LAUSD Seeks Ideas for New Span School

Porter Ranch Community School is still 15 months from opening its doors and the attendance boundaries won't be set until this fall. That makes this the perfect time to gather ideas from the community about the educational programs to be offered, said district educators.

"This is the first of many community meetings," Suzanne Blake, a school district secondary administrator, told about 50 people, most of them parents of elementary school students in the area  who met Thursday evening at Germain Elementary School, 20730 Germain St.

Attendees were divided into smaller groups and encouraged to make suggestions. However, some decisions already have been made.

Lisa Gaboudian, director and principal leader of elementary schools, said the English-Korean dual language program, currently offered at Topeka Elementary School, would be moved to the new school at 13450 Mason Ave.  Students who ask to be included in the program receive instruction in both Korean and English starting in kindergarten and going through fifth grade.

"We're not talking about hundreds of kids," Gaboudian said. "It is a small program."

Cheryl Hildreth, director and principal leader of secondary schools, said the new span school will open with classes for kindergarten through sixth grade. The original plan was to enroll students up to eighth grade. The new plan is to add one year in 2013 and another in 2014, by which time it will house kindergarten through eighth grade.

"We want to make this one of the best schools in the district and definitely one of the best in the Valley," Hildreth, said.

The new school will almost certainly draw from areas that now send children to Castlebay, Germain and Topeka elementary schools, all of which offer classes only through fifth grade. It may also impact attendance at Frost and Lawrence middle schools.  District officials said that none of these schools are considered to be overcrowded.

At the meeting, Byron Maltez, district administrator of instruction, asked residents how Porter Ranch can provide "a state-of-the-art education" and what can be done to be sure students who attend learn in a safe environment and graduate all ready for high school.

Ideas collected at this meeting and subsequent similar meetings are to be organized and posted on the Local District 1 web site of the Los Angeles school district.

Suggestions made by one group on Tuesday evening included arts classes, an earthquake safety program, the ability to submit homework online, a parent center, industrial arts classes, typing classes, field trips, a dual language program in Spanish, performing volunteer work and mandatory classes to discourage bullying.