Recently in HARBOR CITY/GATEWAY Category

Make sure to read Breeze intern Kate Mather's story about positive goings on at 186th Street School in Harbor Gateway.

Students at the school have provided art work for "Colors of Love and Peace," a book designed to help children who are hospitalized. The Dalai Lama wrote a forward at the request of a San Pedran Fereidun Shokatfard, who initiated the project.

"It's just a true celebration of children encouraging other children to live, to thrive, to grow," (school Principal Marcia) Sidney-Reed said. "And to feel happiness. The colors are so bright and vibrant and beautiful - it just makes you feel happy inside."

Federal officials announced today that smaller school buses will be required to have harness-style seat belts and larger buses will phase in taller and safer seatbacks.

The Associated Press reports the seat belt mandate begins in 2011 and is directed to buses weighing 5 tons or less.

Transportation Secretary Mary Peters said she stopped short of requiring seat belts for larger buses because that could limit the number of children that can squeeze into seats, forcing some children to travel in ways that aren't as safe as school buses.

School districts sometimes expect as many as three younger children to share a bus seat, but if there are only two belts installed per seat then fewer children can ride the bus.

"We wanted to make sure that any measures we put forth don't needlessly limit the capacity of the buses and then force that school or that school district to have more children walking, riding with parents, biking, etcetera," Peters told The Associated Press in an interview.

The AP also reports the height of seatbacks on buses will move up to 24 inches from 20 inches which keep taller, heavier children from being thrown over seats in a crash. The rule will likely be phased in the fall of 2009 and become fully effective in 2011.

They're baaack. Well, not exactly. Lawmakers might consider a plan to call everyone back to Sacramento to discuss the state's need for a short term $7 billion loan, according to the Sacramento Bee.

Because of the credit crunch and less state revenues Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger could declare a special session where legislators may look at different ways to make up the budget hole, including cuts to schools.

Scott Plotkin, executive director of the California School Boards Association, said lawmakers "might as well stay home" if they are planning to make up the latest shortfall with cuts alone. His group and other school organizations believe the state should use tax increases to balance the budget.

"If they come back into a special session because revenue projections are in decline for the current year budget, it probably could only mean bad news for schools unless they're inclined to have a conversation about new revenues," Plotkin said.

Maybe, according to the Sacramento Bee.

State Treasurer Bill Lockyer warned this week that Congress needs to put the nation's finances in order so the state can pay its bills in November for critical needs like teacher salaries.

Lockyer said the fiscal crisis may drain California's reserves by the end of October because the state can't sell bonds and short-term securities for cash flow needs.

"The credit market is frozen because financial institutions are afraid to commit capital amid enormous uncertainty," the treasurer said in a written statement.

"More urgently, because the state budget was so late, we have only four short weeks to complete what otherwise would be a routine revenue anticipation note sale to meet the state's cash-flow needs," Lockyer said.

Exhausting California's cash reserves would have dire consequences, he said.

"Payments for teachers' salaries, nursing homes, law enforcement and every other state-funded service would stop or be significantly delayed," Lockyer said.

"And California's 5,000 cities, counties, school districts and special districts would face the same fate."

Education Week reports rising federal academic standards is a growing concern among the nation's educators and state policy makers but not in the presidential campaign.

Democratic Sen. Barack Obama and Republican Sen. John McCain have rarely touched the subject of No Child Left Behind.

According to Ed Week:

In their education proposals, Democratic Sen. Barack Obama and Republican Sen. John McCain have outlined specific plans to address provisions of the almost 7-year-old federal education law. Both would refocus the teacher-quality section to bolster the recruitment of new teachers and to experiment with new forms of teacher pay. Sen. McCain promises to make school choice and tutoring available to students in struggling schools sooner than the current law allows.

But neither candidate has said what he would do to address significant questions about the NCLB law's future, such as whether to keep its goal of universal student proficiency in reading and mathematics by the end of the 2013-14 school year, how to increase the rigor of states' academic standards, and how to improve the interventions in schools failing to meet achievement goals.

A lot of people out there have called me about the glut of negative news about education and said they want to read something nice for a change. That's a good idea. So I am considering writing a story each week that takes me and a photographer into the K-12 classroom, where the actual business of learning happens.

I want the community of parents, teachers, principals, district types and students to email me at vu.nguyen@dailybreeze.com and tell me why I should visit your school and write about it. I'll probably focus on one subject so if there is an amazing math teacher or an interesting science instructor out there, let me know what they're doing right.

P.S. Make sure the principal of your school or district official gives us the okay.

Researchers and safety experts in Maryland don't seem to think so. They said lowering the drinking age to 18 will cause more car accidents and deaths.

The experts told state legislators to keep the drinking age 21 and that they should consider tougher penalties for teens who break the law.

According to the Washington Post:

"The risk of a fatal crash increases with the first drink, especially for drivers aged 16 to 20," said James Fell, a senior program director at Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation.

