Recently in SAN PEDRO Category

Gardena High grad and San Pedro High teacher Steve Gebhart is the subject of a profile from USC's Neon Tommy.

Gebhart has a charismatic persona that endears him with his students. He is bespectacled and balding, but with the sporty physique of an athlete that is vaguely reminiscent of blogger Andrew Sullivan. He has an assortment of tattoos on his arms, including one that his students particularly like which reads, "knowledge is power."

His presence - in the hallways, in the classroom, in the community - is gregarious and compassionate. Between classes, he stands in the hallways and cracks jokes with students as they make their way to class. On Friday nights, he brings his wife and kids to the high school football games. For him, teaching is a mission that goes beyond just being an instructor in the classroom. Instead, he tries to be a positive role model to his students, demonstrating through his own life the importance of being a well-rounded individual.

The story, from the new-ish digital publication out of the Annenberg journalism school (my alma mater), is by Mary Slosson. It's one of a series on "nine LAUSD teachers that nobody has ever heard of" and the work that they do.

Port of Los Angeles High School in San Pedro received a boost from local dignitaries on Wednesday, with the visit of Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, Councilwoman Janice Hahn and City Attorney Carmen Trutanich.

School official say they have the support of the trio in seeking to purchase their campus from a powerful landowner: the Port of Los Angeles.

School Executive Director Jim Cross said he believes the Harbor Commission will vote early next month on the school's offer to purchase its building, a former shipping company office structure on West Fifth Street. To the frustration of POLAHS officials, there have been multiple delays since negotiations began in fall 2008.

Cross and other POLAHS officials consider the building's purchase vital to the future of the six-year-old charter school. It currently pays about $800,000 per year in rent to the port.

Meanwhile, the school this fall is celebrating having reached its goal enrollment of 850, and recent achievements on state tests.

It earned an API of 778 this week -- a gain of 47 points that it put it well above all of LAUSD's traditional comprehensive high schools in the South Bay and Harbor Area. In results released in August, POLAHS also outperformed those campuses on results from the California High School Exit Exam: 93 percent of 10th graders passed the English section on their first try, and 91 percent passed math.

Next Wednesday, the school will host a ceremony marking the dedication of a new science classroom to FTR, the firm building the new port police headquarters next door. FTR made an in-kind donation of about $90,000 to the school by constructing a new sewer line. The dedication is the fifth such ceremony for the school, which recently built five new classrooms on its once-empty second-floor space.

Los Angeles Unified School District board members Richard Vladovic and Tamar Galatzan are taking sides -- and placing bets -- in advance of the City Section Division I baseball final at Dodger Stadium Saturday.

Vladovic is of course rooting for his alma mater, San Pedro High School. Galatzan takes the side of the Conquistadores of El Camino Real High in Woodland Hills, in her board district 3.

The wager comes after the Pedro Pirates trounced top seed Chatsworth High in the semifinals Wednesday. It was the first at-home defeat for Chatsworth in a decade.

Go, Pirates! (Please note that I am completely impartial in this matter.)

Anyway, a Vladovic aide tells me that the losing board member in this friendly wager will be forced to wear the winning team's garb at the next board meeting on Tuesday. That'll be in keeping with those frequently colorful events.

Los Angeles Unified School District announced the names of 22 teachers who have been awarded the title of 2010-2011 LAUSD Teacher of the Year.

Four are locals. Here's the information directly from a district press release:

• Lisa Butler, a resident of Carson, has been a teacher for seven years. She teaches multiple subjects to second grade students at Budlong Avenue Elementary School.


• Karen Orpe, a resident of Lawndale, has been a social studies teacher at Henry Clay Middle School for nine years. She has been a teacher for 12 years.


• Trevor Oystrick has been a science teacher at Susan Miller Dorsey High School for nine years. He has been a teacher for 12 years and is a resident of Manhattan Beach.


• Patricia Thornton, from 15th Street Elementary School in San Pedro, has been a second grade teacher there for four years. She has been teaching for 34 years and is a resident of Carson.

The district says the teachers are chosen for "exemplary and creative teaching" that makes a difference in student lives, the school and the broader community.

The winners go on to compete for the L.A. County title, and that winner can compete to be California Teachers of the Year.

Los Angeles city and school district officials will be handing out 30,000 seedlings at the San Pedro Math Science and Technology Center Saturday morning.

Free vegetable, herb and ornamental organic seedlings will be up for grabs as part of an event called Pitchfork.

Also going on at the science center that day will be a big cleanup as part of ShareFest. Good times!

The center is at 2201 Barrywood, behind the Target.

Here's more info:

The state Department of Education today released its annual list of distinguished schools -- 484 this year, which focuses on elementary campuses.

For more on the program, go to the CDE website. Here were the local awardees on the list:

• LAUSD schools: Kentwood Elementary, Lomita Math/Science Magnet, and Park Western Place Elementary and Seventh Street Elementary in San Pedro


• Manhattan Beach schools: Grand View Elementary and Pacific Elementary


• Palos Verdes Peninsula schools: Cornerstone at Pedregal Elementary, Montemalaga Elementary and Silver Spur Elementary


• Redondo Beach schools: Beryl Heights Elementary, Birney Elementary, Madison Elementary


• Torrance schools: Arlington Elementary and Lincoln Elementary

Highland Elementary in Inglewood Unified was also named to the list.

