School Notebook

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

Posted by Paul Clinton at 1:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

About 50 members of the Banning High School Running Club, as they've dubbed themselves, will run in the Los Angeles Marathon on Sunday.

The students have been training diligently since September, by running five days a week after classes end. They've also participated in several races, including an 18-miler on Super Bowl Sunday. The students are also members of Students Run LA, which provides goal-setting, character development and adult mentoring to urban students.

The Wilmington Community Organization is providing the "carbo load" the day before the race. Runners will fill up at a spaghetti dinner at 3 p.m. Saturday in the Penthouse (a second-floor dining room) at Banning High School. The group will also present certificates honoring their work habits and training, said Mary Gant, the group's chairperson.

Posted by Paul Clinton at 3:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

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.

Posted by Paul Clinton at 5:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

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.

Posted by Paul Clinton at 3:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Inspections required by state law found textbook shortages, deteriorating campuses and underqualified teachers at eight local campuses in Los Angeles Unified and Centinela Valley school districts.

County auditors singled out Hawthorne High School's campus for special scorn, detailing the dirty fountains, rotting wood, leaky roof, exposed wiring and pervasive bird droppings in a 24-page memo released last week.

Many of the restrooms were locked when the campus was inspected at a time when students were attending classes, records show.

A second Centinela Valley Union High School District campus, Leuzinger High in Lawndale, also was listed in poor condition because of broken and cracked windows, doors and locks that don't operate properly, trash stored in heating vents and one classroom with a wobbly wall.

Read Paul's story for more.

Posted by Paul Clinton at 11:06 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

In a rare override, the Los Angeles school board on Tuesday rejected board member Richard Vladovic's attempt to reduce the size of a planned K-8 Wilmington school.

Board members said Vladovic's plan - which would instead erect an elementary school on the site - would imperil $37 million in matching state funds and fail to relieve crowding at Wilmington Middle School.

For the whole story, read Paul's report.

Posted by Paul Clinton at 10:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Sakhalin Finnie offers classes in a bungalow that doesn't have running water. So when she teaches high school science lessons that require it, she's forced to improvise.

"I use buckets and try to do it smaller," Finnie said of her physics and chemistry lessons at Harbor Teacher Preparatory Academy, a magnet high school in Wilmington. "We have a lot of paper towels."

Finnie's dedication paid dividends Thursday, as the Milken Family Foundation honored her as a top educator and handed her a $25,000 check at the Harbor College campus where she teaches her classes.

Read Paul's story for more.

Posted by Paul Clinton at 4:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

John Rodriguez and the journalism class at Banning High in Wilmington have embarked on an ambitious project to follow 10 ninth-graders toward graduation as they tackle academic challenges, social pressures and family life's ups and downs.

The students will learn the stories behind the statistics at a school that has rapidly improved academically but still has a high dropout rate. Much less than half the students who start at the Wilmington high school complete four years and collect a diploma.

The students:

Francisco Chavez, 15. Perla Fernandez, 14. Mark Fitzpatrick, 15. Alma Garduno, 14. Jessica Gutierrez, 15. Jacquiline Heredia, 14. Maribel Hildago, 14. Jesus Hurtado, 15. Milvia Orantes, 14. Shadow Smith, 15.

Posted by Paul Clinton at 11:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

UCLA student, Narbonne High graduate and Lomita resident Michael Bailey had a novel idea: print vocabulary words on P.E. T-shirts to improve test scores at Wilmington Middle School. Bailey followed up on a theory, fostered by a UCLA communications course, that people's brains latch onto "visual cues" to process information. And he applied it to the words LAUSD students often see on standardized tests, words such as "define" and "analyze."

Bailey chose the school because his mom once worked in the attendance office.

Read Paul's story for more.

Posted by Paul Clinton at 11:32 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

By spending $4.3 million to develop a hybrid K-8 school in Wilmington, LAUSD may have paid for information it won't (for the most part) use. Board Member Richard Vladovic has proposed downsizing the project to an elementary school and shifting it to a location other than the one the district has chosen, which would essentially restart four years of planning.

