On November 8th, the voters of who live in the Los Angeles schools district will be faced with their fourth proposition, called Measure Y. The $3.985 bond measure, which will be paid by property taxes, is for more planned expansion within the Los Angeles schools, allowing them to add another 25 elementary schools to the current list of 160 schools that are scheduled to be constructed by year 2012. Some of the money also is slated for other needs, such as new school buses, repairs and charter schools.

The other three bond measures were passed for Los Angeles schools new construction and repairs that were long overdue. Classrooms were literally falling apart, and classes were excessively overcrowded with year-round schedules for many schools. The previously passed measures underwrote the current 160 schools on the list for construction.

Many people, however, are asking if this fourth measure is truly needed. According to the Los Angeles Daily News, the traditional Los Angeles schools are slowly but steadily losing students from their rolls. Since the 2002-2003 school year, the traditional Los Angeles schools have lost 4,471 students. According to Los Angeles schools officials, they expect another 4,304 to be dropped this year. There are several reasons for these drops in enrollment.

First, one in every 20 students is choosing to attend a charter or private school, rather than attend traditional Los Angeles schools. The 88 charter schools within the state now enroll about three percent (about 200,000) of the public school students. About 35,000 of these students attend charter schools within the Los Angeles schools. The number of charter schools within the state continues to increase, with another 20 new charter schools planned for this fall.

The California Charter Schools Association predicts that ten percent of public school students within the state will attend charter schools by the year 2014, with perhaps an even higher percentage in the Los Angeles schools area. They cite that the number of charter schools would need to triple in order to accommodate all of the students currently on waiting lists. With the smaller size and flexibility of charter schools, they can be created and implemented in a very short time, as compared to the large, traditional Los Angeles schools that take years to construct.

The second reason for the drastic drop in enrollment at the Los Angeles schools is birth and lifestyle trends:

• Los Angeles County statistics have shown that hundreds of fewer babies are being born in the county each year. The trend is expected to continue through to the end of the decade.

• Upper income singles and couples with few children have replaced neighborhoods that were once inhabited by large immigrant families. With the rising housing prices in the Los Angeles schools area, most young families or families with many children can no longer afford to live there, opting to move to areas with lower costs of living.

• Additionally, according to researchers at the Public Policy Institute of California, another trend is smaller immigrant families. In their 2002 report, they show that after the first generation, immigrant families successively have smaller families.

Glenn Gritzner, special assistant to the Los Angeles schools, says that the Los Angeles schools have taken the changes in demographics into consideration, but they are not critical enough to change the school building plans. Gritzner states that, if school plans and trends/statistics remain on course through 2012, there still will be 200,000 Los Angeles schools students in portable classrooms and plenty of overcrowded Los Angeles schools remaining. Plus, trends are only current patterns that are subject to change. Measure Y definitely is warranted.

Los Angeles schools announced the results of the 2004-2005 school year, state-mandated California High School Exit Exam. Of the students slated to graduate in 2006, 69 percent (more than two thirds) of the class passed both the English language arts and the mathematics portions of the exam. Of the remaining 31 percent of the Class of 2006 students (12th graders):

• Fifteen percent (approximately 5,500 students) must pass both the English language arts and the mathematics portions,

• Ten percent (3,700) must pass the mathematics portion, and

• Six percent (2,000) must pass the English language arts portion.

State law now requires all students to pass both portions of the exit exam in order to graduate from high school and receive a diploma. Students begin taking the exam in the spring of their 10th grade year. If they do not pass one or both portions of the exam, they have the opportunity to retest in both 11th and 12th grades. Los Angeles schools’ Class of 2006 was the first graduating class required to pass both portions of the exam in order to graduate.

The excellent results of the 2004-5 testing is the direct result of focused instruction and successful intervention, and demonstrates that every student is capable of passing the exam. These intense efforts on the part of Los Angeles schools educators were specifically designed to assist students with coursework directly connected to the exit exams.

In the 2004-5 school year, Los Angeles schools developed intervention strategies for students having problems passing the exam. The strategies introduced small learning communities and supported the core curriculum. Personalized teaching and learning approaches were developed for each student, such as an outreach program and intervention on an individual basis. The Los Angeles schools further made attendance at exit exam preparation classes mandatory for students who had yet to pass one or both test portions. These classes met outside of the normal school day and were provided free of charge to the students through the district’s Beyond the Bell, a branch of Los Angeles schools that oversees all student extended day programs.

These combined efforts have had a direct and significant impact upon the graduation rate at Los Angeles schools, as proven not only by the Class of 2006 test results but those for the Class of 2007, as well. When the Class of 2006 was in 10th grade, the students had a first-time pass rate of 60 percent in English language arts and 58 percent in mathematics. The Class of 2007, when in 10th grade, surpassed these first-time pass results by 66 percent in English language arts and 59 percent in mathematics &ndash a significant increase in scholastic achievement.

These results clearly demonstrate that the dropout rate can be turned around, which is just one of the many student achievement goals of Los Angeles schools. The district continues to aggressively focus upon the development of rigorous curriculum for its middle and senior high schools. Los Angeles schools recognize and the exit exam results underscore the importance of improved high school instruction, which can directly impact higher graduation rates and allow students to matriculate and move on to viable options in their adult lives.

The 2006-07 school year for the Los Angeles schools is still burdened with many of the same overcrowding problems and busing issues of the past; however, improvements are being made and the future is looking brighter.

The $19.2 billion school construction program has provided 12 new Los Angeles schools with 9,300 students attending and will surely alleviate some of the current overcrowding. The program, however, will not be completed until 2012. At that time, there will be enough new schools to return all schools to the traditional, two-semester calendar year; and students will be able to attend schools within their own neighborhood, rather than being bused where there is available space.

Currently, 184 schools are on year-round calendars. That means that an estimated 176,000 Los Angeles schools students will begin school on July 5, while the other children that attend the traditional schools are preparing for family vacations. They do not begin school until September.

Year-round Los Angeles schools operate on three or four staggered tracks in order to accommodate all the students enrolled. Students on B, C and D tracks begin school on July 5 of each year, while students on A track begin August 18.

The majority of Los Angeles schools are traditional, two-semester schools that have a September to June school calendar. This includes more than 390,000 kindergarten-through-twelfth graders that enjoy a normal school calendar year. With 712,000 students projected to enroll in Los Angeles schools this school year, the year-round schools are currently a fact of life.

To ensure students meet the July 5 start date, attendance counselors are assigned to the year-round Los Angeles schools during the first days. Children who are no-shows on the first day of school will find these counselors telephoning or visiting their parents to find out why. Attendance, on-time arrival, and being prepared to learn are essential with the overcrowding issue in the Los Angeles schools.

The 2006-07 school year will continue to include rigorous academics, which previously have resulted in improved student test scores in the Los Angeles schools. There are initiatives in place to further strengthen coursework in order to reduce the dropout rate, as well.

Class size for the eighth and ninth grade Algebra and Algebra Readiness classes will be reduced this year to allow for more individual instruction. Algebra skills are essential for graduation, as well as to meet college enrollment requirements. It has become a key subject for students to master, and the Los Angeles schools are giving them every opportunity to do so.

Additionally, low performing high schools will receive $36 million to transform their academics, facilities and operations in order to ensure Los Angeles schools students gain the necessary skills and graduate.

The Los Angeles schools are making great strides in student achievement and ensuring each student is given equal opportunity to succeed. Hopefully by 2012, the Los Angeles schools also will offer all students the traditional school year in their own neighborhoods, as well.