*An earlier version of this post excluded two local schools. Sorry about that!

The LAUSD board has voted to approve educational reform plans for Gardena and San Pedro high schools that were authored by teachers and administrators at each campus.

The two schools were among the least contentious -- because they had generated no bids for control from outside charter groups -- at an ongoing board meeting where members are selecting winners of the Public School Choice process.

Superintendent Ramon Cortines had said he was recommending the internal reform plans for Gardena and San Pedro "with reservations."

At the request of Richard Vladovic, the board member who represents the Harbor Area, along with Carson, Gardena and Lomita, that label was dropped for San Pedro High. Vladovic called it a "slight stigma," saying that he was proud of the teachers' plan for the school.

"San Pedro High is a good school that's fallen away and we're bringing it back," Vladovic said. "The community is committed."

That means the San Pedro High plan will be implemented as authored.

In contrast, Gardena High will need to make changes -- including authoring a more specific instructional plan and a detailed vision for community involvement -- to its plan by the end of March. Gardena's plan will be reviewed for renewal every three years.

Like other winning Public School Choice applicants, San Pedro will have five years before applying for renewal.

Los Angeles Unified today posted the comments from two review panels examining reform proposals authored by teams applying to run 30 campuses, including San Pedro and Gardena high schools.

Under the district's unusual reform effort -- Public School Choice -- 12 existing "focus schools" and 24 new campuses are up for bid. Superintendent Ramon Cortines asked two teams of education experts to examine the plans.

The reviewers' thoughts, along with Cortines' own (still undisclosed) analyses, will accompany the results of last week's community votes in a messy package to be voted on by the Board of Education Feb. 23.

Well, it doesn't look so good for San Pedro and Gardena high schools, two of the focus schools named by Cortines last fall.

The schools received no outside bids and submitted reform plans authored by current staff. Their plans received less than enthusiastic reviews, which said the proposals lacked detail. One unnamed reviewer said Pedro's plan needed polishing, noting somewhat strangely, "This is party a gut feeling."

Of Gardena, another reviewer wrote: "The current staff has failed to implement District policies with fidelity; therefore, I am not confident that this partner will implement effective structures to support the plan."

I'm having trouble copying any of the comments, but they're worth a read. They're here.

A panel of teachers and administrators at San Pedro High School will be explaining and taking questions on its reform plan for the campus tonight.

It's part of LAUSD's ongoing Public School Choice process that has let outside operators bid for control of 12 "focus schools" and 24 new campuses. Both San Pedro and Gardena High were named focus schools, but no outside groups submitted applications to take over the campuses.

My story on the process at Gardena High thus far ran on Monday. I'm told that the plan-writing team at San Pedro has been more organized and unified.

Read the plans: Gardena / San Pedro.

The meeting at Pedro is in the auditorium tonight from 6 to 8 p.m. It was resecheduled from last Wednesday because of the heavy rain.

A meeting set for tonight to discuss LAUSD's Public School Choice process at San Pedro High School has been canceled.

The heavy rain caused some flooding in the auditorium, where the meeting was set to take place, said Juan Flecha, Local District 8 high school director.

No date has yet been set for a rescheduled meeting, but it must take place before Feb. 2, Flecha said. That's when the school community will vote on a detailed reform plan (PDF) required under the Public School Choice initiative.

Los Angeles Unified School District is hosting a meeting tonight on concerns about dust from construction at the new high school on the former Upper Reservation of Fort MacArthur, also known as South Region High School No. 15.

Residents apparently found flyers posted at their homes yesterday.

Come To a Meeting with LAUSD on the construcation going on behind our Homes and the Dirt/Noise It is Causing

Tomorrow, Thursday August 20th at the Angels Gate Continuation School at 3200 S. Alma 5 pm. Representatives from the school district will be there to hear our concerns, representatives from AQMD, Councilwoman Hahn, and the Daily Breeze have also been invited.

I actually was not notified of this event, but maybe the district told someone else at the Breeze and it didn't get to me.

Anyway, I've verified that LAUSD has in fact organized this "sort of last-minute" meeting. Facilities division spokeswoman Shannon Haber said this morning that the meeting was in response to community complaints about construction and that the district wanted to "nip it in the bud."

* I just talked to a couple of the residents on 30th Street that are being affected by this - Ken and Cora Raymond. Apparently they've had some issues with dust accumulation in the last couple of weeks.

They talked to school district officials, folks from Councilwoman Janice Hahn's office and AQMD. The air quality inspector from AQMD said the construction site was fully in compliance. Nonetheless, Cora suffers from asthma and has had to leave home during construction work.

"We shouldn't have to live like this. I shouldn't have to leave my house because i can't breathe," she said.

David Kooper, chief of staff to LAUSD board member Richard Vladovic, said tonight's informal meeting had been set up to address the concerns of the Raymonds and another couple who had complained about dust.

