Cortines intent on goals

Los Angeles schools chief Ramon Cortines sped through the halls of Widney Special Education Center in South Los Angeles one day last week, forcing his tour guides - all at least 20 years younger than him - to double their pace just to keep up.Connie Llanos in the Daily News.

It was 9:45 a.m. and Cortines had already gone through e-mails, returned phone calls and attended one event. Three school visits were next on his schedule - all to be completed before noon.

Dressed in his usual crisp, white shirt, marked with the initials "RCC" on the breast pocket, and a moss-green Hermes tie, Cortines bolted from classroom to classroom. He slowed down only to shake the hands of teachers, students and janitors, or to quiz an administrator on test scores and attendance rates.