In Los Angeles' rarefied world of private schools, where tuitions are high, academics are tough and educational philosophy is taken seriously, the newest member of the tribe is getting the kind of breathless attention reserved for a music or film star. That may be because the founders of New Village Academy are themselves such stars: Will Smith and his wife Jada Pinkett Smith.

What impressed Joel Argueta first about Harvard-Westlake School was his locker -- a wide, ample affair that holds his backpack and all of his books. There's also a student lounge with comfortable couches, where he does homework and meets with new friends. "Overall," he said, "it is spectacular." Heven Ambaye admits to being a bit overwhelmed with homework at Brentwood School. She is often up until 11 p.m. reading and studying for the next day's quizzes after taking two bus rides to get home.

There are three high school football games this weekend that should attract large crowds, vocal alumni and lots of media attention. Each school has been ranked in The Times' top 25. And there's one other common thread -- they're all private schools. Tonight, it's No. 5 Sherman Oaks Notre Dame playing at No. 4 Encino Crespi and No. 18 Anaheim Servite facing No. 7 Orange Lutheran at Cal State Fullerton. On Saturday night, it's No.

Creating characters is just what comic actors do, and no one who has seen the television work of Tracey Ullman or Matt Lucas and David Walliams -- or, for that matter, Red Skelton or Jackie Gleason -- should be too amazed to find Australian writer-actor Chris Lilley(comedian) playing the three lead roles in his new mockumentary series, "Summer Heights High," premiering Sunday on HBO.