Read Paul's story to find out how they spent the funds.

For a project update, attend a meeting at 6 p.m. today at Banning High, 1527 Lakme Ave.

Posted by Paul Clinton at 10:50 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

In the LAUSD's (protracted?) process to develop a school in Wilmington, two new sites have emerged as viable alternatives to the unpopular "Site F," a commercial block in the heart of town with a Wells Fargo bank, Latino market and other homes and businesses. The district must decide by Dec. 11 whether to roll back its approval of that site and choose one of the new ones. Trustee Richard Vladovic has called for more community input with meetings on Wednesday and Nov. 26.

Here's Paul's story.

Posted by Paul Clinton at 9:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

An academy-style high school in Wilmington joined 34 other schools in California Wednesday as a Blue Ribbon nominee.

The Harbor Teacher Preparation Academy — a 330-student high-achiever based at Harbor College — would be chosen for the award, provided they submit the proper documentation, a spokeswoman with the California Department of Education said.

The school is the only one in the Los Angeles Unified School District to be nominated. The No Child Left Behind law established the Blue Ribbon program.

Nominated schools must demonstrate 90 percent proficiency in English-language arts and math. The could also gain eligibility by counting 40 percent or more of disadvantaged students and attaining at least 60 percent proficiency in those subjects.

Harbor Teacher Prep was named a California Distinguished School in 2007. Nestled in bungalow classrooms on tennis courts since opening in 2002, the school now employs 14 teachers in nine classrooms.

Posted by Paul Clinton at 4:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Anthony Jaquez was shot on Halloween night and is expected to make a full recovery, a relative said. Jaquez, 18, was shot three times as he stood in the front yard of a friend’s house on Wednesday evening.
A car pulled up to the house and a shooter opened fire on Jaquez. No other people were hit.
“He probably didn’t know the guy,” said uncle Mondo Ponce, an assistant coach at Banning High.

Jaquez had excelled a year ago, as a first baseman for Banning High.
He matured into a solid regular player for a young Banning team that went 15-17. A first-team All-Marine League pick, he batted .333 with four homers, 31 RBIs and a .593 slugging percentage for the Pilots.

Posted by Paul Clinton at 5:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Three upcoming meetings in Wilmington will provide residents an opportunity to air their views about a school proposed by the Los Angeles Unified School District.

Councilwoman Janice Hahn is hosting a meeting at 7 p.m. today at the Wilmington Senior Citizen Center, 1371 Eubank Ave. Board member Richard Vladovic, who won a reprieve for residents opposing the district’s proposed location, will also attend.

In November, the LAUSD will host two meetings. They’re set for 6 p.m. on Nov. 7 and 26 at Banning High School, 1527 Lakme Ave. Both Hahn and Vladovic support locating the school at a public storage site near the center instead of the district’s proposal to wipe out a commercial block with a bank, Latino market and other popular businesses at Avalon Boulevard and M Street.

The district wants to build a 1,278-seat K-8 school in 6.5 acres to relieve crowding at Broad, Fries, Gulf and Hawaiian avenue elementary schools. Enrollment at Wilmington Middle School would also be reduced.

Posted by Paul Clinton at 11:32 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

From reporter Larry Altman:

A former Banning High School football player who died on a battlefield in Iraq will be honored Friday night with a pre-game ceremony at the Pilots’ Homecoming game in Gardena.

U.S. Army Pfc. David Toomalatai’s No. 80 jersey will be retired and members of the Veterans of Foreign Wars post in Wilmington will pay tribute with a gun salute.

Toomalatai's family, fiancee and toddler son are expected to attend the 6:40 p.m. ceremony before the Pilots' 7 p.m. game against Washington High School at the Gardena High School stadium at 1301 W. 182nd Street.

Toomalatai, a medic, was killed in January while riding in an ambulance that struck a land mine.

Posted by Toni Sciacqua at 8:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

After complaints from the community about the businesses that would be displaced by the school, the Los Angeles Board of Education voted Tuesday to delay construction and reconsider the school site.

