San Fernando Valley Schools Enrollment

Community college enrollment in the San Fernando Valley rose by 9% over last year on the first day of classes, according to figures released Tuesday by Los Angeles district administrators. Administrators credit new scheduling techniques, advance mailings of class schedules and increased instructional spending for an increase in enrollment at Valley, Mission and Pierce colleges.

For the fifth straight year, a surging student population coupled with limited classroom space has cut into the Los Angeles Unified School District's well-received open-enrollment program, officials said. Only 5,000 seats at 116 schools will be available this fall, 1,000 fewer than a year ago. The state-mandated program began in 1994--when some campuses were sparsely attended or closed--to give families an opportunity to enroll children in choice public schools outside their neighborhoods.

The San Fernando Valley will lead an enrollment boom in Los Angeles secondary schools over the next decade as a population bulge of elementary school students moves through the higher grades, according to a school district report released Monday. Twelve of the Valley's 17 high schools are expected to swell by more than 1,000 students each by the year 2007. Three other high schools are expected to grow by up to 1,000 students.

Leadership changes, rising enrollment and campus construction projects dominated this year's education agenda in the San Fernando Valley's public schools. Voters elected a reform-minded school board in April with hopes of solving some of the Los Angeles Unified School District's mounting problems, such as overcrowding and the need to find uncontaminated land for new schools.

Nearly half the Los Angeles teachers facing transfers because of low enrollment won a temporary reprieve Thursday, but about 70 will be sent to other campuses, leaving schools to reorganize classes and schedules. Supt. Sid Thompson agreed Thursday to leave in place for at least four months 68 Los Angeles Unified School District elementary teachers at schools where enrollments fell short by eight or fewer students.

Thousands of students have formally checked out of Los Angeles schools, switched to other campuses or not yet showed up for classes after last month's earthquake, creating disruptive shifts in enrollment throughout the huge system. The enrollment changes affect campuses across the Los Angeles Unified School District, even those outside the hardest-hit San Fernando Valley.

"No More Aftershocks. Keep Our Teachers," read the pickets held by the 20 parent and student protesters Monday outside of Granada Elementary School in Granada Hills. The school's enrollment is down by 30 students this year and, because of that, the school could lose one of its teachers to offset the lower student population. Parents say that would be detrimental to their children's mental and academic well being.

More than 22,000 classroom seats in the Los Angeles Unified School District, including more than 9,100 in the San Fernando Valley, go up for grabs next week when state-ordered open enrollment takes effect, unleashing a new era in which schools enter the world of marketing in a frenzy to recruit students. Teachers at Grant High School in Van Nuys took out a $400 newspaper ad listing the school's attributes compared to private schools: "Why pay $12,000 when you can get the same plus more for FREE?"

Families who applied for seats through the Los Angeles Unified School District's open-enrollment program should receive notification by mail between Monday and June 18 whether their child will be able to attend the school of choice, officials said.

It had all the trappings of the Big Spin, but the prize wasn't money. It was a chance to attend Hale Middle School in Woodland Hills. About 50 parents waited nervously in the school's auditorium Tuesday morning to find out whether their children were among the 75 lucky ones to enroll at Hale. Under the new state-ordered open enrollment policy, parents could choose schools as long as space was available and ethnic balances remained intact.

Community college enrollment in the San Fernando Valley rose by 9% over last year on the first day of classes, according to figures released Tuesday by Los Angeles district administrators. Administrators credit new scheduling techniques, advance mailings of class schedules and increased instructional spending for an increase in enrollment at Valley, Mission and Pierce colleges.

Families who applied for seats through the Los Angeles Unified School District's open-enrollment program should receive notification by mail between Monday and June 18 whether their child will be able to attend the school of choice, officials said.

With a student population expected to increase by 11,000 in the next school year, officials say the Los Angeles Unified School District's well-received open enrollment program might soon be crowded out of existence. Only 6,000 seats at 120 schools will be available this fall, 1,400 fewer than a year ago, officials said. The state-mandated program started in 1994 when some campuses were sparsely attended or closed. Close to 22,000 seats were available at 350 schools.

The luckiest person in Los Angeles on Wednesday may very well have been Genevieve Winter of Winnetka, No. 1 on the open-enrollment list at El Camino Real High School. Her name plucked from a punch bowl, where it was among those of 713 other hopefuls, Winter beat some big odds. She was one of only 15 students to get into the popular Woodland Hills school.

How many times does 700 go into 75? For the National Academic Decathlon champions at El Camino Real High School in Woodland Hills, the question might seem simplistic. But for Principal Ronald Bauer, the problem is a difficult one. Because on Friday, the last day open-enrollment applications were taken at hotly sought-after Los Angeles Unified School District campuses, Bauer was faced with nearly 700 students vying for the school's 75 open-enrollment slots.

The San Fernando Valley will lead an enrollment boom in Los Angeles secondary schools over the next decade as a population bulge of elementary school students moves through the higher grades, according to a school district report released Monday. Twelve of the Valley's 17 high schools are expected to swell by more than 1,000 students each by the year 2007. Three other high schools are expected to grow by up to 1,000 students.

The following Los Angeles Unified School District campuses will begin accepting applications Monday under a state law that allows open enrollment at any school with space available. Numbers beside each school name are the available places estimated for this fall by school officials. San Fernando Valley schools are shown in bold face. Schools with no space are not listed; magnet and charter schools are not subject to open enrollment. Applications are available at all schools.

Despite lotteries and waiting lists, the deadline for open enrollment in the L.A. Unified School District found most schools this week scrambling to fill openings. Because parents shopped for schools last spring--applying at several campuses--many administrators were left with extra space at some of the most popular schools in the Valley. Students failed to show up, for instance, at Taft and Granada Hills high schools, because they were accepted at other campuses.

Clutching a piece of paper bearing the number 839, Maria Roque of Pacoima grew increasingly tense as she waited Monday for a lottery at Granada Hills High School to determine whether her daughter would get one of the school's 200 open enrollment seats. But 25 minutes into the random selection, Roque held her breath as the final ticket guaranteeing a seat was announced--No. 765--then quickly stepped outside the admissions office, tears welling in her eyes.

Almost 21,000 empty classroom seats in the Los Angeles Unified School District are up for grabs in the second annual round robin for open enrollment, a program that lets parents pick their children's school. The largest number of openings are in schools in the Westside and in the west San Fernando Valley, where the school-age populations have declined in recent years. The open enrollment period, which ends June 9, allows parents to register their children in any school with openings.