The announcement is a response to college leaders' calls for a discussion on lowering the drinking age to 18 because it could promote moderation.

The Arizona Republic:

The reasoning behind the proposal, known as the Amethyst Initiative, is that the higher drinking age actually encourages binge drinking, a major problem on many college campuses. Nearly 100 college presidents from schools ranging from Duke University to Ohio State (but not Arizona or Arizona State) are in favor of the idea.

What do you think? Is lowering the drinking age to 18 a good or bad idea. I'd like to hear from teens on this idea.

If you liked this year's record-long budget impasse, you'll love the one that's expected to happen nine months from now.

As Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger likely signs a spending bill for this year's budget, the San Francisco Chronicle reports officials warn "a crisis of equal magnitude looms next year because of the weakened economy, uncertainties about the use of future lottery revenue and political gridlock among state legislators."

Until then, schools can finally exhale for now and collect $58.1 billion in state dollars that have been held up for nearly three months. The amount is an uptick from last year's $56 billion but it amounts to a 0.7 cost-of-living increase --- a drop in the bucket of the 5.66 percent increase school districts hoped to get, or about $3 billion less than educators would like to see, according to Jennifer Kuhn, analyst at the state Legislative Analyst's Office.

Education leaders last week slammed the plan, saying it doesn't help local school districts pay for the rising costs.

State Superintendent of Instruction Jack O'Connell called the plan a "gimmick," while California Teachers Association President David Sanchez and California PTA President Pam Brady each urged Schwarzenegger to use his veto power to leverage a more education-friendly budget.

"The proposed budget includes a reduction of the cost-of-living adjustment that will further tighten the vise on local school budgets as districts across the state face increased costs for supplies, food, transportation and employee health care costs," O'Connell said in a statement. "These reductions are a disservice to California's 6 million school children and the thousands of educators across the state."

The San Francisco Chronicle has a pretty good breakdown of what the budget means to the average person.

WHAT IT MEANS TO YOU: The new money doesn't cover inflation - yet the cost of salaries, benefits, books and more is rising. Students and teachers will feel the impact as teaching positions remain vacant, class size grows and even bus routes are cut back. Yet many programs - from special education to gifted education - were spared.

Stay tuned to see if lawmakers can magically fix the way public schools are funded by the summer.

The California State PTA wants parents to lobby lawmakers for a new budget deal that brings a more stable revenue stream to education. The legislature argues there is enough money for schools in the proposal --- at about $58.1 billion, up from $56.7 billion last year.

But the group backs Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger plan to veto the current budget saying it only puts a short-term bandage on school finances. The proposed budget has about $9.3 billion coming through early tax collections.

According to the San Diego Union Tribune:

Critics complained that the tax speedups are gimmicks that "borrow from taxpayers" and push a chronic deficit into next year. Schwarzenegger called them "tax increases" with a "smoke screen" when he made his initial veto threat Tuesday.

Schwarzenegger and legislators don't seem to be backing down at this point. So is backing the Governor's impending budget veto a good idea as school programs continue to run without state dollars for nearly three months?

One reason behind Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's likely veto of the legislative-approved budget is because of what it would mean to state education dollars.

According to the L.A. Times:

SCHWARZENEGGER: "The way this budget is right now we will need a huge tax increase next year or will have to cut education severely. It's one or the other. That's why I say we should fix the budget this year and realize there's a structural problem, create the extra revenues and then fix the system once and for all so that we have a system in place so that it doesn't happen again. That is the most important thing."

But the State Assembly and the Senate contend deep cuts to education are avoided under the plan, giving schools $58.1 billion, up from last year's $56.7 billion.

The gridlock has nearly reached the historic 80-day mark, forcing nervous school district administrators to dip into their reserves. But California schools superintendent Jack O'Connell agrees the governor should hold off until the budget addresses the state's cash problems.

"The lack of a state budget is causing real pain to businesses, schools, child care providers, and many others. We cannot allow this pain to continue. However, signing a bad budget that shortchanges schools, exacerbates California's fiscal problems, and puts off the day of reckoning would be worse than extending the short-term pain while taking the time now to do the job right.

So what's the right thing to do? Should lawmakers continue the budget standoff until schools are funded correctly or pay for mandated services like special education now?

Just wanted to post a brief note to readers of the School Notebook blog. I have left the Daily Breeze after 4 1/2 years covering schools in San Pedro, Carson, Wilmington, Gardena, Lomita and the Palos Verdes Peninsula.

As the Breeze looks in other directions for education coverage of these areas, I'll just note that I've had a blast reporting on these schools. I've learned a lot from the teachers, administrators, parents and others who provide the daily sweat to educate the area's diverse community of students.

Other opportunities lay ahead for me, which I'm excited to tackle.

Thanks again.

Paul Clinton

The California Linguistic Minority Research Institute released a report with a list of 100 high schools that account for the largest share of students who leave a high school before collecting a diploma.