At the suggestion of Kooper, that couple, along with Ken Raymond, distributed the flyers to neighbors to let them know about the meeting. (So there was no fault on the district's part in not letting the Breeze know ... and Cora had left a message for a colleague about the meeting.)

Anyway, this isn't some big construction update meeting that nobody knew about. However, if you have concerns about dust, it's probably a place to vent frustrations and try to get answers.

*UPDATE: County health officials have confirmed that they are NOT investigating any flu cases in San Pedro. (Story)

Los Angeles Unified is saying that there are no clusters of swine flu-like symptoms in San Pedro area schools, in contrast to a statement issued earlier today by county health officials.

"I would like to clear up any misinformation about the report of a cluster in San Pedro," Dr. Kimberly Uyeda, the school district's head of student medical services, said today in a recently issued press release.

"Several sick children were sent to a school nurse at an elementary school however, all were cleared to stay in school. The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health also determined that no investigation was necessary."

Early this morning, a county press release stated: "The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health is also investigating three possible flu clusters in three schools located in the Santa Clarita Valley and San Pedro. Laboratory results on these clusters are expected by the end of the week."

At a press conference this morning, county Chief Medical Office Jonathan Fielding would not say which school was potentially affected.

We at the Breeze know parents and students are very concerned and we're working now to get officials to clarify these conflicting statements.

Meanwhile, all LAUSD campuses are open and the district is not recommending parents take their children out of school.

Karen Saunders, who heads operations at Local District 8 schools (Harbor Area, Gardena, Lomita, Carson), said, "We do not have swine flu in our district."

She added: "People are panicking."

The morning statement from the Department of Public Health has caused a flurry of calls from media and parents to local schools and the school district, education officials said.

Non-LAUSD schools in San Pedro -- Mary Star of the Sea, Port of Los Angeles High School (technically an LAUSD charter), Holy Trinity Catholic School, Rolling Hills Prep -- said they had no reported symptoms and no students have been sent home.

South Shores Magnet School for the Visual and Performing Arts in San Pedro today will see the play "Cinderella" at the Santa Monica Playhouse.

The campus will pay for the field trip through an $800 grant from the Target Corporation.

Students at Barton Hill Elementary School in San Pedro were joined by members of the U.S. Coast Guard in painting a mural on campus today.

The campus was adopted three years ago by the San Pedro-based Coast Guard units through the military's Partnership in Education -- a tutoring, mentoring and outreach program that was founded in 2001.

Local officers prepped the Coast Guard-themed mural yesterday and finished up today, the service branch announced in a press release.

Mitch Ozawa recently accepted a position on the Board of Trustees for Rolling Hills Preparatory School and the Renaissance School in San Pedro. Ozawa works as the senior vice president and senior client manager for Bank of America/Banc America Securities.
He and his wife, Ann, are active in the Parents Association and have a daughter who attends the Renaissance School.

The California Coastal Commission has just voted to approve a controversial 810-student school on former military property in southern San Pedro.

Los Angeles Unified School District in December approved the campus, which was opposed by a number of local residents.

Officials have said the campus will house two magnet programs and act as an "annex" to overcrowded San Pedro High School.

The 8-3 vote was the final approval the district was seeking. I'll have a full story shortly.

Students at Mary Star of the Sea High School recently earned a $1,000 grant from Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa during a youth environmental conference. Mary Star was one of seven schools to receive the money which will be used to plant additional trees on campus, 2500 Taper Ave. in San Pedro. More than 100 Southern California schools applied for the grants.

Mitch Ozawa recently accepted a position on the Board of Trustees for Rolling Hills Preparatory School and the Renaissance School in San Pedro. Ozawa works as the senior vice president and senior client manager for Bank of America/Banc America Securities. He and his wife, Ann, are active in the Parents Association and have a daughter who attends the Renaissance School. Information: 310-791-1101.

A lot is going on in Los Angeles Unified today, what with sources saying Superintendent David Brewer will announce this afternoon that he may step down.

(The district just issued a release that could not be less descriptive: "Los Angeles Unified School District's (LAUSD) Superintendent David L. Brewer, III will make a statement.")

Tomorrow's regular board meeting, which will come after a closed session where Brewer's contract is up for discussion under the label "Employee Discipline/Dismissal/Release," is sure to be a scene. Coincidentally, one of our biggest local district issues is up for a vote on Tuesday as well.

That's the proposed high school campus near Angels Gate Park, which has been opposed by many neighbors in the surrounding area. That item won't be heard until later in the meeting. Several San Pedrans are scheduled to speak, but many say it's a forgone conclusion that the campus will be approved.

If you want to go -- and witness LAUSD history being made! good times! -- the meeting begins at noon. The Pedro schoo is Item 10, and may not be heard until after 4 p.m. Agenda PDF.

In a story that runs in tomorrow's paper, the Los Angeles Times takes on a constellation of issues surrounding Los Angeles Unified's plans to build an "annex" to San Pedro High at the former Upper Reservation of Fort MacArthur.