From Paul Clinton's story:

To change the school's location, trustee Richard Vladovic must return to the board with an alternate site by Dec. 11. If he doesn't, the current favored site will regain the top position, Executive Officer Jefferson Crain said in an e-mail.

The district's chosen site - bounded by Avalon Boulevard, L Street, Broad Avenue and M Street - has met opposition from the community surrounding it, as well as Councilwoman Janice Hahn.

Here's the story.

Posted by Toni Sciacqua at 8:43 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Local LAUSD Trustee Richard Vladovic, who represents the San Pedro-to-Watts area, is lobbying the district to reconsider the location for a new K-8 school in Wilmington. He will seek a vote at Tuesday's board meeting.

Since July 2006, the district has been developing plans for a school that would wipe out a commercial block bounded by Avalon Boulevard, L Street, Broad Avenue and M Street in the heart of Wilmington's commercial district.

Community opposition to the district's choice of location has caused Vladovic to seek more community input to potentially choose a new site for the school, he said. If the project moves forward as is, it would force out a Wells Fargo bank, Latino market and other shops and homes on 16 lots.

The initial plan called for a "span" school to add 1,278 seats to relieve crowding at Fries Avenue, Gulf Avenue and Hawaiian Avenue elementary schools and Wilmington Middle School. On Monday, Vladovic said he would favor a school adding as many as 700 seats.

Since Vladovic submitted his request less than a week before Tuesday's meeting, the board must first agree to consider the item, before it takes up Vladovic's request to halt work on the current project. The meeting starts at 1 p.m. Tuesday at LAUSD's downtown board room, 333 S. Beaudry Ave.

Posted by Paul Clinton at 5:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Extra police will be on campus today.

From Megan Bagdonas' story about Thursday's incident:

Students who witnessed the incident claimed they could see the butt of a gun underneath the man's shirt, with the barrel poking out below his shorts.

"It could very well have been a sawed-off shotgun," Lt. Stephen Dodson said.

An announcement made over the school's public address system ordered teachers to lock their doors, close their windows and not let anyone in or out of their classrooms.

Students weren't told why the campus was locked down, so there were a lot of theories. But here's what I think is the scariest part of Megan's story:

Many students said they weren't alarmed by the news that someone was able to get onto campus with a gun.

"It's not that big of a deal," junior Wayne Smith said. "I hear of people coming to campus with weapons all the time."

Gabby Proa said she was more upset with school officials than about a man with a gun on campus.

"A guy with a gun is nothing new, I mean we live in Wilmington," the senior said. "But when we ask them why we're on lockdown, they just say, `Don't worry about it, we'll handle it.' So if something does happen and we do get shot, we don't even know why."

Here's the link so you can read the whole thing.

Posted by Toni Sciacqua at 8:40 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A multi-agency task force swept through Carson, Harbor City, San Pedro, Torrance and Wilmington today, citing 163 teenagers for truancy and arresting 10 others.

The students had ditched classes at Banning High, Carson High, Narbonne High, San Pedro High and Torrance High. Read our story.

Posted by Paul Clinton at 3:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Two area students were among 18 winners of the 2007 Latino Heritage Month poster contest honored by Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.
Viviana Vela, from Wilmington Middle School, and Ana Vargas, from Carnegie Middle School in Carson, created the winning posters at the Banning Recreation Center.
Villaraigosa announced the winners Sept. 22 during an event at the Pico House Monument at El Pueblo de Los Angeles Historic Park in Los Angeles.
The 18 Los Angeles Unified students were presented scholarships.

Posted by Toni Sciacqua at 5:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Visitors from Aabenraa Statsskole, a vocational college in the city of Aabenraa, spent a day at the Wilmington community college meeting with the theater department and filming a segment of President Linda Spink's monthly cable show. Instructors Ole Oestergaard and Klause Chresien and 29 of their students spent the day at the campus on Sept. 13. They filmed themselves filming Spink's "The President's Roundtable," which airs on Comcast's Channel 27, for a student documentary.

Posted by Paul Clinton at 9:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)