Based on each institution's number of dropouts for the 2005-2006 academic year, five South Bay high schools landed among the study's 100 worst offenders.

Narbonne High in Harbor City ranked 70th, with 166 dropouts or a dropout rate of 4.7 percent; Banning High in Wilmington sits at 77th with 158 dropouts or 4.5 percent of its enrollment that year.

With 154 dropouts and a dropout rate of 4.2 percent, Carson High landed at 81st place; Leuzinger High in Lawndale was at 88 with 145 dropouts (4.3 percent); and Gardena High hit 93rd with 141 dropouts, or 4 percent of its 2005-2006 enrollment.

After placing fourth in the county contest and falling short of the point threshold for a wild-card bid, the long-dominant academic decathlon team of Torrance's West High School will not advance to the state competition this year.

Instead, Alhambra's Mark Keppel High School, runner-up the past two years, was named the winner of the event on Thursday, with second-place finisher Duarte High School tagging along as the wild card. The state showdown takes place March 8-10 in Sacramento.

Read our story for more.

Silvia Echeverria could never fit ballet lessons into the family budget for daughter Maria.

That's why the mother of the second-grader at 186th Street Elementary School in Harbor Gateway swelled with pride as she watched her 8-year-old twirl and twist her way through a final dance lesson on Wednesday.

For eight weeks, Maria and the other students in two second-grade classes received ballet training from the San Pedro City Ballet at a reduced rate.

"She liked it a lot," Echeverria said via a translator. "When she gets home, she practices all the steps."

Read Paul's story for more.

The Los Angeles Unified School District announced final results of its Academic Decathlon competiton of 64 high schools at UCLA on Saturday. Local LAUSD schools didn't fare as well this year, as none will move ahead to the state competition. Palisades Charter High School won the competition with 50,121 points.

Narbonne High in Harbor City finished highest, at No. 10, with 40,593 points. The school also finished in the top 15 in the Super Quiz and top 10 in essay and math categories.

Other teams from local schools:

No. 40: Gardena High, 29,435 points
No. 48: San Pedro High, 26,541 points
No. 50: Carson High, 26,229 points
No. 51: Banning High, 26,159 points
No. 53: Westchester High, 25,480 points

Here are the top students from the local schools:

Jenivee Elloran, Banning High School (Wilmington)
Jan Victor Andasan, Carson High School
Tri Huynh, Gardena High School
James Veil, Narbonne High
Cosmin Barbu, San Pedro High School
Chris Onwuka, Westchester High School

Also, Narbonne's Carlos Ortego had a perfect score on the Super Quiz.

The balance of power may be shifting in Southern California's Academic Decathlon, as Torrance's West High didn't win the county competition, as the school has done so often in prior years. The school finished fifth in the regional competition of brainiacs answering esoteric Civil War questions. In the county event, 48 schools sent teams.

Other schools: Redondo Union High came in sixth and Torrance's North High came in eighth. In the Los Angeles Unified event, Narbonne High in Harbor City finished 14th. In the city event, 64 schools sent teams.

Schools advancing to the state competition in Los Angeles will be named this week.

Read Josh Grossberg's story for more.

UCLA Bruin football players visited 186th Street Elementary School in Harbor Gateway on Friday to celebrate Super Bowl School Spirit Day. Quarterback Patrick Cowan called the play in the academic huddle. He told the children to "come to school every day, listen to their teachers, do their homework, stay in school, and strive for excellence."

Terrel Ray (left, signing a book), the administrative advisor with the USC, also arrived and told the students to stay in school and get good grades so they can attend top universities like USC and UCLA.

The Bruin athletes in attendance were Raymond Carter, Patrick Cowan, Nick Ekbatani, Courtney Viney and Trevor Theriot (left, reading to students). The players interacted with students and gave them a book emphaisizing the importance of sports activities to promote fitness.

Local Assemblyman Curren Price (D-Inglewood) visitied several classrooms to speak with students at Narbonne High School in Harbor City earlier today. Price introduced the students to the workings of state government and answered questions.

The assemblyman represents Gardena, Hawthorne and Lawndale, as well as Inglewood.

Two local bands competed in the Los Angeles Unified School District’s annual Band and Drill Team Championship on Saturday.

Narbonne High School in Harbor City and San Pedro High School were in the field of 31 competitors to showcase music and dance skills.

Groups were judged in the areas of music performance, general effect and visual performance.
Awards were also given for top auxiliary (drill team, dance or flags) units as well. The competition was hosted by East Los Angeles College in Monterey Park.

Addendum: Narbonne's drill team won the Auxiliary category; San Pedro High's band placed second among all bands.

Students at Gardena Elementary School, which is located just east of the city in Harbor Gateway, were given an operatic lesson Wednesday, as part of a program put on by the Los Angeles Opera each year. The arts group chooses 15 Southern California schools to put on a joint performance with fifth-graders.

Read Paul's story for more.